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App-discovery service AppGratis pulled from Apple Store
AppGratis is an app that gives users a way to discover exciting new apps and get free apps every day. According to its developers, the app has over 10 million users worldwide. Sadly, AppGratis was pulled from the App Store for -- according to AllThingsD -- violating not only Apple's iOS developer guidelines Clause 2.25, but another guideline as well. Back in October, Apple added Clause 2.25 to the iOS developer guidelines stating that "Apps that display Apps other than your own for purchase or promotion in a manner similar to or confusing with the App Store will be rejected." In other words, the guidelines now prohibit exactly what AppGratis does. Developer Mahmoud Hafez, who runs the AppAdvice.com website and produces the similar Apps Gone Free app, told TUAW that he didn't think it was just Clause 2.25 that was the cause of AppGratis being pulled. Hafez explains that "Apple is not against these services and they do not inherently violate the developer agreement." Hafez provided some reasons why he thinks the removal was for reasons other than Clause 2.25: 1) App Gratis launched in the US after this clause existed. In fact, the iPad app debuted just last week. All these apps were approved, meaning Apple was okay with what they were doing even as of just a few days ago. The latest update that was submitted was their iPad app debut last week and it was approved. 2) Apple actually just added a new framework for developers to let users buy other people's apps from the App Store within the developers own app in iOS 6. Meaning they have a set way for others to promote apps other than their own. 3) There are many other apps that give users recommendations on other apps. In fact, Onavo recently discussed the entire industry of free app-finding apps and revealed several important players. Aside from App Gratis, all the other apps still remain in the App Store: http://www.insidemobileapps.com/2013/03/14/onavo-looks-at-the-market-share-for-app-discovery-apps/ AllThingsD reports that it was also Clause 5.6 that tripped up the app. That clause states that "Apps cannot use Push Notifications to send advertising, promotions or direct marketing of any kind." Apple is apparently looking at other apps like this to see if they violate the developer guidelines as well.
Shazam violates Developer Agreement, blames Jeff Rock
Jeff Rock happened to notice a push notification on his iPhone after installing Shazam. He checked it and it turned out to be an advertisement that had popped up. Since it didn't seem like expected behavior (push notification of an advert?), Jeff tweeted the Shazam folks to ask about it. Instead of a) Apologizing and trying to sort it out, b) Taking him seriously and helping troubleshoot, or c) Ignoring him entirely, they chose d) Tell Jeff it was clearly his fault. Not so fast there, Shazam...missing the point he was trying to make, they told him that he must have turned notification on himself and needed to turn them off. Let me just point out that his complaint was not that he received A notification, it was that he received an AD as a notification. Telling them so got him the reply that he had clearly opted-in to notification at some point. Jeff, trying to be more clear, quoted back chapter and verse from the iOS Program Standard Agreement that this particular "feature" was violating. This got a different response at least; now they say they'll "look into it". For Jeff in particular, I can see how this would be extra frustrating. He's a developer himself, co-founder of Mobelux who built the app that is now the official iOS Tumblr client. It seems the number of "Can you believe I got rejected for that!?" incidents is in decline, but with the number of apps that still get rejected for small reasons, it is odd this particular violation happened to make it through the approval process.
Skyfire disappears from iTunes App Store due to technical difficulties (update: 'sold out')
Trying to get a copy of the Skyfire browser for your iOS device? You may not have much luck, as the pseudo-Flash-capable browser has just disappeared from iTunes App Stores around the globe, mere hours after its splashy debut. When we try to download it for ourselves in the United States we get the message immediately above, and RazorianFly readers are chiming in with reports that the app is no longer available in Greece, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Norway, Spain and the UK. We just pinged Skyfire for comment and they say it's not Apple's fault; demand for a Flash video workaround is apparently so high that the company's having server issues and decided to pull the app rather than introduce new users to a sub-par experience. Skyfire assures us that it's adding servers as quickly as it can, but didn't provide an ETA on when we might see the app once more. Update: While we're not sure how an digital app can be "sold out," that's exactly what the company says happened to its $2.99 browser today -- after quickly becoming the top grossing app in the iTunes App Store, Skyfire is "temporarily not accepting new purchases" and says it will issue Facebook and Twitter status updates when the next batch of licenses is available. In other words, Skyfire's throttling the flow of purchases from now on. PR after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
As Apple relaxes App Store rules, C64 emulator for iOS gets BASIC again
If you weren't already convinced that Apple is seriously easing back on some of its more annoying App Store restrictions with the appearance of titles like GV Voice (a Google Voice client), this news might help. After a wild ride of ping-pong approvals and pulls, Manomio's C64 emulator has reappeared in the Store with its BASIC interpreter fully intact, and available for your coding pleasure. We've tested the software and can confirm that you will indeed be able to revisit your youth (provided your youth took place in the early 80's) via the newest version of the software. Of course, it's not super fun to program using the tiny, virtual C64 keyboard provided onscreen, but couple this with a Bluetooth keyboard of your choosing, and you can pretty much go wild. The emulator is available right this moment for $4.99, and obviously it's a free upgrade for those who've already bought in.
