All Articles Tagged app store

Today we have a few good apps worth grabbing at discounted prices.

First up is an application everyone should be aware of by now, BeeJiveIM. From Monday, March 2 until Sunday, March 8th you can purchase BeeJiveIM in the app store for the low price of $9.99, which is down from $15.99. Not a shabby deal, grab this one before the sale ends! You won’t regret it.

Next we have a app we featured in a Quick App a while back, Resco Bubbles. You can now get Resco Bubbles for only $.99. This game is pretty addicting, well worth a buck!

This next app is in direct competition with another app from the previous Apps for Less. i Fishing is now on sale until March 4th. You can catch yourself this fine fishing app for only $.99! That’s $2 off the regular price.

Last but not least, we have one for the kids today. Whack It: For Kids is now 50% off and is available for the low price of $.99. This sale will run for only 3 weeks so be sure to get in on the sale. Your kids will appreciate it.

As always, if your application is going on sale or you’ve just dropped your price, be sure to let us know and we may include it in the next Apps for Less!

Over the past two weeks, the App Store has seen its fair share of good quality games creating some waves among gamers, Aqua Moto Racing (iTunes link) being one of these games.

Aqua Moto Racing offers racing with an unprecedented sense of speed on the platform. With state of the art handling and graphics this game truly puts your Jet Ski riding skills to the ultimate test. Race in the beautifully rendered American locations; Emerald Bay, Everglades and Long Beach Port. Start off with participating in a Championship for beginners. Perform stunts and keep a tight line around the buoys to power your boost. Collect medals in the Time Trial mode by beating set target times. Register a profile and compare your race results with friends all over the world. Race against Aqua Moto Racing Lite World Records through Ghost Play.

I know most of you are probably thinking we have more than enough less than stellar racing games available in the App Store. Hopefully Aqua Moto Racing is a good sign of things to come. Where most of the other racing games have failed, this gem of a game succeeds. With good graphics, great control, virtually no slow down, no crashing, etc… This game is a keeper for $2.99.

Seems Emoji aren’t the only thing being scrubbed from the App Store today! MacRumors is reporting that old reviews made my users who hadn’t actually downloaded the app they were reviewing are also being removed. Apple stopped non-users from reviewing apps a while back, this is just retroactively applying the new policy to the old reviews:

Several long standing apps have seen dramatic decreases in their review counts. SEGA’s Super Monkey Ball count dropped from 4197 reviews down to 3710 while Namco’s Pac Man dropped from 395 to 122.

Most everyone involved, from developers tired of no-good-nicks trying to game the system, to users tired of sorting through gamed or off-topic reviews, will likely appreciate this move. Maybe this is one rejection Apple’s done right?

UPDATED: Developer NiceMac provided an update in the comments:

The app was not rejected, however it could not be approved at this time.

It does no good to send hate mail to or bash Apple or any other involved parties. In fact, it could damage relationships required to get this product to market.

Instead, we encourage positive emails and messages of support to all those involved.

ORIGINAL: Lately I have been the bearer of bad news. First it was Apple rejecting the official South Park application and now they’re breaking our hearts once more and waving bye bye to Howard Stern and Sirius XM by rejecting the uSirius StarPlayr application that we previously told you was due to be in the App Store in a few short weeks. Yes this is a very sad day, as I am a huge Howard Stern fan like many of you.

“As of yesterday, the uSirius StarPlayr Application for iPhone still had a status of “In Review” with Apple. Late last night, we became aware that the application could not be approved at this time. As fans, we are committed to continuing to work with all parties involved as necessary in any capacity required to see this product to market. It is our goal, as it has always been, to release this application at as low of a price point as possible, if not free of charge.”

With no real reason given why this application was rejected, we must sadly move on. You really have to wonder what exactly made Apple reject this application. Surely it was not Sirius XM as Howard himself loved the idea and was ready to pick up an iPhone just for this application.

Apple, why did you reject this one? This was an application that I been patiently waiting for… oh so much. This news will surely disappoint Howard and many of the other Sirius XM iPhone owners out there.

