Come WWDC in June, we’ll likely see OS X Lion changing status from preview to official public release. That makes May a good time to look at the April report on OS market share from web-analytics firm Net Applications for some perspective on Snow Leopard. Read more »
Think the mobile app economy is a passing fad? Not so, says ABI Research, as it expects 44 billion mobile app downloads by 2016. The trend towards task-based computing on the go is good for those already in the game, but a challenge to newcomers. Read more »
Freemium game apps have an outsized influence in the Apple App Store, making up 40 percent of all free game downloads in the App Store in March. But with the recent crackdown by Apple on incentivized installs, freemium app makers are having to adjust. Read more »
Our Choice, a new app penned by Al Gore and developed by Push Pop Press went live in the App Store Wednesday, bringing a unique take on the e-book experience to iOS. If this is what’s in store for the future of e-books, count me in. Read more »
TweetDeck Tuesday introduced a brand new, completely redesigned iPhone app that sports a completely new interface and additional features. The changes are good reason for Twitter power-users, who may have given the app a pass previously, to take a second look. Read more »
There are definitely some great tools for the iPad to help solidify your app concept from a more abstract point of view. Looking at the more tangible side of visual design, I’ve found the following tools available in the Mac App Store to be quite helpful. Read more »
The crowdsourced approach to weather reporting used by new iPhone app Weddar means you’ll have an impression of how weather on the ground actually feels, instead of just static numbers. Weddar co-founder Ricardo Fonseca thinks the human connection is what’s missing from the mobile weather game. Read more »
Wednesday I posted a video of Firemint’s Real Racing 2 HD doing double-duty on my iPad 2 and 40-inch LCD TV (included below). After playing the game, I pinged Firemint for some thoughts regarding the future of iOS gaming, and the results are exciting. Read more »
One of the biggest changes that came as a result of the introduction of the iPad and iPhone was in the way developers design and develop software. And this change appears to have a much farther reaching impact than you might have imagined. Read more »
Depending on where you live, you might be experiencing a slight hiccup on the way to spring. But a slight delay doesn’t mean it isn’t going to happen. And when it does, you’ll be ready to get back on your bike with these five great apps. Read more »
Apple appears to be changing up the criteria for how apps are ranked in the App Store, and seems to be blocking content that tries to “game” or artificially alter rankings. The changes will make the App Store a better place, especially for shoppers. Read more »
Apple isn’t just tweaking its App Store rankings to include more than download numbers and possibly lessen the impact of incentivized pay-per-install marketing campaigns. It’s actually banning apps that use pay-per-install, according to one of the leading providers, Tapjoy. Read more »
Apple is apparently also tweaking its App Store rankings to factor in more than pure download numbers, a welcome sign if true. It could be an attempt to mimic what Google’s done with the Android Market, which now appears to take into account engagement data. Read more »
As grilling season begins in the U.S., the mystery behind the “hottest” product at Macworld 2011 becomes much more pertinent: what is the iGrill and does it work? And more importantly, is it worth it? I put my culinary skills on the line to find out. Read more »
Apple’s iOS home screen may be simple and effective, but it doesn’t offer much in the way of dynamically updating content. Two new apps, Fahrenheit and Celsius, do the best with what Apple provides to offer live local temperature readings without ever opening an app. Read more »
Tweetbot is now slowly rolling out to international App Stores. It’s a new Twitter client from Tapbots, the makers of gorgeous and intuitive iOS apps like Pastebot and Calcbot, and if you’re wondering whether really need any new Twitter clients, Tweetbot provides a very good answer. Read more »
IPhone developers have a new tool to highlight their apps to a wider audience. Using a new product from Pieceable called Viewer, developers can publish their apps on the Web, allowing PC and Mac users to test out their apps without the need for an iPhone. Read more »
Anyone can have a good idea for a new app. For both developers and non-developers alike, the App Store has a selection of design tools for the iPad that each play a unique role in the process of evolving a good idea into a great one. Read more »
PopCap’s recently announced indie studio 4th & Battery was aiming for edgy with its slate of games. It appears it might have been too edgy for Apple’s tastes. The label’s first game, Unpleasant Horse, has been sent packing by Apple because of mature content. Read more »
Microsoft introduced its new dedicated Bing iPad search application Thursday, and my first impression is that it offers more useful features than Google’s iOS app in a better package. Yet while it may outclass the competition, I also doubt I’ll ever use it again. Read more »
