350,000 of those are native iPad apps, Apple highlights, perhaps a small dig at Google which has struggled to see the same developer engagement in Android tablets. Yesterday, during the opening keynote to Google I/O, Google confirmed that over 48bn Android apps had been installed.

The 50-billionth iOS download itself was Say the Same Thing by developer Space Inch, Apple confirmed, downloaded by Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, Ohio.

The App Store has been a lucrative endeavor for not only Apple but developers as well. The company has supposedly paid out more than $9bn to coders over the past five years. The 50bn figure doesn’t include re-downloads or updates, only the first app install.

In the intervening period, the number of available apps a smartphone OS has to offer has become an important metric in the potential success of the platform. Microsoft, for instance, paid developers ahead of the launch of Windows Phone, to make sure certain key titles were available. However, more recently, the focus has turned in part to app discovery, with well-stocked download stores struggling to present good titles in an efficient way. That’s something iOS 7 is expected to address later on in 2013.

Apple has reportedly begun banning some app discovery tools and other applications if the apps feature “filtering, bookmarking, searching, or sharing recommendations.” One app developer says that his app discovery tool was blocked by Apple because of features that interfere with App Store regulation 2.25. That particular regulation has to do with restricting apps that could be confused by consumers as app stores.

Apple has apparently expanded the coverage of regulation 2.25 to ban sharing via e-mail or social networks. The ability to search the Apple App Stored using third-party applications is also reportedly blocked. The developer whose app has been blocked describes his application as being “primarily focused on sharing recommendations to your friends.”

The developer notes that he hasn’t seen this particular rejection notice before and believes it to be new. The dev also says that it was previously stated that developers who “bake in” social or local services into their apps would be fine. The developer believes that his app is either not social enough for Apple’s liking or Apple has changed its position. App Store regulation 2.25 reads, “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.”

[via Pocketgamer]

The user guide, called “Learn more about in-app purchases,” explains what in-app purchases are exactly, and how they work. Plus, it teaches users how to prevent their kids from gaining access to in-app purchases where they might spend a crazy amount of money on virtual goods otherwise.

While kids obviously don’t really know what in-app purchases are, a surprising number of parents are also ignorant on the subject, especially new owners of an iOS device. Of course, that’s not necessarily the parents’ fault, since Apple or other developers have never really explained what in-app purchases are in detail.

However, Apple’s new user guide aims to clear up any confusion on the subject, and it even teaches parents on how to add parental controls to various apps, including the ability to restrict kids from downloading additional content without the parents’ permission. We’re not sure how much of an effect this will have in the future, but at least the Cupertino-based company is doing their due diligence.

In addition to Apple, the website Shupeng and nine more were also told to remove content that the government had deemed obscene. Others suffered a worse fate, with 21 websites being completely shut down, with the final tally coming in at 175 more ordered to eradicate certain content. Apple hasn’t commented on the matter, and what content is slated for removal is said to point to apps for the iPad and iPhone.

Of course, this action is following what had been extensive complaints in Chinese media regarding the Cupertino company’s warranty and repair policies, which were said to be unfair and cause undue burden. Such complaints were enough to prompt an apology from Tim Cook himself, who said warranty and repair policies would be improved. He went on to give bullet points on what steps would be taken to rectify the issue.

This public apology and promise to form a solution caused a 360-degree turn in media, with Apple going from being vilified to being hailed as an example for other companies in America to follow. Even the nation’s Foreign Ministry jumped into the matter, being quoted as saying that it “approves of what Apple said,” referring to the apology. It said the statement “eased the situation, softening the tense relationship between Apple and the Chinese market.”

[via Bloomberg]

AppGratis was removed from the App Store on April 5th without a word of warning. At first, AppGratis CEO Simon Dawlat thought it may have just been an error, until Apple made an official statement saying AppGratis violated many of the App Store’s clauses. Over 12 million people use AppGratis, with over 300,000 new users joining the service every day (before it was removed). It generated $1 million of revenue each month.

France is also working with EU regulators to help support AppGratis. French Junior Minister Fleur Pellerin is asking EU regulators to increase regulation of internet companies against abusive actions. While the app may have been removed from the App Store, Dawlat assures the 12 million users still using the app that everything will continue as it always has. The app will continue to be updated with new, free apps as well as app discounts.

AppGratis is getting support from all around, but mainly, it wants the support of its users, because in the end, “it’s always the end user’s voice that matters most.” While a petition won’t guarantee that AppGratis will be restored to the App Store, it will be helpful in convincing Apple to reconsider its decisions and its guidelines. The petition also serves as a sort of reassurance to AppGratis. Dawlat says, “We needed a strong vote of confidence from our users to keep calm and carry on. And we got it.”

[via Pocket Gamer]

AppGratis is a massively popular network for iOS app discovery, providing a free paid app every day to its millions of users across the globe. According to reports, AppGratis is raking in approximately $1 million in revenue per month, and had secured over $13 million in funding a few months ago. Because of its popularity, the network can bring hundreds of thousands of downloads and new users to an app.

Such popularity didn’t spare it from Apple’s wrath, however. Speculation originally had it that Apple had pulled the app for violating a guideline about displaying other apps for promotion and purchase. It was revealed a couple days later that the primary reason was a tad different, instead concerning push notifications containing “advertising, promotions, or direct marketing.” In response, AppGratis’s CEO gave a lengthy response, stating that Apple is destroying value within its ecosystem.

Now France is getting involved, coming to AppGratis’ defense and saying that Apple’s removal was “extremely brutal and unilateral,” and that such a decision should not have been passed down for a company as large as AppGratis. Fleur Pellerin, a French junior minister, plans to ask the European Commission to improve regulation of Internet companies against abusive actions. Apple has a different story, however, telling Reuters that it had consulted with AppGratis about its issues, and that the company dismissed them.