iPhone users may soon be putting on their Google Goggles
If iPhone owners are sometimes susceptible to a wee bit of Android envy, one reason might be Google Goggles. If you're not familiar with the Android app, Google Goggles uses pictures from your mobile phone to search the Web. Point your phone's camera at a Russian restaurant menu, and it is translated for you. Take aim at a landmark, and find out about the history of the place. Take a photo of a book cover, and you'll get a summary of the contents, bookstores that carry the title, and pricing. Or there's always the feature shown above -- the Nearby Places Overlay -- where you pan your phone's camera on a street and see labels describing every business. According to The Register, iPhone users won't have to wait very long to put on their Google Goggles. Google Staff Engineer David Petrou, speaking at the Hot Chips conference at Stanford University on Monday, mentioned in passing that the app could be released for iPhone by the end of 2010. That, of course, assumes that the app makes it through Apple's approval process -- that's never a sure thing, as the Google Voice team could share with their colleagues. [via CNET Web Crawler]
iWiz dev does good, becomes Apple App Store director
To be perfectly honest, we can't believe the above image is running on Engadget either. But with all the ongoing hoopla surrounding the App Store approval process, we'd be remiss if we didn't hep you to recently reported news that Phillip Shoemaker, director of applications technology at Apple, seems to have a healthy sideline developing iOS software with names like iWiz and, ahem, Animal Farts. We'll let you hit the store yourself if you want to learn more about these fine products (search for his company, Gray Noodle). For Apple's part, the company states that the apps were submitted and approved before Shoemaker got the job -- and that, indeed, he was hired in part because of his experience as a developer. Now, if we could only get that Pocket Pain Doctor guy a real job. He looks like he could use one! Update: We also thought we'd mention that, although Apple stated that the apps were submitted and approved before dude got the job, Shoemaker Tweeted that he had his new employee orientation on March 9, 2009 -- and that Gray Noodle was still publishing apps a month later. What does this mean, exactly? We're not sure (and we're not sure we care), but we figured we'd throw it out there nonetheless. [Thanks, Rohit]
Wi-Fi Sync: wirelessly sync the iPhone with iTunes... in your dreams (video)
Hey iPhone, welcome to 2007. Following Opera's script in building grassroots hysteria to goad Apple into approving a contentious app, developer Greg Hughes is teasing a video of his Wi-Fi Sync app to the peoples of planet internet. As the name implies, the app promises a complete sync of your iPhone or iPod touch with iTunes without having to tether and looks pretty straightforward (and occasionally useful) based on the video demonstration found after the break. Greg says he'll be submitting it to Apple for approval at the end of the week -- good luck with that Greg, we hope to be seeing you on Cydia at the very least.
First look: free WunderMap weather app for iPad
I've always been a bit of a sucker for the Weather Underground "Who Is Hot?" and Wunder Radio iPhone apps, as well as their website, so I was anxiously awaiting word of when they'd announce something for the iPad. I didn't have to wait long, as the company has announced that their free WunderMap has been approved by Apple and will be available soon. According to a company spokesman, they also submitted a version of WunderRadio for iPad that was rejected by Apple -- it ran on the iPad simulator, but not on the actual device. They've resubmitted, and we can only hope that that great radio app receives approval before Saturday. What is WunderMap? It's an amazing interactive weather map that uses Weather Underground's 16,000+ weather stations as well as radar and satellite layers to bring you weather information in a totally new way. You can start by looking at current conditions at any of the Weather Underground sites, with information including temperature, dew point, humidity, precipitation, wind speed, wind direction, and barometric pressure. Or course, most people want to know what the weather is going to be like in the future, so WunderMap provides 4-day forecasts for the center location in the current view of the map.