Hopefully, we will see this application available on Cydia or the App Store sooner rather than later.

[Thanks to Darren for the tip!]

You can’t use an iTunes gift certificate to buy applications on the Canadian App Store. I’ve experienced this myself, but never really looked into it before now. But it’s true. There’s even a thread about it on Apple’s Discussion Board.

Highlights include the difference in iTunes App Store Terms of Service between the US:

“10. PAYMENT METHODS. The Service accepts credit cards, payment through your PayPal account, and iTunes Cards, iTunes Store Gift Certificates, and Allowance Account balances as forms of payment.”

And Canada:

“10. PAYMENT METHODS. The Service accepts credit cards as the form of payment.”

Further down, we get what’s purported to be a response from Apple on the issue, which includes:

Due to tax laws and commerce restrictions for software in Canada, customers residing in Canada may only purchase games and applications using a credit card.

So, not only do we get hosed on data rates, don’t have access to US TV networks on iTunes (nor Hulu, etc.), not only do we have to pay more to “upgrade” music to iTunes Plus, but if by some miracle some kindly soul gives us an iTunes Gift Certificate, we can’t even use it on apps? Second class North Americans much?

(Yeah, okay, fine: #firstworldproblem)

Anyone have any deeper insight into these tax and commerce laws/restrictions of which they spake?

(Thanks to @deabush for pointing the ToS out to us as well!)

Apple decides which apps get approved for the iPhone/iPod touch App Store, provides little to no transparency on the process, prevents certain things like turn-by-turn GPS outright in the SDK agreement, and — though they’ve yet to use them — maintains black lists for GPS and malware that could remove any LocationServices or entire applications from iPhones everywhere. For this, and more, Apple has earned quite a bit of criticism — and rightly so in many cases.

What if Apple went further, however. They sell officially unlocked iPhones in several regions, like Hong Kong. They also have a program that grants developers tethering abilities for testing. What if, one day, people with unlocked or developer iPhones woke up to find the Paid section of the App Store gone. What would the community reaction be? What should it be?

Google, whose “don’t be evil” motto has been downgraded by management in recent years, is lauded for the openness of their Android Market (even though they’re known to have a kill switch of their ownl — to do otherwise would be irresponsible), yet our friends over at Android Central woke to find themselves in just such a situation this week. Paid apps. Gone.

We’re told it’s because of piracy concerns, that Google thinks developer units of the G1 make it easier for people to steal paid apps. Jeffdc5 on Twitter let us know developer G1 handsets could store apps on the SD memory card in addition to the on-device memory of the regular units, which could make them more pirate-able. However, we’ve seen that the iPhone — with no external memory — can have apps pirated as well, so is that readon enough? It smacks of the same “treat your customers as thieves” thinking that created DRM music, Microsoft Genuine Advantage, Sony rootkits, and Adobe invading our boot sectors…

Apple has already removed DRM from iTunes music, and has now removed product keys from boxed versions of iLife 09 and iWork 09 as well. It seems to be working out none too badly for them.

Openness is definitely A Good Thing. Maybe trust in your user base should be as well?

Do you ever do any price comparison in the grocery store? Gallons vs. liters? Ounces vs. milligrams? Fifty feet of Scotch tape vs. 15 meters? What’s the best deal? Apples2Oranges is a $2.99 app from Ilium Software and can be downloaded to your iPhone from the App Store. It employs a simple touch interface where you can compare two kinds of modes: Ingredients Mode and Price Mode. Ingredients Mode lets you compare nutritional content for food you are eating or buying. Price Mode lets you compare two products side-by-side for the best price considering different measurements for volume, length, or area.

Just enter the numerical amount of the item on the left side of the “size” window, then select the type of measurement you are comparing in the right side of the “size” window, then press “compare” for the “price.” Or, if in Ingredient Mode, you can compare different measurements and even calories. This can be a very handy app if you are trying to save money at the store or trying to watch your calorie intake. Take a look in the App Store and get it if you like what you see.  