[via Reuters]

In a lengthy blog post on the AppGratis website, CEO Simon Dawlat expressed his frustrations with Apple and the removal of the AppGratis app from the iTunes App Store, saying that he is “stunned that Apple took the decision to destroy so much value within their own ecosystem,” and goes as far as saying that the iTunes App Store is a “broken App Discovery world.”

Dawlat notes that the app has had run-ins with Apple’s guidelines in the past, but the two were able to solve all issues to keep the app in the iTunes App Store. However, Dawlat says that Apple pretty much “changed their minds overnight” and removed the app due to not following a couple of the app-submission guidelines.

However, Dawlat notes that the app’s current 12 million users have nothing to worry about, and the AppGratis service will still work as normal since all the features work off of the company’s own servers. Dawlat says that even though the iOS app is out of commission, “it’s business as usual” for the company, and AppGratis “will keep updating everyday with new free apps and cool discounts.”

The new design is more heavily image based than before, which means that content will feature bigger images that “jump off the page,” not only making it appealing to look at, but to also make it easier to spot the content you’re looking for. Themed items are also grouped together, such as magazines, books, apps, games, etc.

Recommended content is definitely not absent from the redesign. Google has made sure that you’ll always see recommended content on the home page. As you scroll down, new recommendations will continue to appear, since “there is always more to see and explore.” However, for someone like me who can’t be bothered with such content, it may only come as a distraction.

However, Google says they simplified the check-out process, making apps, games, books, movies, etc. much quicker and easier to purchase. Google says they want users to start enjoying their purchase as soon as possible, but we can’t ignore the fact that a quicker check-out process is a great way for buyers to think less about putting the item back on the shelf. Android users in the US should see the update at some point today, while international users will get the redesign in the coming weeks.

This marks the first time that Vine has hit the number one spot in the iTunes App Store, and frankly we’re surprised that it took this long, even despite app’s controversy. Vine’s co-founder and creative director, Rus Yusupov, tweeted the announcement today with a sort of wise-guy attitude, saying “Hey guys, remember that time we made the No. 1 most popular app in the world?”

The app’s controversy stems from an issue that saw adult content being posted on the service, without a 17+ age warning. Of course, this is against Apple’s terms of service for the iTunes App Store, so Vine was required to tack on an age warning. However, that didn’t stop Apple from removing the app from its list of Editor’s Choice apps for the week.

Vine is available for free on iOS devices, but it’s mysteriously missing on Android. While it’s been reported that the company was looking for Android developers, we have yet to hear anything about an Android version of the app making its way to Google Play, but it could be anytime soon, as an Android version would surely take off.

AppGratis was a very powerful service that could drive 500,000 downloads for a single app. 300,000 new users were using the app each day. It’s very similar to the Amazon App Store for Android, which also offers a free paid app each day. Apple hasn’t released a reason about why it pulled AppGratis from the App Store. There are many speculations as to why it was removed however.

The most logical reason that AppGratis was pulled from the App Store is due to Apple’s new rule in its iOS developer guidelines. The rule was implemented back in October, and it states that a developer’s apps cannot display other Apps that aren’t their own “for purchase or promotion in a manner similar to or confusing with the App Store”. Simon Dawlat, CEO of AppGratis, stated that Apple implemented that rule due to “low-quality copycats” of AppGratis who were spamming the App Store.

Siwat states that AppGratis is very different compared to those other low-grade app discovery networks, and that AppGratis “has always been about app curation at a very high level.” Siwat is working on bringing back AppGratis to the App Store. There could be other reasons that AppGratis was removed, such as its possible use of a private API, or some instability with a recent update. Other app discovery networks are still available in the App Store, so there’s still hope for AppGratis. We’re hoping that all it needs is a simple tweak in order to be re-accepted into the App Store.

[via TechCrunch]

The move could also be a response to the growing number of reports that young children keep accidentally purchasing in-app content without their parents’ permission. Either way, the new age rating system should help parents judge more accurately how appropriate a certain app is for their children, especially those who have a heavy finger for in-app purchases.

It’s not known how the age rating is calculated for each app. The developer of the app itself may choose the age that’s appropriate for the app, or Apple may also have a say as far as what age group is best suited for apps. Either way, this should eliminate any future controversies and debates over age-appropriate content for mobile apps.

If you remember, Vine was one of the biggest controversies we have seen a long time. Users kept complaining about the amount of adult content that was present on the app — something that anyone could access, even young children who get their hands on the app. However, Vine was updated to include a 17+ age warning to users who first download the app.

For those who don’t know, UDID stands for Unique Device IDentifiers, and is, as its name so eloquently suggests, a unique identifier for a specific Apple device, such as your iPhone or iPad. Users are able to access and view their own UDID via iTunes, but starting May 1, Apple will stop accepting and thusly fade out apps that can access the string of numbers and letters.

Instead, Apple has instructed developers to “update your apps and servers to associate users with the Vendor or Advertising identifiers introduced in iOS 6.” This is in addition to other requirements it has put in place for new app submissions, with applications that don’t meet the requirements being rejected.

Also starting on May 1, developers will need to make sure their apps support the company’s latest handset, the iPhone 5, as well as four-inch displays and iOS devices that have a Retina display. This goes for app updates as well, so developers with current apps that plan to roll out updates have a little over a month before the change goes into effect. Information about this can be found in Apple’s iOS Human Interface Guidelines, says the announcement.

[via 9to5 Mac]

What’s perhaps more impressive, however, is the fact that BlackBerry World gained 30,000 apps in just seven weeks, since the company reported back in January that they were at the 70,000-app mark. Of course, this isn’t too surprising, and frankly it’s quite expected, as BlackBerry has been offering incentives for developers who create apps for BlackBerry 10.

Plenty of popular apps are available from BlackBerry World, including Facebook, Foursquare, NOVA 3, and Angry Birds. Also, BlackBerry announced that Amazon’s Kindle app just launched today, and “in the coming weeks,” BlackBerry 10 users will be treated with even more apps, such as eBay, eMusic, MLB at Bat, Rdio, Skype, and Soundhound.

