That comes as little surprise, given the most commonly leaked details about the upcoming tablet refresh are around its display and GPU abilities. While the first two iPad generations used a 1024 x 768 resolution display, Apple is tipped to have doubled that for the new model. That should add up to smoother, Retina Display style graphics and more detailed video playback.

Meanwhile, the graphics chip inside the iPad 3 is also said to have seen a significant boost, with Apple expected to use the new tablet to launch the A6 processor. Conflicting rumors have tipped the A6 as both a dualcore and a quadcore CPU, however.

Those apps that make Apple’s grade for the iPad launch event are also being considered for the inevitable big-budget ad campaign for the slate. The first advert is likely to be shown at the launch event itself, followed up with TV spots highlighting the newer features.

One of the major investors in Path mister Michael Arrington earlier today suggested that the correct way to move forward after this PR debacle fell was to first off delete all the information Path had collected. Path had collected the contacts from every person they had open their app – just so you know. The note left by David Morin today puts it all in perspective and makes it clear that the creators of Path take the whole situation very seriously:

As our mission is to build the world’s first personal network, a trusted place for you to journal and share life with close friends and family, we take the storage and transmission of your personal information very, very seriously.

Through the feedback we’ve received from all of you, we now understand that the way we had designed our ‘Add Friends’ feature was wrong. We are deeply sorry if you were uncomfortable with how our application used your phone contacts.

As for how exactly they were wrong and how the app did really use your contacts, Morin made such things clear as well:

In the interest of complete transparency we want to clarify that the use of this information is limited to improving the quality of friend suggestions when you use the ‘Add Friends’ feature and to notify you when one of your contacts joins Path–nothing else. We always transmit this and any other information you share on Path to our servers over an encrypted connection. It is also stored securely on our servers using industry standard firewall technology.

And of course the most important part did come with the update, the assurance that all the data they’d already collected has been deleted – we hope!

We believe you should have control when it comes to sharing your personal information. We also believe that actions speak louder than words. So, as a clear signal of our commitment to your privacy, we’ve deleted the entire collection of user uploaded contact information from our servers. Your trust matters to us and we want you to feel completely in control of your information on Path.

The newest version of Path, version 2.0.6 released today, will have you prompt in and out of sharing your phones contacts with Path’s servers. The download is still free, and will still act the same outside this extra little prompt. All for your privacy!

[via Path]

It is California that leads the states with app-related jobs, it holding a whopping 25% of all App Economy jobs in the United States. New York is the top metropolitan area for app-related jobs, but the combined efforts of San Jose and San Francisco California trump New York in numbers. The study held no reservations about how burgeoning the market is in this sector, calling it nothing short of a phenomenon:

“The incredibly rapid rise of smartphones, tablets, and social media, and the applications — apps — that run on them, is perhaps the biggest economic and technological phenomenon today. Almost a million apps have been created for the iPhone, iPad and Android alone. On an economic level, each app represents jobs — for programmers, for user interface designers, for marketers, for managers, for support staff.” – TechNet

Rey Ramsey, president and chief executive of TechNet, decidedly pinned the success on how quickly these developers and the manufacturers behind the hardware they develop for can innovate. Hundreds of thousands of workers here in the United States work in the App Economy, and TechNet pins the start of this economy on the year Apple introduced the iPhone. The iTunes-based App Store now has over 500,000 applications for the iPhone and the iPad combined, and no small amount of workers in the App Economy work for iDevices completely exclusively.

Then there’s Facebook which the study noted contains at least 182,000 app related jobs. Another study done by University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business is noted as racking up as many as 235,644 jobs counted working in or around Facebook for the App Economy – these are “more aggressive estimates” of course. Let’s keep this crazy ship sailing forward! Jobs for everyone!

[via AFP]

You’ll find not only a full guide of the interior of the stadium, but a full guide to the city as well. Want to park your car and mark the GPS location? Go for it here! Want to find a place to eat, drink, and be merry? That’s here too. Plan your day before the game and after the game if you like, and find your seat when it’s time to sit! This app has been developed with the NFL to provide you a map not only from your car to the stadium, but from the stadium front door to your seat as well.

This app is good for everyone not actually attending the Super Bowl with all sorts of social feeds from Twitter and official NFL sites. In addition you’ll find that your vision will be increased should you like to tap into player info, trends in talks on any manner of topics surrounding the game, and more! This app is free for both iOS and Android, available now on the Android Market and in the iTunes App Store.

Note that we’ve had a little bit of trouble getting the app to work on some Android devices but have found no common factor in what makes the app unable to run. That said, both the iPad and the iPhone apps work great, and if you have the choice, this app looks best on a tablet. Get into it all right this second!

It’s not the first time Apple has looked to execs with gaming experience to head its various iOS teams. Last year, the company hired Robert Saunders, formerly the lead of Nintendo’s PR team, to work on iOS app promotion, simultaneously grabbing Activision PR chief Nick Grange for a role “focussed on iPad hardware” that many assumed would be game-control related.

More recently, Apple hired a new retail manager, John Browett, who had been CEO at European electronics retail chain Dixons.

Apple declined to comment on Burrowes joining the company, and it’s unclear if the games-focused exec will be tasked with pushing the App Store as a gaming platform. The company has long been expected to make further inroads into the traditional games market, timely given Sony and Nintendo‘s underwhelming sales performance in the segment in recent months.

