Apps

MacRumors posts that Apple is getting rid of boxed software in its stores this morning.

Based on what we’ve heard, however, Apple is planning on making the move to all digital sooner than expected at their retail stores. Apple is working towards eliminating boxed software and presumably focusing sales through the Mac App Store.
Apple’s recent plans to start offering Personal Setup for Mac seems to be in line with that goal.

They quote this line from a previous 9to5mac post:

When you purchase a Mac at an Apple Retail store an employee will help you setup your e-mail accounts, walk you through the Mac App Store, setup an iTunes account for you, and show you the basic pointers of owning a Mac. Some stores will even have dedicated Mac setup stations.

Sure, you may ask about software that can’t be put in the App Store.  Like Apple’s OSes for instance.  Or Hard Drive utilities.  Or Creative Suite.  Or any software that doesn’t fit in the App Store for one reason or another.

That’s a good question because those products are on Apple’s store shelves now and there doesn’t appear to be a quick replacement.  Perhaps we’re seeing a move to USB software installers (Which still need a physical container).  With 8GB USB sticks at around $10, it may make more sense to install off of USB rather than DL-DVD, especially for the expensive stuff.  Apple included an 8GB USB software reinstall stick with its Air for instance.

Either way, with USB installers or without, the change may also signal a move away from optical in Apple products….  
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Apple has been updating their iOS stores with new features lately and today, Apple has added the neat ‘Genius’ recommendations function to the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch version of the iTunes Store. The iPhone/iPod touch version gets its own tab with the default placement being in the ‘more’ section, and the iPad version can be accessed by a new button in the ‘music’ iTunes Store tab. Let us know if you find this helpful in the mobile experience. (via TUAW)

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Apple has updated the iPad’s App Store to include a new search filter feature. The new feature allows you to filter application searches by category, release date, customer ratings, price, and by device’s that support each respective application. It doesn’t look like the iPhone has received the feature yet, and due to screen size, it might never.

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Mac Stories reports that developers can now create promo codes for their Mac App Store applications. You can redeem these codes through the redeem tab on the Mac App Store.

You can now generate promo codes for your Mac apps in iTunes Connect. These promo codes can be redeemed in any Mac App Store worldwide. For each version of your app, you can request up to 50 promo codes.

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Apple has just updated their iTunes terms and conditions to reflect their new “In-App-Subscriptions” service. As just announced by Apple executive Eddy Cue, this will tie in directly with the Daily. No word yet if this will be a third-party API available to all developers. Apple just said in the Q/A session that an announcement will be coming soon regarding the API for all publishers.

Thanks, Chris

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Google has introduced Google Shopper for iPhone, making the free App available for download via Apple’s App Store.

The App is a shopping assistant for iPhone. It makes it easy for you to:
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TechCrunch reports on the eve of News Corp’s. The Daily launch that arch rival NYTimes is also releasing an iPad only daily news app called…wait for it…News.me.

..and it sounds pretty interesting:

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Here’s scary if you are a Kindle user…Apple just clarified yesterday’s NYTimes piece in a way that most users weren’t anticipating.  The NYTimes said that Apple rejected the Sony Reader because it tried to skirt the in app purchases (which Kindle also does by making purchases online).  Well, that wasn’t the whole picture. The problem was that Sony didn’t ALSO offer in app purchases.  Apple said:

Apple’s made no change to its App Store Guidlines, it’s simply enforcing a rule that’s been in them all along: apps that offer purchases elsewhere must support in-app purchases as well. “We have not changed our developer terms or guidelines,” company spokesperson Trudy Miller told me. “We are now requiring that if an app offers customers the ability to purchase books outside of the app, that the same option is also available to customers from within the app with in-app purchase.”

That means Amazon will have to offer their books via in-app purchases as well as online…which means Apple takes 30% of sales.  Yikes, that sounds like something they might not be willing to do.  Hope Amazon’s been working on their web app.
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Mobile device users are acquiring ever more discretion about the Apps they use, with 26 percent of Apps only ever getting used once after being downloaded.

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According to the NYTimes, Apple has rejected Sony’s ‘Sony Reader’ ebook app for inclusion in the iOS App Store. Sony Reader is similar to Apple’s own iBooks and Amazon Kindle apps in that it would allow users to purchase and read books in the app (though Kindle does this through the web). Apple says they rejected the application because they are not allowing developers to sell content within their applications, without going through the App Store’s actual in-app-purchase feature.

This recent change could signal the launch of Apple’s rumored app subscription service. There is no word on whether or not Apple will begin removing applications such as the Amazon Kindle app, but if they did, there would most likely be an extreme backlash from successful developers like Amazon.