The BlackBerry Z10 will hit the US starting tomorrow on AT&T, while BlackBerry’s PlayBook tablet will receive an update to BlackBerry 10 sometime in the near future. 100,000 apps may not seem like a lot compared to Google’s or Apple’s own offerings, but it’s certainly a good start for such a new platform, and we expect BlackBerry World to keep growing over the next few years.

The attacks listed by Bursztein included: Password stealing, app swapping, app fake upgrades, prevention of app installations, and privacy leaks. In order for hackers to be able to use these attacks, all they had to do was be on the same unencrypted network as the iPhone/iPad they were targeting. Locations with unencrypted Wi-Fi includes locations like airports, coffee shops, and public libraries.

Three of the most detrimental attacks would be the password stealing attack, the app swapping attack, and the app fake upgrade attack. The first is the password stealing attack. It injects a javascript prompt to the victim’s iOS device that asks the user to input their password. The prompt is initiated when the user opens up the App Store. Unsuspecting users will be deceived by the geniune looking prompt and will have their inputted password sent straight to the hacker’s system.

The second is the app swapping attack. The hacker is able to swap the app the user is trying to download or purchase with an app of their own. While it looks like the app being downloaded is the one the user chose, once the download is finished, they will be greeted by the swapped app. The hacker could abuse this attack to generate money for themselves, or by causing the user to pay a lot of money on a very expensive app.

The final attack would be the fake app upgrade, which works similarly with the app swapping attack. The hacker will insert a fake upgrade into the user’s App Store that causes the user to install the app instead. Bursztein’s report provides a wake-up call to Apple and developers alike in the importance of security. It also helps raise user awareness to any potential cyber attacks to their devices. Having your password stolen, paying a fortune on a swapped app, or having your privacy leaked to a stalker is a nightmare for anyone.

[via Elie Bursztein]

Danny Kitchen wanted to play Zombies vs. Ninja on his parents’ iPad. The parents unlocked the iPad, saw that the game was free, and allowed their son to play. What they didn’t realize was that Danny could make in-app purchases in the game, and that’s exactly what he did. Danny’s parents were busy entertaining a group of guests, so they weren’t able to keep an eye on what their son was doing. Unfortunately for them, their oversight almost cost them 1,710.43 Pounds, or around $2570.

Danny made 12 purchases of 333 keys at 69.99 pounds each, 7 sets of 333 ecstasy bombs at 69.99 pounds each, 5 sets of 9000 darts at 69.99 pounds each, 5 sets of 4200 darts for 5.49 pounds each (why is this so much cheaper than the 9000?), and some more ecstasy bombs at 3.22 pounds each. The following Monday, Danny’s mother, Sharon Kitchen, received 19 e-mails from iTunes confirming Danny’s purchases. She disregarded it because she thought it was a mistake. It wasn’t until she received a call from her credit card company confirming these transactions with her.

Sharon told Danny to get ready for bed, and to “run and hide before daddy got home”, and Danny’s siblings hilariously tortured him even more by saying that their parents could have purchased a house with the money he spent. Apple has graciously refunded the Kitchens their money back. The Kitchens were upset and questioned why children were so easily able to spend a fortune on these in-app purchases.

An Apple spokesperson replied with a statement saying that there are parental controls in all iOS devices that can prevent these incidents from happening. They prevent internet access, age rated content, and “also give parents and guardians the option to turn off functionality such as purchasing from iTunes and the ability to turn off in-app purchases.” So parents, take advantage of those parental controls in order to prevent a case like this from happening to you.

[via The Telegraph]

Each of the ads, titled “Alive” and “Together”, go through various adjectives and show off an app that describes that specific adjective. Each of the adjectives are “randomly” selected from a fast randomizer of different words, similar to how you hit a question mark block in Mario Kart and it quickly cycles through items before it eventually lands on one.

It’s a slightly different vibe than what Apple has normally done in the past. We’re mostly used to cartoony piano music playing in the background while Jeff Daniels walks us through some of the cool features of a new iOS device, but this time around it’s a little more fast-paced, with a handful of neat apps being displayed.

We see quite a few apps actually, including GarageBand, iBooks, TED Talks, iMovie, Vimeo, iPhoto, and FaceTime. We’re also seeing both the iPad and iPad mini make appearances, letting users know that all of the 300,000 apps available for iPad, are compatible with both the full-size iPad and the smaller 7.9-inch iPad.

So why is the initiative called 100% Indie? It would appear that it’s because each developer that comes up to the plate here will have to be on their own – or at least not already part of the Samsung app store for Android. After that it’s all about profit sharing with Samsung while the real exchange comes in Samsung’s offering of promotional resources that these developers might otherwise never have had access to.

If you’re ready to take your game or otherwise fabulous app to the 100% Indie program, it’s worth noting that in the first 6 months the initiative runs, developers will get 100% of the revenue their software generates. That’s quite the mighty offer. Make sure you read the rules and regulations on if you’re able to put your app anywhere other than here if you’re going to do such a thing, of course.

After the first 6 months the 100% Indie promotion is up, new developers will be getting 80% revenue share, then after March of 2015 new developers will be getting a 70% profit share. At the moment it’s not entirely clear if a grandfathering effect will be taking place, so make sure you’re clear on how your profits will be shared from the very start – it never hurts to ask and ask again!

This initiative is similar to what we’ve seen coming from some notable processor creators such as NVIDIA and Qualcomm. Gaming with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Game Command hasn’t made it much further than what we saw back in January of 2012 [Pro Tip: Qualcomm has tipped a Snapdragon Game Studio as well as the ever-excellent "stay tuned" notification.] NVIDIA’s TegraZone continues to be a public force pushed with each new release of an NVIDIA Tegra-toting smartphone, tablet, or in-between. With NVIDIA the games are still hosted by the Google Play App Store while NVIDIA provides tools and resources to optimize said games for Tegra processors and make an effort to promote said games to the public – similar, but not the same.

