Announced just today, and picked up first by Gizmodo, Apple will be relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps. Also in a very surprising move, the company at One Infinite Loop, CA has also published App Store Review Guidelines for developers.
iTunes App Store, which was launched back in 2008 with the introduction of iPhone 3G and iPhone software 2.0 (now iOS) has just passed a quarter million apps mark this Friday, with more than 50,000 developers working on them. As of the time of writing this article, the tally stands at 252,227 apps to date. This includes apps for all iOS based devices like iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. If inactive apps are to be counted, then the number of apps go way above 300,000. The Graph below shows the rapid rate at which the App Store is growing.
Whoa! Apple has just opened up a new featured section in the App Store which is titled as “Try Before You Buy”. As the name suggests, this new section features all the lite and free version of popular apps in the App Store. If anything, Apple must have taken this initiative in a bid to fight against the ever growing number of pirated apps which are easily available on jailbroken iPhones, iPod touches and iPads.
While there are many third-party iPhone App Stores like Cydia around, the problem with them is that they all require jailbreaking of iPhone, which even though has gone 100 percent legal isn't something which every iPhone user will do. Comes in OpenAppMkt, a new web-based third-party app store for all iOS based devices which consists of apps, completely written in HTML format. OpenAppMkt runs in browser and installation of apps simply require a simple tap on: "add to home" button.
An independent Vietnamese iPhone developer by the name of “Thuat Nguyen” currently has 42 of the top 50 books in the iTunes App Store “Books Category”. Most of these books/apps were released back in April this year and have little to no user ratings at all. Well then how are they dominating this iTunes category? It has been reported that a large number of iTunes accounts have been hacked, with as many as $600 dollars being spent from a single account without the consent of the account holder to buy these apps – hence making it to the top of the charts.
This is big news for Hulu users! The future of television is here!! The official Hulu blog has confirmed the popular American TV service for the iPhone, iPad, Xbox LIVE and PlayStation 3 platforms. Dubbed as Hulu Plus, this premium service will offer more than what you’d expect from Hulu’s free service. It will feature entire season of shows which are otherwise available in limited quantities only on the free service, as well as other programs that are not available via Hulu on the web.
The long awaited Google Earth app for iPad has just gone live in the iTunes App Store. This is basically Google Earth 3.0 which comes as a universal binary to support both iPhone and iPad. The official description of the app is as follows.
After all the success of ReelDirector on iPhone 3GS, the app which was features as the best on Apple’s Rewind 2009 list has finally arrived on the iPad. ReelDirector makes it extremely simple to create, edit and share movie clips right on your iPhone and iPad. You can use the drag-and-drop timeline, multiple text watermark styles, and up to 28 pro grade transitions that will turn your scattered video clips into polished movies in just minutes.
Gaming on the iPad’s 9.7-inches display is an awesome experience all together! With the unique touch experience and great titles, we can easily say that iPhone/iPad/iPod touches have blown other portable gaming platforms like the PSP and Nintendo to bits. Here’s a list of board games which we believe are a must-have for every iPad owner.
Wi-Fi Sync is an upcoming app for the iPhone which lets you sync your iPhone or iPod touch (and possibly iPad too) with iTunes over a Wi-Fi network like Zune. The concept of the app is great! Check out the video after the break.