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If you can’t build an ecosystem, then buy one — that at least looks like the deal as it seems Google’s hiring in Android developers in its attempt to put apps up for sale in its Market; in related news Android tablets have grabbed a slice of the iPad market even while Android has become the world’s leading smartphone maker, according to Canalsys.
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrVgvTgyUs8&w=560&h=340]

Chpwn has posted a video of his latest jailbreak-only app, VoiceActivator. VoiceActivator picks up where the native iOS Voice Control leaves off, and adds system-wide, customizable commands. VoiceActivator lets you open webpages, launch applications, and other actions like taking screen shots. The video above gives you a good look at what you can expect from the tweak launching next week. Chpwn hasn’t said anything about pricing at this point, but we speculate it will either be cheap, if not free.

In case you are not familier, the built-in iOS voice control application lets you dial phone numbers, initiate FaceTime calls, ask for the time, and of course control your music playback. VoiceActivator is an idea that Apple should incorporate in future versions of iOS. The tweak, itself, is somewhat similar to Android’s voice control features and this is something Apple has been exploring for some time. We may even see this functionality, along with new interface gestures, in iOS 5. An enhanced voice control and new gestures might even be the way of getting rid of the home button. (via Chpwn)

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Every since Apple started allowing third-party companies to release applications to make iOS apps, Adobe has continued development of their ‘Packager for iPhone’ application. As Adobe says, the application “was created to enable Flash developers to quickly and easily deliver applications for iOS devices.”

Now, Macotakara reports that Adobe will be issuing an update to the software so it can create iPad apps. The update will also allow flash developers to implement gestures like pinching in their apps.

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[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/19163938 w=650&h=400]

iPhone Demo from Fire Department on Vimeo.

Here’s an interesting app being put out by the San Ramon Fire Department. It basically let’s you log into their 911 system and help out if an emergency is happening in your neck of the woods. Time is critical and if your neighbor is going into cardiac arrest, and you are feeling up to it, you may be able to help out.

The obvious downside is that if 30 people show up to an emergency, the professional EMTs are going to have some issues getting through all of the mess.

What if: only people trained to help could sign into the system and they’d only be alerted (push notifications?) when the emergency was within a mile radius of the user’s location? That might make a great crowdsourcing app that could save some lives.

Who’s getting on that one?
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AllthingsD talked to Microsoft reps about bringing Office to the Mac App Store.

“It’s something we are looking at,” Microsoft’s Amanda Lefebvre told Mobilized. However, the company said its product is already available in lots of places as well as via the Web–including in a new, free 30-day trial version.

Of course they are looking at it.  They are also “looking at” bringing Office to the iPhone circa 2009.
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Apple’s “hobby” is less of a hobby these days, with in excess of one million sales the Apple TV is now accounting for more Netflix viewing hours than the iPad, Netflix announced this week.

That’s noteworthy because while Apple has sold millions of iPads it has only shifted a million Netflix-happy Apple TVs, and with a substantial slice of those sold outside of the US of A, you can bet your dollar this represents tacit proof that people are making active use of the Apple TV.
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB6K14ZaWvM&w=640&h=385]

Wow. Of all the jailbreak-only tweaks we’ve seen, this is definitely one of the coolest. A hacker has figured out a way to provide you with a 3D-like representation of your iOS homescreen app icons. The best part is that the tweak is doesn’t require 3D glasses. It’s called 3DBoard and it will soon be available for your jailbroken iOS 4 device via Cydia. (via Gizmodo and Mac Stories)

Update: Now available in the Big Boss repo in Cydia — $2.99.

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COMPUTERWORLD: Apps sales are exploding while the distinction between mobile and desktop Apps will shrink when Apple gives Lion a healthy iOS habit. Developers are on a gravy train, even teenagers are making cash using skills many don’t have time to learn. “If only getting started in App development were as simple as making a WordPress Website,” some might cry. Cry no more. Red Foundry promises to make it so.

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Proving good products do their own marketing Apple’s taken a giant thumbs-up from its growing enterprise market with no less than Deutsche Bank declaring there’s “no going back” to BlackBerry after an “overwhelmingly positive” iPhone trial.

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Hey you know we’ve noted that AirPlay’s gonna be a pretty big business, particularly when those AirPlay-enabled televisions no one has announced yet actually arrive (and everyone pays for the license to AAPL)? Well, here come the iOS 4.3 video-savvy Apps, waving out the door even as the iDevices head for their own upgrade.
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COMPUTERWORLD: Apple is already placing orders for components and final manufacturing for its forthcoming NFC-savvy iPad 2.0 and iPhone 5 devices, bringing new manufacturers into the supply line and plotting for March and June ship dates (respectively) for the two devices, the latest reports suggest.

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