So all ye developers – heed the call! One way or another you’re eventually going to succumb to the loving embrace of a gaming portal – resistance is futile!

This structure also works for the Mac App Store. If you head to http://appstore.com/mac/osxmountainlion/, you’ll be taken to the Mac App Store’s listing of OS X Mountain Lion, also launching the Mac App Store as the iTunes App Store links launch the iTunes app. This shortened link structure includes both names of apps and names of companies. You’ll be able to link to link in three different ways to two different kinds of final locations as follows:

http://appstore.com/companyname/

http://appstore.com/appname/

As the iOS Developer Library lets us know, each of these also works with the “mac” inserted to head to the Mac App Store instead of the iTunes App Store. The Mac App Store, for those of you that don’t know, is made for desktop apps rather than mobile apps – while your iPhone apps come from the iTunes App Store, your MacBook apps come from the Mac App Store.

http://appstore.com/mac/companyname/

http://appstore.com/mac/appname/

The way you’ll get the correct app or company name for this structure is to remove all whitespace, make sure all letters are lower-case, and make sure all copyright, trademark, and registered mark symbols are taken out. You’ll be replacing the ampersand with the word “and”, and all of the following punctuation must be removed: “!¡”#$%’()*+,\-./:;< =>¿?@[\]^_`{|}~”. You’ll need to replace all accented and “decorated” character with their most basic form (elemental character) while all other characters are left as is. So make your title as basic as possible and it should, by all means, link easily.

Above: Star Trek Into Darkness trailer displays first-ever appearance of an AppStore.com/ vanity url.

If you have trouble finding the correct structure for your app or company on either app store, be sure to let Apple know at http://developer.apple.com/bugreporter. There you’ll want to tell them the full current or desired URL you’re hoping to work with, the countries your app or company works in, and the iTunes-generated long URL you’ve been working with up until now (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app…). You can get this longer URL by right-clicking or control-clicking the little triangle next to the app’s price in your respective app store and selecting the “Copy Link” option.

Sound all good to you? Let us know if you’re pumped up about this simple yet powerful measure Apple is taking to keep links to their app stores clean and quick!

A document from Apple’s developer webpage was released last week talking about the new shorter URLs, but this is the first time we’ve seen it in action. Going to AppStore.com/StarTrekApp will take you to the app’s page in the app store, instead of using the longer URL form that involved a bunch of numbers that no one would be able to remember.

The vanity URLs will be able to allow developers to create shorter links for developer app pages, as well as landing pages for both iOS and Mac apps. These new URLs will no doubt increase the exposure that developers give their apps. In the past, promotors would simply display a banner or icon that said to look for the app in the App Store, but now they can add in a direct link, which will certainly increase the exposure of the app.

If you’re up for a little history lesson, the late Steve Jobs actually acquired the AppStore.com domain from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff as a personal gift in 2008 after the iTunes App Store was officially announced. And not like it’s a huge surprise or anything, but the Cupertino-based company and Amazon are currently in a legal battle over the “app store” name, in which the court ruled that it was a general term and was not to be trademarked.

[via CNET]

The nature of the Tumblr service – following multiple other users, who either post or reblog images, text, video, audio, and links – means that the sort of content you see depends largely on the sort of people you follow. However, there’s plenty of adult content to be found, something which may have prompted Tumblr to take a more cautious approach to its app rating.

Apple has had a crack-down on erotica-filled apps in recent weeks, first yanking apps by 500px from the App Store after they were found to contain x-rated material, and then triggering a flurry of activity over at Twitter-run Vine which inadvertently made a sexual image an “editor’s pick.” Twitter blamed human error for the mistake, though the Vine app [iTunes link] is still rated at 12+ in the App Store.

Tumblr is yet to comment publicly on the decision to reclassify the app’s age rating, but it’s worth noting that the Android counterpart to the iOS software is still considered “low maturity” in Google’s Play store. Whether Tumblr’s move will be sufficient to avoid Apple’s ire this time around remains to be seen.

[via CNET]

The updated version of the app is rated for users ages 17 and up, and it adds a “Report this photo” button to help filter out inappropriate content. However, the app still has a category for “Nude” photos for logged-in users, which is surprising since Apple seems to give it the all clear, despite the app still contains adult content, but we suppose the restrictions and the warnings were good enough for the Cupertino-based company.

The removal of 500px last week came right before a huge fiasco with Twitter’s new Vine app, which let’s users record six-second videos to post to their accounts. Vine has been having its own porn problem lately, and while it hasn’t been pulled from the iTunes App Store, it was removed from Apple’s “Editor Choice” category.

The updated 500px app also got a few improvements along with the changes to its content. The update fixes an issue that would automatically redirect a user after logging in, and it also addresses a problem that resulted in only partially downloaded photos. Users should be seeing the app back in the app store as we speak.

Twitter’s new video clip sharing service, Vine, is already prompting controversy with a proliferation of pornography, potentially putting the new social network at risk from more prurient app store masters. Launched last week as a way to easily create and share brief, looping video clips, Vine has unsurprisingly been quickly adopted by users distributing snippets of sex, either DIY or pieced together from commercial releases.

As with Twitter, Vine users can tag their clips with hashtags, and it doesn’t take much searching to find “#sex” and “#porn” well populated with the sort of content that wouldn’t be appropriate for younger Viners. Apple, for instance, rates the Vine app as suitable for those aged 12 or over, calling it out for infrequent or mild suggestive themes, nudity, or sexual content, though that description is at odds with the hardcore pornography readily available today.