Opera Mini for iPhone submitted to Apple for approval (video)
Can you feel the tension? Opera is now in the throes of the App Store approval process. The wait is on to see if Apple will loosen its grip and approve the fast (very fast) Opera Mini browser for iPhone app that we checked out at MWC. Remember, Opera Mini relies on Opera's servers to render and compress pages before sending them back to the iPhone for display. As such, there's no code interpretation being done by the software -- a definite no no for approval. So the only thing that could cause Apple to reject the app would be a perceived duplication of core iPhone functionality even though it already approved several WebKit-based browsers. Whatever happens, this is going to be good. Update: Opera just threw up a counter tracking how long the approval process has taken. You know, 'cause everyone likes to be backed into a corner. Makes you wonder if Opera is serious about this or just doing it for the publicity -- one of several angles we mulled earlier.
Apple creating "explicit" category for App Store
After all of the kerfuffle earlier this week about Apple shutting down racy apps in the App Store, it appears that the company might be creating a special place for all of that suggestive and sexy content. We received a tip and a screenshot (seen above) from a developer who pointed out the new "Explicit" category in the tool used to submit apps into the store. While TUAW has not yet been able to confirm this, The new category could be the first sign that Apple may provide enhanced parental controls or even a separate "adult" App Store. This would not only maintain the revenue stream from these apps for both Apple and the developers, but would stifle comments that Apple is being too strict with providers of adult content. We will update this story as it develops. Update: The new category is corroborated by Cult of Mac and MacRumors as well. Update #2: Cult of Mac reports the category appears to have gone missing, although we've heard that when it was available earlier choosing the category wouldn't stick -- so perhaps we're seeing some iPhone OS 4 action here? Update #3: We have independently confirmed that the Explicit category isn't showing up in iTunes Connect any more, as has The Register.
Opera Mini on iPhone is fast, but why?
We came, we saw, and we're still scratching our heads over what Opera is up to with its Mobile World Congress demonstration of its Opera Mini browser running on the iPhone 3GS. But before we get into that, let's talk performance: it's fast. Opera Mini is very, very fast on the iPhone. Loading the New York Times, for example, was about 5x faster than loading the same page in the iPhone 3GS' stock browser. Pages loaded smoothly and were interactive just as quickly as the content began to load -- not unlike the Safari browsing experience. From a functionality standpoint, Opera Mini operates exactly as it does on other, less-contentious platforms. So while double-tap to zoom is supported, pinch-to-zoom is not. The iPhone version does, however, remember the state of the browser when you exit Opera Mini. As such, you'll find your tabs and recent pages right where they were when you last used the app. The impressive performance gain has to do with how Opera Mini works. First, it's not doing any rendering of the pages or code processing locally. Web pages are processed by Opera's servers before sending just the results to the iPhone. Not only does this speed up the local processing but it also limits the amount of data sent -- a potential big money saver for people browsing while data roaming (like us in Barcelona) or for those without unlimited data plans. Unfortunately, Opera refused to let us or anyone photograph the app or take any video of it in action. We couldn't even photograph the Opera icon in the launch bar or the wallpaper adorned with the Opera logo. Why? It looks just like Opera Mini beta on any other device so it's not like we're exposing any competitive intelligence. And it's not like Opera would be violating any Apple NDA related to the SDK or the app approval process. Unfortunately, Opera was unable to give us a valid reason other than, "you just can't." So why is Opera making such a fuss about this before it has even submitted to Apple for approval? We have three theories that we discussed with Igor Netto, Senior Product Manager within Opera's Mobile group. Click through if you like conspiracies.