Our public frenemy number 1, CrackBerry Kevin, tipped us to RIM revealing details of their latest “innovation”, the BlackBerry App Store (and no, we’re not jaded that the company that once said touchscreens were a non-starter is now high-five’ing themselves silly over winning the self-awarded “breakthrough” prize for the Storm’s SurePress at Mobile World Congress — iSigh).

Them new CrackBerry App Store details? (And no, we’re not going to call it the CrApp Store, thanks you very much!) No themes allowed, which are apparently quite popular (not that we non-Jailbroken iPhone owners have any idea what they are, right Apple?). WebApps will be showcased alongside native apps, which is interesting given how WebApps on the iPhone have languished in terms of the Apple spotlight since the iPhone App Store launched.

Unlike Apple’s free SDK or $99 registered SDK with tethering, RIM will charge devs $200 per 10 apps submitted to the store. How the effects free apps (or rejected/re-submitted apps?) is unknown. Like the iPhone App Store, support will be the responsibility of the developer, which some hope will encourage more stable code (and not just less supportive developers).

Also important to remember in all this, however, is that while an iPhone can hold up to almost 16GB of Apps, BlackBerry’s are severely limited — only onboard app storage can be used, after the OS takes its share. We’re talking a 30-100MB at most (and single iPhone Apps can be bigger than that).

So what do we think? Dieter wanted Apple to copy-back the Ovi Store’s recommendation engine. Anything Apple should copy-back from RIM? WebApp category?

We mentioned this thought in passing alongside Dieter’s report on the Nokia App Ovi Store, which he says has far, far better discoverability than the iTunes App Store:

What Nokia has done is build a sophisticated relevancy engine that can sort apps based on a variety of factors that are actually relevant to you — like what you friends are using, or what kind of app you like to download, or what music you tend to prefer. It looks to be much better than your standard “top 50″ list

What if Apple merely took their own, existing discoverability process — Genius Recommendations, which debuted in iTunes 8 and iPhone OS 2.1 — and extended it to include Apps?

Sure, the automagical playlist generation part of Genius wouldn’t be necessary, but the part of Genius that scans your collection, anonymously uploads its metadata to the cloud, and then compares it with everyone else in the massive ecosystem in order to crowd source recommendations… that could help discoverability immensely. It could give us great apps that go great together, in Apple-speak.

Of course, Apple also has to crack down on short-sighted developers trying to game the search results, but Genius recommendations could go a long way towards cutting through the glut that 20,000+ apps brings with it. What think you?

If you haven’t heard, Apple’s a no-show here at Mobile World Congress 2009, this show pretty much belongs to Microsoft, HTC, and Nokia (with a side of Samsung and Sony Ericsson). However, as with other trade shows like CES and CTIA, Apple’s presence is felt in its absence. Rather than join their brethren in the mobile community, Apple sits it out and watches while other companies are forced to make their announcements in a context Apple has created. To wit: Both Microsoft and Nokia announced App Stores this week. Microsoft’s Market is basically a no-show, though, all we have is promises. Nokia’s isn’t ready yet either, but it will be in May.

Actually, we know quite a bit about Nokia’s App Store, called the Ovi Store. It’s an extension (and replacement) of their earlier services and includes everything from apps to ringtones to wallpapers to widgets. Here’s the thing, folks: Nokia may have solved the #1 problem at Apple’s App Store: finding apps that are 1. good and 2. interest you.

What Nokia has done is build a sophisticated relevancy engine that can sort apps based on a variety of factors that are actually relevant to you — like what you friends are using, or what kind of app you like to download, or what music you tend to prefer. It looks to be much better than your standard “top 50″ list and if Apple is smart and shameless (we know they’re both), they’ll steal these features as soon as humanly possible.

The Ovi Store also looks to be a little kinder and gentler on developers too, giving them more power over how (and if!) their app will be distributed.

I’ve written the whole thing up over at sister-site Nokia Experts, go on and take a look.

[How about Apple needs to expand iTunes GENIUS recommendations to the App Store immediately? -- Rene]