In response, Twitter has said it has a two-stage complaints system which relies on users to initially report anything they deem inappropriate. Questionable content such as ”nudity, violence, or medical procedures” can be flagged within the app or on the website, the social company told Business Insider, at which point any future viewings will be preceded by a warning message.

However, that flag will also trigger a review by the Vine team itself, which will decide whether or not the content should be left in place or removed. Vine users can also have their accounts terminated, Twitter points out, if the material does not meet with the terms of service.

Whether the rise in adult material will force a more dramatic move by Apple remains to be seen. Only last week, iOS developer 500px saw its apps pulled from the App Store after the iPhone maker decided sexual content was too readily available.

Meanwhile, if you want to see the sort of content that’s being shared on Vine – and, as far as we can tell, without rogue genitalia – then Just Vined is gathering up recent clips in one big preview (that’s happily muted by default). There’s more on Vine in our full SlashGear 101.

Vine is a pretty straight-forward app, allowing mobile users to take a maximum six second video and share it easily with other users online and on social networks. Sources say that the app allows users to compile multiple short clips into a single video by activating when the screen is touched and stopping when it is released. Users can then essentially take individual snapshots and compile them into a video.

Twitter recently acquired the start-up, which had planned to launch Vine solely on iOS before the social network came into the picture. Things are going to continue on as they were originally planned, and according to the sources, the app will not be pushed to the public as Twitter’s video service, but rather just as a video service. That could change in the future, of course.

Vine does support publishing the video clips to Twitter, however, as the social network’s CEO demonstrated on his Twitter feed earlier to day with a six-second video tweet. For now, the Vine.co website reads “Coming soon.” Nothing official has come from Twitter or Vine in regards to when we’ll see the app, but all signs point to “soon.”

[via AllThingsD]

500px has rolled out a new update for the app to address the issue, which is awaiting Apple approval. The company’s COO Evgeny Tchebotarev stressed to TechCrunch that although nude images are allowed, pornographic photos are not. In addition to the iOS 500px app, the company’s ISO500 app was also pulled for the same reason.

As many have noted, 500px’s apps aren’t the only ones that facilitate locating nude images, so one must wonder what kind of precedence this sets for other apps. Will Apple be scrubbing from the App Store every app that allows its users to pull up photographs of people in various states of undress? If so, the likes of Tumblr and Flickr, to name a few, should be nervous.

Apple, however, had some harsher things to say about the app, claiming that pornographic images were, indeed, available. “The app was removed from the App Store for featuring pornographic images and material, a clear violation of our guidelines. We also received customer complaints about possible child pornography. We’ve asked the developer to put safeguards in place to prevent pornographic images and material in their app.”

[via TechCrunch]

The game is rather simple: gamers are presented with a virtual shooting range populated with targets of various sizes and shapes, as well as a firearm. Guns include handguns, rifles, assault rifles, and sniper rifles. The weapon is then fired at the virtual target by aiming, then tapping the screen. All things considered, there’s nothing particularly violent or otherwise disagreeable about the game.

Except, of course, that a school shooting just took place, the game was released on the shooting’s one month anniversary, and the nation has been engaged in heated debates over firearms lately. As such, and especially because one of the weapons available in-game is an assault rifle, critics feel the game is, at best, poorly timed, and at worst that it is a deliberate political jab. Because of this, a petition has surfaced over at Sign On requesting that Apple pull the app.

Says the petition, “Apple: The National Rifle Association’s new app “NRA: Practice Range” is an insult to the victims of gun violence, having been launched on the one month anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting. Out of respect for the victims and to signal Apple’s support for common sense measures to help end gun violence, we call on you to rescind your approval of this shameless new product.”

[via CNET]

This game takes on the greatest bits of the original Temple Run for mobile and increases its vitality with a whole new adventure with the same never-ending escape flavor. You’ve got the choice of several different characters with which you’ll be able to run, a variety of power-ups and bonuses you can earn or purchase with real cash, and of course a whole new set of levels to run through. The “monkey” that chases you here is more of an ape, crushing the little beasts from the original game with one foul swoop.

You’ll be utilizing left and right swipes across your screen to turn, up and down to jump or duck (and slide), and a bit of the ol’ tilting of your entire device to make sure you’re on the right side of the path (or lack thereof). The graphics on this game are noticeably more complex, everything is just a bit more beautiful, and it’s all ready for whatever iOS device you’ve got on hand, too, optimized for each screen and everything.

There’s an iPhone version (made for your iPod touch as well) and an iPad version, separate downloads, so make sure you get the right one when you hit the market. The only difference is the optimization for screen size – some ever-so-slight re-adjustments for user interface based on your display’s physical proportions. This app is free to play with a collection of in-game purchases you can choose to make or completely disregard – it’s up to you!

Make sure you hit the official Imangi Studios LLC link here to assure yourself you’re getting the right game in the end. The popularity of Temple Run (and now it’s second iteration) are plagued with their own popularity, with fakers coming in from all sides to send up false versions of their app to trick you and yours – stay safe!

ALSO NOTE: The Android version of this app will be released next week – Imangi studios has confirmed this with SlashGear and we must assume it to be true!

According to Bloomberg, representatives and lawyers from both companies will be required to meet on March 21 in order to attempt to reach a settlement. And while both sides could end up just going ’round and ’round, the judge has strictly enforced that “no participant in the settlement conference will be permitted to leave the settlement conference before it is concluded.”

Of course, it’s very likely that a settlement won’t be reached. Apple and Amazon have been battling over use of the “app store” term for almost two years now. Apple says that Amazon has inappropriately used its App Store name to promote the Amazon Appstore, and the Cupertino-based company says it’s their trademarked name, while Amazon argues that it’s a generic term.

Recently, however, the court dismissed Apple’s claim that Amazon’s use of the term was false advertising, but the larger infringement case is still set to occur later this year. So while Apple and Amazon will be forced to meet in a conference room to discuss their differences, we’re not sure how it will turn out exactly — stay tuned until late March when the two companies face one another.