Apple's New Year's resolution? Get apps through approval faster
One of the biggest gripes we heard from iPhone developers during 2009 was that it took forever for their apps to make it through the iTunes App Store approval process. Often apps would be disapproved for seemingly illogical reasons after a long wait in the approval queue, and TUAW heard from more than one developer that had just given up. iTunes Connect, the portal through which iPhone developers submit apps and check sales, was down between December 23 - 28, 2009. Since that time, TUAW has received a number of positive emails from iPhone devs that indicate that Apple has resolved to quit holding up apps in 2010. How fast are some apps making it through the process? Take developer Aaron Douglas's free Migraine Diary [iTunes Link]; he submitted it on December 28th at 9 PM CT and received notice of the approval a 4 PM CT on the 31st of December -- that's less than three days. But that's downright slow compared to what Yuri, a developer at Atomic Cactus, experienced: I'm a developer behind Atomic Cactus, we have 3 games currently in the app store, and they all took approximately 2-3 weeks to get approved. Today at 4:00 am I submitted for approval our latest app, which isn't exactly a "fart app" (it's a pretty polished puzzle game with OpenFeint). As of 1:30 pm today, the app is in the app store. That's nine and a half hours, folks! This is a small sampling of the many emails we've received from developers since just after Christmas. Whether this is due to a New Year's resolution, competition from the Android platform, or a new back-end system for processing apps, it's a welcome change for iPhone developers and users alike.
iPhones rejoice as Ustream Live Broadcaster hits App Store, other smartphones wonder what all the ruckus is
When it comes to streaming live video from a smartphone, there's an app for that and there has been for a long, long time -- unless you're an iPhoner. With Qik for the iPhone a delayed broadcast was possible, but it took months for the thing to break out of its WiFi-only shackles. Now you, like Bill O'Reilly, can do it live courtesy of the Ustream's Live Broadcaster, newly available in the App Store. It's not the first to stream live video from Apple's handset, an app called Knocking gets that distinction after getting the nod last week, but it is the first to allow live broadcasting, it works over 3G, and it's available for free right now for iPhone 3G and 3GS models running OS 3.1 and above. So go ahead, start those cameras rolling and tell all your friends how great it is -- just don't be heartbroken if they're not all that impressed. P.S. It's worth noting that Ustream also works in local record mode thus turning the iPhone 3G into a video camera like its newer 3GS sibling. Videos (stuck at 320 x 240 pixels) can then be easily viewed in the Broadcaster app or uploaded to Ustream, YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter.
Schiller defends App Store approval process
Well here we go. Up until now, we've heard a lot from developers about how much of a mess the App Store's approval process is, from people who've been rejected outright to people who've been forced to resubmit to people who've just given up completely. But we haven't heard much from Apple, and now Phil Schiller has spoken with Business Week about what it is about the App Store's approval process that has devs pulling their hair out. The verdict? Schiller says the process is in place for a reason. About 90% of the apps submitted merely have bugs or technical issues, and he says for the most part that devs are happy to get that feedback (though TechCrunch doesn't buy that for one second). But the other 10% of the apps Apple denies are simply what they deem "inappropriate," which could be anything from problematic coding (code that steals passwords or other private information), or app content that doesn't belong on the store, from porn to apps that help break the law or steal in some way. Apple is also vicious about trademark defense -- Schiller says that "if you don't defend your trademarks, in the end you end up not owning them." That all sounds fine and dandy (ok, well, the "inappropriate" label is a little unclear -- that's broad enough that Apple could fit almost anything under that umbrella, which is a bit troubling), but what about all of those angry devs? Unfortunately, Schiller doesn't address at all the idea that Apple might someday allow devs to release apps that haven't been through their approval process, on the App Store or anywhere else. As far as Apple is concerned, it seems like they're keeping their grip on what gets released, and anyone who doesn't like it is welcome to go elsewhere. [via TheAppleBlog]
Facebook app developer rejects App Store, irony ensues
We always said that if Apple's arbitrary, inconsistent, and quite frankly baffling approval process didn't get straightened out soon, the defections were going to pick up pace -- and what do we have here? Joe Hewitt, the developer of the well-loved and highly regarded Facebook iPhone app, has flipped the script and rejected the App Store. And, as you'd expect, our man is not mincing his words, stating that his "decision to stop iPhone development has had everything to do with Apple's policies," and that he's "philosophically opposed to the existence of their review process." While Hewitt can't comment on specific future projects (he's still at Facebook, but the app itself has been handed off to another developer) he has mentioned that he'll be devoting his time to web development for mobile devices. As you know, there is no approval process for the world wide web (which is apparent if you've spent any time on Geocities back in the day). Way to give 'em hell, Joe! [Via TUAW]
Apple rejects Macworld iPhone Superguide from App Store... for using the word 'iPhone'
The iPhone App Store's arbitrary and inconsistent approval process continues to baffle and annoy on every level, as Macworld Editor-in-Chief Jason Snell just had his iPhone book rejected... for using the word "iPhone" in the title. Apparently Apple doesn't like app names or icons to include the word iPhone or images of the iPhone -- which arguably makes sense on some level -- but you'd think a freaking iPhone reference manual would warrant an exception, wouldn't you? Making matters worse, it appears that one Mr. David Pogue didn't have this problem, as his iPhone: The Missing Manual was approved with title and icon intact. Sigh. Phil Schiller -- deploy!