A new app launching today provides a single-tap multi-target alert system for your iPhone or iPod touch. Guardly automatically alerts users of your choosing if you feel you’re in danger or want to quickly and easily alert authorities to your location and current situation. Read more »
Fotopedia released a new title Wednesday, Fotopedia Paris, taking users on a virtual tour of the City of Lights. The idea is that it’s a vacation on your iPhone or iPad, no passport required. Is the company on to something with the idea of travel-less trips? Read more »
Apple apparently rejected an app from a third-party developer that does pretty much the same thing the Ads Gallery app it released Tuesday does. Some are crying foul, but in many ways, Apple is very much in the right regarding its actions in this case. Read more »
iPhone photography app Camera+ recently crossed the 2 million copies sold mark. Developer taptaptap shared some info regarding the app’s success to date, and also provided us an inside look into how the studio minimizes its funding requirements while also maximizing its development investment. Read more »
Apple Tuesday released a new app called iAd Gallery that provides users with access to all currently available iAd campaigns in one convenient location. That’s right, it’s an app, which you have to download (though it is free), that does nothing but show you advertisements. Read more »
PopCap Games, the company that brought us mainstream successes like Bejeweled, wants to explore another side of gaming. To that end, on Tuesday, it announced the launch of 4th & Battery, a gaming sub-label with an indie feel and its first title set for release on iOS this month. Read more »
Groups are in when it comes to apps, and a new iPhone app aims to use groups to differentiate its note-taking capabilities. Rocketr is a simple, no-frills, cloud-synced note-taking web application which just got an official iPhone client, and it also has a seriously social side. Read more »
Recently the App Store has been in the news quite a bit for some controversial apps it accepted, and it seems a route savvy marketers can now use to skip traditional media and go straight for big exposure. But is it good for Apple? Read more »
In a lawsuit filed on March 18, Apple claims Amazon’s Appstore for Android, is nearly identical to the “App Store,” where Apple sells applications for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Apple is not only justified in going after Amazon, but it’s right to do so. Read more »
The latest report covering app store sales from research firm Distimo is out, and it offers revealing insights into the early success to the Mac App Store, and how that most recent extension of Apple’s digital software sales compares to the iPhone, iPad and competitor marketplaces. Read more »
The situation in Japan isn’t getting better, it’s getting worse. Luckily, the number of ways you can help is increasing, and some of those relief efforts are available quickly and easily through your Mac or iOS device, so failure to act isn’t an option. Read more »
The iPad 2 has arrived, but so far it’s only brought a few apps that really show what the new device can do. That means this is a great time for developers looking for some time in the spotlight to step up and take advantage. Read more »
In a quest for new content for my iPad 2, I came across Chicken Balls HD today. It’s a new physics-based puzzle game for the iPad (any generation) that combines elements of two successful iOS gaming predecessors in one fun (and frustrating) new package. Read more »
Apple had a tremendous opening weekend for the iPad 2, regardless of which analyst’s estimate you choose to believe, and that success could translate into another win in an upcoming battle for the company. I’m talking about the in-app purchasing showdown coming in June. Read more »
Now that you have an iPad 2, you can be excused for wanting to share it with (read: rub it in the face of) those that don’t. But how best to show off the iPad 2′s specific advantages, especially at this early stage in the game? Read more »
I used the weekend to do some analysis of the iPad 2′s performance. Geoffrey Goetz ran the iPad 2 through a series of performance measurement tools, but I took the old-fashioned approach to see how it measured up in terms of real world usage. Read more »
GigaOM recently sat down with ngmoco CEO and co-founder Neil Young to talk about the future of gaming and mobile apps. While he loves Apple’s platform, he’s not so keen on its own efforts to connect its gaming user community through Game Center. Read more »
Amid all the fanfare over the iPad 2, Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs boasted that the company has paid out $2 billion to developers for apps sold in the App Store. This comes just eight months after it announced developers had made $1 billion on downloads. Read more »
The Game Developer Conference (GDC) is on this week, and iOS gaming is a big part of it. Angry Birds developer Rovio is in attendance, and CEO Peter Vesterbacka took some time to sing the praises of iOS before discussing the future of the bird-flinging franchise. Read more »
According to a great blog post by taptaptap principal John Casasanta yesterday, advertising your iPhone or iPad application is useless. That begs the question, if you can’t sell apps by advertising them, then what exactly can you do to boost sales? Read more »