[via Bloomberg]

There are legitimate reasons to change an app’s screenshot, of course, such as to reflect updates. Developers will be able to change their screenshots, but only after submitting a binary or update. This will help protect customers while making it easier for Apple to nuke fraudulent apps before someone falls victim.

The update Apple its Developer website reads thusly: “Beginning January 9, app screenshots will be locked in iTunes Connect once your app has been approved. New screenshots may be uploaded when you submit a binary for an update to an existing app or a new app.”

Some developers are likely to be annoyed by this hoop they have to jump through to make a legitimate change to their app screenshots. Submissions for screenshot changes will be subjected to approval because of the additional red tape. Still, if it helps limit the number of fake apps, both developers and customers will benefit from the change in the long run.

[via Mac Observer]

In fact, there are now over 775,000 titles available, with more than 300,000 of those being iPad-native. The App Store is available in 155 countries, and Apple has paid out over seven billion dollars to developers during its operation. The 40bn download figure excludes re-downloads of Apps, as well as updates.

“It has been an incredible year for the iOS developer community,” Eddy Cue, senior vice president of Internet Software and Services at Apple said of the news today. “Developers have made over seven billion dollars on the App Store, and we continue to invest in providing them with the best ecosystem so they can create the most innovative apps in the world.”

Application availability has quickly become a key metric for smartphone and tablet platform performance, with any shortfall in title range often leaving an OS looking particularly unappealing in the marketplace. Microsoft, for instance, struggled to gain traction with Windows Phone developers, though has improved in more recent months, while Android – although increasingly popular – still suffers from a lack of tablet-specific titles.

Combined scores for both implementation and innovation in this analysis showed Apple to be winning over the competition with 80.8 out of 100. Google’s score ended up being 72.2 and Microsoft ended up with a lovely 63.9, both of these also out of a max score of 100. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t Apple who won out when the scores were stacked up for innovation alone, with Microsoft scoring in at 77 out of 100 and Google coming in with 76, just the tiniest of points below the Windows Phone platform.

The innovation category for ABI Research works with what they say are the following five criteria: discovery, quality control, ease of use, “Breadth of Ecosystem”, and “Hosting and Deployment.” When they say Breadth of Ecosystem, they mean the availability of different kinds of media like apps, music, videos, and different kinds of apps, made for multiple screen sizes and even separate sections for phones and tablets. Hosting and Deployment for this study includes file-size limits as well as different methods for downloading media.

ABI researcher Aapo Markkanen made it clear this week that the study shows Microsoft doing well for their devices, but that it could all be for nothing if the Windows Phone platform doesn’t take off in a rather big way, rather soon: “Microsoft does seem to invest strongly in both personalized recommendation and editorial curation of apps. … [this approach] should favor developers with good products and little extra money to spare, over the ones that have mediocre products but big marketing budgets, [but this] won’t really matter if the devices powered by Windows Phone end up selling badly.”

[via ComputerWorld]

The claim being tossed here means also that Apple will have a hard time claiming that the name that they’ve legally created for themselves with the App Store will not be found infringed upon by anyone else using the name “Appstore”. Whether or not Amazon will go after any group using the name Appstore is another story entirely. U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton spoke up with the following statement:

“[I find] no support for the proposition that Amazon has expressly or impliedly communicated that its Appstore for Android possesses the characteristics and qualities that the public has come to expect from the Apple APP Store and/or Apple products.” – Hamilton

Soon after the initial legal suit was filed back in March of 2011, Apple sought out an injunction against Amazon’s Appstore offering, losing that injunction in the end. A successful injunction against Amazon in this case would have meant that the Amazon Appstore would have been legally obligated to shut down until the court case was over. It would appear that the judge made the decision both in the first place and here at the end of the trial that Amazon’s store does not and will not affect the Apple App Store the way Apple’s legal representation said it would.

Let us know what you think of the situation, and if you personally have ever mistaken the Amazon Appstore for the Apple App Store in the past. Make with the comments and let us know how you’re feeling about the result of this case!

[via Bloomberg]

Google Drive

Google Docs, the company’s own cloud-based office suite, was pretty rad, but they completely overhauled the service by renaming it Google Drive and turning it into a full-fledged cloud storage solution. They made it even better by introducing an iOS app that now features full editing capabilities, as well as the ability to make changes offline. It makes the service not only a top-notch cloud-based office suite, but also an awesome cloud storage service that’s capable of taking on Dropbox, SugarSync, and the rest of the cloud-storage gang.

Google Chrome

Chrome is an awesome browser for the desktop, but the company replicated the app and brought it to iOS over the summer. It includes most of the same great features as the desktop version, including the omnibar that allows for instant searches, pre-fetched pages, and swipe gestures to manage and close tabs. You can also sync bookmarks, history, open tabs, and even saved passwords for web pages across devices that also have Chrome running. Essentially, it’s a feature-packed app, and it’s even better when you already use Chrome on your desktop. Read our full review to learn more.

Clear

To-do list apps are a dime a dozen nowadays, with a only few that really stand out. Clear is just one of them. It has an insanely minimalist interface, and while there’s not much to look at (other than a to-do list), swipe, pull and pinch gestures are what make the app really shine. Tasks are arranged on top of one another and the more important task are toward the top in red, while low-priority tasks are given a cooler color the further down they are. There’s no buttons whatsoever — everything is done through gestures, and tasks are limited to 30 characters, forcing you to make your lists straightforward and to the point. Check out our full review of Clear to learn more about it.

iPhoto

If you use OS X, you most likely take advantage of iPhoto to organize and manage your photo collection. For iOS, though, there was really no good app that had the capabilities of iPhoto on the Mac — the built-in Photos app was the next best thing. However, Apple finally released iPhoto for iOS earlier in the year, and it allows you to browse, edit, and share photos on your mobile device, all from a good-looking and intuitive interface. There’s also a lot of quality effects and features that you can take advantage of right in the app, including adding captions for photo journals, adding vignettes, and use a variety of “brushes” to repair or adjust photos. Read our full review of the app to learn more.