Rejected, 'politically charged' iSinglePayer app gets the green light
True to form, Apple has rethought its strategy on an App Store rejection, and has granted the "politically charged" iSinglePayer rights to terrorize potential buyers with its alarming messages. If you'll recall, the application tackles the hot-button healthcare issue in America by offering spending advice for consumers and a GPS lookup for local Congress members' and their healthcare-related donations. As we mentioned in our original post, it's a pretty tame set of functionality, and certainly nothing that seems outwardly offensive (at least not any more offensive than lots of apps you can purchase). Just as with our previous complaints about Apple's way of doing business, it's not so much the rejections that bother us, but the unclear set of circumstances by which the company arrives at those decisions. Regardless, some firebrand app reviewer has seen fit to allow this townhall-rattling piece of software into the Store, so now you can go see what all the fuss was about for yourself. [Via Daring Fireball]
First Palm App Catalog rejection: NaNplayer
Palm's App Catalog isn't exactly bursting with titles yet, but that isn't stopping the company from rejecting apps -- and the dubious honor of First App Rejected goes to NaNplayer, a music player app. Apparently NaNPlayer made use of an undocumented webOS API call, so it makes sense that Palm wouldn't approve it, but there's a somewhat less-sensible flipside: it was using the same API the built-in music player uses to index files so it could make playlists. That's pretty basic functionality, so we're hoping this all gets resolved with a future webOS update -- and in the meantime, NaNplayer will be released to the burgeoning Pre homebrew community when it's complete.
Apple approves officially-licensed Commodore 64 emulator for iPhone
Well, it's almost certainly not a signal that Apple is opening the door to emulators of all sorts on the iPhone, but the newly (and finally) approved Commodore 64 emulator is still a fairly notable first for the platform -- representing not only the first officially-available emulator, but perhaps the first app that actually runs code (even if it is a couple of decades old). In this case, that first bit apparently wasn't too big a point of contention for Apple, considering that the app had all the necessary licensing rights lined up, but the second issue was, and ran right up against a clause in the iPhone 2.0 SDK that prevented apps from containing their own executable runtimes. As it happens, the key to bridging that divide around that was none other than iPhone 3.0, which contains a new feature for in-app purchases that the C64 emulator will take advantage of to let folks purchase additional games, rather than load arbitrary game code downloads. Interestingly, while this newly-approved version of the emulator also no longer exposes a BASIC interpreter, Manomio has added a note to the app that it "should be resolved in a future update," although it's not quite clear if that's just wishful thinking or not. In the meantime, you can grab the app right now with five bundled games for $4.99.
Stupid and unjustified App Store rejection letter of the day
TUAW has covered the fine iPhone apps from Tapbots more than once. ConvertBot is a beautifully-designed and functional app to do a myriad of unit conversion calculations, while WeightBot is my personal favorite app for keeping track of my incredible ballooning body.Tapbots posted an entry on their blog today stating that the most recent version of ConvertBot (1.4) had been rejected by Apple. What was Apple's reason for the rejection? As you can see in the graphic at the top of the page, the ConvertBot icon for time conversions looks very similar to the Phone app icon for recent calls. This is the same icon that has passed Apple's scrutiny in previous versions, so it is ridiculous for the company's eagle-eyed app inspectors to suddenly decide that the icon is unfit for iPhone consumption.Mark Jardine of Tapbots noted "So what's the plan? I need to redo the icon, I suppose. But Convertbot icons were meant to use as little lines/shapes as possible to identify the category. I feel that our current icon represents time as simply as possible. So how can we make Time different? What if it's set at 9 o'clock instead of 3? Is that acceptable? The big problem here is the only way I can get that answer is by making the change, resubmitting the app, and waiting another week or 2 for Apple's verdict."What gives, Apple? You release a couple of amazing apps to the world this week (Facebook, Spotify, TUAW, and Yelp), but you hold up the next release of an established app over an icon. I'm giving the App Store approval people the "idiots" tag on this post.