Google Maps

If there was one app that felt like it was saving us from a sinking ship, it was Google Maps for iPhone. Many iOS 6 users who loathed Apple’s own maps offering looked to Google for a ring buoy to grab onto. Luckily the company delivered in only a few short months after the release of iOS 6, and while we didn’t have anything to complain about with either apps in our comparison, you can’t go wrong with Google’s extensive database and super-detailed maps. Check out our full review of Google Maps for iPhone to learn more.

Fantastical

Fantastical is probably one of the best calendar apps you can get for your Mac, and it just recently released on the iPhone. The mobile version is just as solid as the OS X version, and it features an intuitive interface, as well as incredibly fast natural language input. The app’s interface relies mostly on swipes. It starts off by giving you the day’s events, and swiping to the right will advance the calendar one day, while swiping down will give you a quick glance at the full month. Swiping down again will result in going back to the day view. And of course, it integrates with all sorts of different calendar services, like Google Calendar, iCal, and even Facebook.

YouTube

Just like with Google Maps, Apple ousted its built-in YouTube app in iOS 6. However, that didn’t stop Google from releasing a native YouTube app that turned out to be even better than Apple’s previous built-in offering. This time around, the app comes with voice search and a redesigned user interface that makes navigation way easier, as well as a slide-out sidebar that provides quick access to settings and playlists. Avid viral-video viewers can finally watch Gangnam Style just one more time while on the go.

Checkmark

There’s certainly nothing wrong with iOS’s default Reminders app, but why settle when you can get so much more? Checkmark offers location-based reminders that are far more easier to set up than Apple’s offering. In just three taps, you can create reminders that notify you when you get home, arrive at work, or pass by the grocery store. And just for good measure, Checkmark also includes normal reminders that will alert you of important tasks at a specified time.

Spotify for iPad

One of the best music-streaming services arrived on the iPad earlier this year, and it came with an interface that we fell in love with immediately. Spotify for iPad is only available to Premium subscribers, but users will certainly get their money’s worth. The app sports a “Now Playing” screen with huge cover art, and also features gapless playback and crossfading abilities. It also allows you to search for songs and playlists right from the main screen without having to tab around or even stop a song that’s currently playing. Check out our full review of the app to learn more.

Tweetbot for iPad

As with iOS 6’s Reminders app, the official Twitter app isn’t horrible, but Tweetbot offers a few more features and greatly takes advantage of swipe gestures. Essentially, Tweetbot does what any other Twitter client can do, but it does it extremely well. The apps includes quick access to all of your essential feeds, like replies, mentions, and favorites, and it offers quick customization options. However, one of the most-used features that users will enjoy is the ability to tap on a tweet and instantly have a selection of actions to choose from. Check out our review of Tweetbot for iPad to learn more about it.

The languages getting support with today’s update are Afrikaans, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Thai, and Turkish. That’s certainly a long list, so a lot of Instagram users should have translation support for their language moving forward.

To make the deal even sweeter, Instagram has added a new “Mayfair” filter, which adds a “warm pink tone, subtle vignetting that brightens the center of the photograph, and a thin black border,” to your pictures. Instagram says this is best used when you’re taking photographs in well-lit areas, and that it works particularly well with the Lux feature. With the iOS update, Instagram will now automatically detect Facebook integration with iOS 6, which means that creating a new account or linking your existing one to Facebook will be much quicker.

On the other hand, the Android app will now allow Facebook page moderators to connect and share directly to a brand page. It sounds like a nifty little update for both Android and iOS users, and you can grab version 3.4.1 from the App Store now [download link] or version 3.4 from the Google Play Store [download link]. That is, you can grab them if you haven’t already decided to ditch your Instagram account.

[via Android Community]

The makers of the POP charger are now being forced to refund Kickstarter pledges after they failed to secure the rights to use Apple’s Lightning cable, and Adobe has acquired Behance to improve its Creative Cloud offerings. We heard today that HTC might have suspended a number of smartphone orders for 2013, while the BlackBerry Z10 smartphone was leaked with a couple of different color combinations. Speaking of BlackBerry, RIM released its Q3 2013 earnings today, showing a slight profit gain but also some subscriber loss.

The Steam holiday sale kicked off today, so hopefully you have some money left in your bank account after all of your holiday shopping. GM is recalling more than 145,000 mid-sized trucks after a hood latch issue, and Facebook is testing a new feature that will let you send messages to strangers for a fee. Polaroid will be showing off a mirrorless Android camera at CES 2013, while the FTC clarified some of the amendments in its Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule today.

Amazon has ordered six original TV shows and will let viewers vote on the pilots, and Foxconn has purchased a 9% stake in GoPro for $200 million. Flipboard landed on Android tablets today, while Borderlands 2‘s next DLC was given a release date. Final Fantasy IV is now available on the iOS App Store, while the makers of the eagle-stealing-baby video that has been such a hit on YouTube revealed that it was a fake. Those who purchased a Windows 7 PC and now want to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro might need to supply their product key to do so, and finally tonight, we go hands-on with Rockmelt for iOS. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, we hope you enjoy the rest of your night folks!

Of course, if you want it, you’ll have to shell out some cash. Like many other Square Enix mobile games, this one demands a premium price – $15.99 to be exact. With this release, players will be getting the same revamped graphics that the DS version had, along with a few bonus features. The game is compatible with the iPhone 3GS and up, iPod Touch third through fifth generations, and the iPad. You’ll need to be running iOS 4.3 or later for this game to work, and many of you will be pleased to know that Final Fantasy IV has been optimized to run on the iPhone 5‘s screen.

It gets better though, as the trailer for Final Fantasy IV on iOS features a little teaser for Final Fantasy V at the end. This game is apparently coming to iOS soon, with Square Enix promising that more releases will follow. Perhaps it won’t be long before we see the likes of Final Fantasy VI and VII – two of the most-loved Final Fantasy games – available for iDevices? One can only hope.

Square Enix is also holding a sale on iOS and Android right this very minute, discounting a number of games across both platforms. Titles like Final Fantasy Tactics have seen their prices slashed over on the App Store, while Google Play is showing discounts on titles like Chrono Trigger and Chaos Rings. This is a good chance to stock up on Square Enix games if you’ve always thought that they’re too expensive, with the sales for both stores running into January. Are you going to pick up Final Fantasy IV now that it’s on the App Store?

It sounds like there will be a lot to do after this update lands, with Madfinger adding a number of new features in it. Perhaps most importantly, a new area called the North Pole Christmas Arena has joined the fray, inviting players to come in and see how many waves of enemies they can survive. Not enough Christmas for you? Would a new boss enemy named Zanta help with that at all?

Alongside the North Pole Christmas Arena and Zanta, Madfinger has also added a grenade launcher to the game, which doesn’t seem very festive but is awesome nonetheless. Players will have a selection of new story missions to look forward too, and finally, Madfinger is offering special promotional prices on weapons. Of course, this update doesn’t just feature new stuff, as the update also tweaks the mini-mortar to make it “more deadly,” makes a few memory optimizations, and fixes a number of unnamed bugs.

The Merry Christmas update is available now on the iOS App Store [download link], but it doesn’t appear to be live on the Google Play Store just yet. Dead Trigger received an influx of players when it went free-to-play earlier this year, and has enjoyed success ever since. Are you still playing Dead Trigger?

The digital gifts can be sent to multiple people at once, saving time. Giving an app is about as simple as can be hoped for: simply choose “Gift” from the app’s information card and choose the recipient(s). If a date isn’t selected, the app will be fired off right away. Gifts can be scheduled as early as three months in advance.

According to the Wall Street Journal, users cannot give app gifts from a mobile device running iOS 6, although the feature is available with iOS 5. Those running iOS 6 devices will have to do their app gifting via iTunes using their computer. This is a tad inconvenient, but not terribly so, considering that you still don’t have to trudge out into the cold.

Of course, you can also nab an iTunes Gift Card if you’re not sure what app your recipient wants. For those on your shopping list who use Android, Google doesn’t offer an app gifting feature, but users can buy a Google Play Gift Card of up to $50 and give that instead. Not quite as awesome as having specific apps sent to your friends’ phones on Christmas, but still nice.

[via Apple Insider]

“The reason is that a mapping app is not a regular app with displays and images. It’s like a game, its OpenGSL” Daniel Graf, director of Google Maps for mobile said of the development. “There’s a huge team here. We worked on it for quite a while. In terms of timing, there wasn’t any plan, to wait a bit. We wanted to get it ready, the team worked day and night and we want to give our users the best experience possible.”

That could well explain why there’s currently only an iPhone-optimized version, not one for iPad. At the moment, open up Google Maps for iOS on an iPad or iPad mini, and you’ll have to cope with a pixel-doubled version at best.

The urgency to get the software out of the door, even given its completely changed UI and feature-set, may well explain that partial release. Apple’s annual shut-down of app approval over the holidays could also be a contributing factor; by pushing Google Maps out now, the development team still has some time to respond to bug reports and feature requests.

Judging by the download response, however, even the first iteration of the app has found an eager audience. The fact that Apple won’t allow it to be set as the default may prove frustrating, however; even with Google’s new SDK, and functionality which allows developers to set addresses to open in Google Maps rather than Apple Maps, it means preloaded titles like Safari on the iPhone will always default to Apple’s own mapping offering.

[via TNW; via TechCrunch]

With this release, Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition is now on PC and iPad, two of the four platforms Beamdog has announced for the game. It was scheduled to launch on Mac OS X alongside the iPad version, but last we heard, the OS X version was still in Apple’s certification process. The game will also be coming to Android tablets (including the Nexus 7) at a later, yet-unannounced date.

Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition is actually $10 cheaper on iPad than it is on PC, but that’s because two of the three added characters have become in-app purchases for the iPad release. Looking at the game’s App Store listing, those characters cost $2.99 each, so it seems like you’ll still come out paying less if you buy the iPad version and all of the in-app purchases. Cross-platform play is coming to the iPad version eventually, which means you’ll be able to play multiplayer games with those playing on PC, Mac, and Android.

For the moment, Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition is only compatible with iPads that have been updated to iOS 6. Trent Oster tweeted today that the team still needs to work on the iOS 5.1 version for the original iPad, but that the game will be updated when that’s finished. For everyone else with an iPad running iOS 6, you can snag Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition from the App Store right now for $9.99 [download link].

This online store will eventually allow you to download content to your Sony account, this connecting with your PlayStation as well as your PlayStation Vita and your Sony Tablets running Android. What’s happening right this minute is that the company is going through sort of a live test-run with limited content to make sure everything is up-to-spec for a more vast release. It’s not that you’re not going to get the content you purchase now, it’s just that you might not have the full store experience.

In the near future you’ll be able to easily purchase content from the web-based store and have it sent to your devices one-by-one. This is a method that the Google Play store uses for your many connected Android devices and relatively similar to what iTunes does with purchases through their app as well – everyone is owned by you through your account, not just on your device.

According to a comment made by official PlayStation Blog SCEE Blog Manager Fred Dutton, the store is set to be launched in a larger way soon:

“Regarding [the lack of a major announcement] – we are testing a new web store, which we look forward to announcing and launching to the PlayStation/Sony community shortly.” – Dutton

Have a peek at the timeline below to get more info on recent events surrounding the PlayStation Store and device connected to it, and get pumped up about a wider release as soon as this afternoon!

[via EuroGamer]