That list only refers to apps that were available for the iPhone and iPad. The former search leader also took down a handful of apps for Android. It’s a quick glance at Yahoo’s previous “kitchen sink” strategy when it came to mobile apps, and it clearly did not work. In the rare chance you happened to download any of these apps already, it’s unclear if they will continue to work. The complete list of discontinued apps, which totals 10, is as follows:

• Yahoo! Meme (iPad and iPhone)
• Yahoo! Mim (iPad)
• Yahoo! Answers (Android)
• Yahoo! AppSpot (Android and iPhone)
• Yahoo! Deals (iPhone)
• Yahoo! Finance (BlackBerry)
• Yahoo! Movies (Android)
• Yahoo! News (Android)
• Yahoo! Shopping (iPhone)
• Yahoo! Sketch-a-Search (iPad and iPhone)

This trimming process comes as Yahoo is trying to rebrand its mobile image. Before the smartphone age really took off, Yahoo had really started to cement mobile as its new forte. But just like everything else in Yahoo’s history, it failed to keep up with the changing environment and now it barely has a voice in the Android and iPhone world. The company says to expect new mobile products in 2012, “especially in areas ripe for innovation that build on Yahoo!’s strengths, such as companion experiences for TV like IntoNow, new ways to experience personalized media like Livestand, and some of our most popular and useful mobile apps like Yahoo! Mail, Messenger, Sportacular and Flickr.”

[via Yahoo Search Blog]

Remember back when Apple first introduced the Apple TV, and the company said that it was designed to be a hobby device? Well, in 2010, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, after unveiling a new version of the device, said it was no longer a hobby. Now, though, it appears it is again, since Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook said earlier this week that the device is still — wait for it — a hobby.

I’m sure there are some out there that would disagree with Cook and say that the Apple TV is a full-featured device that shouldn’t be classified as a hobby. And I’m sure they might be able to make that argument quite effectively.

But I’m here to tell those folks, and all those that aren’t quite sure if the Apple TV is a hobby or not, that it is, in fact, a hobby.

Luckily, though, I have some solutions for addressing that problem.

First and foremost, Apple should stop playing the streaming-only game with the Apple TV. As much as Apple might not want to admit it, today’s consumers still need local storage. We want to be able to put movies on the device, access games, and have ready access to our content whenever the Internet is down in our homes. The Internet is great and all, but there’s still something to be said for offline access.

What’s more, Apple should be bringing App Store support to the device. Apps have become a key reason we buy iPhones and iPads, and to not have access to it on a device that connects to a television — a place many people are using sub-par applications right now — is a real issue.

That idea dovetails on my next point: if Apple wants to make the Apple TV a serious device, it’ll need to take down Google TV.

At the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month, a host of vendors showed off products featuring Google TV. The service will be bundled in televisions and other products, and most importantly, feature applications people want to use. Call me crazy, but I think Google TV might actually have a shot this year. And if it succeeds, Apple’s hobby will be pushed aside.

Finally, Apple needs to realize that gaming is an integral component in the success or failure of set-top boxes today. Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 are popular not only for their gaming, but for their additional content. Apple has all that additional content, but lacks the gaming.

Luckily for Apple, it wouldn’t necessarily need to go too far with bringing gaming to the Apple TV. I don’t think the mainstream consumer wants Modern Warfare 3-like graphics on an Apple TV, and would instead be content with playing the casual titles they already access on their iPhones and iPads. Even better, the iPhone and iPad could be used as a controller, which means Apple wouldn’t need to invest in additional accessories.

It’s about time Apple removes the Apple TV from the hobby box and brings it into the living room to be a serious competitor to all the other solutions out there. By doing so, Apple could go a long way in proving it has what it takes to be successful in yet another market.

The culprit is apparently the Au One Market, one of the increasing number of third-party app stores available for devices not eligible for Google’s own Android Market. This particular download store is a common preload on KDDI smartphones sold in Asia, with the most recent Au One update adding support for the push advertising.

The frustration for users, however, is that there’s no obvious way to turn the adverts off, nor indeed to uninstall the Au One Market baked into the ROM (or at least not without voiding the warranty). In fact, the opt-out is hidden in the EULA (End User License Agreement), a grayed-out link which is hardly the most obvious way to turn some very obvious promotions off.

It remains to be seen whether other developers and third-party app distributors follow Au One Market’s approach and try to get more intrusive with their promotions. Voting “with your feet” – by uninstalling such apps – is the usual way of reacting, but if carriers begin to include such functionality in their core ROMs then users may struggle to avoid them.

[via Android Community]

This application runs in a way very similar to Siri in its current form, allowing you to tap a microphone and speak on whatever comes to mind, it then deciphering what you want with its vast knowledge of the English language. While we’ve not done a massive amount of testing with the application at the moment, what we’ve seen thus far is very, very impressive. True Knowledge has licensed Nuance to bring forth not only an engine that can tell you where a local restaurant is — that being the most common thing to ask such an engine, of course — but questions on oddities as well.

It even knows such strange things as how much wood a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood – imagine that! What you’re getting here is another mobile application that tells you what you want to know when you ask it what you want to know. A simple concept, but one not easily executed to the level that we’re seeing here with Evi. It’ll cost you a buck, go get it now, it’s worth the dollar just to ask it questions like who drank your milkshake. [iTunes Link] or [Android Market Link] – the Android version is free!

[via TechCrunch]

The layout feels much like a paper planner, with individual courses represented iBooks-style and then opening up to a virtual spiral-bound book. We’ve seen textbooks before, though – from Apple today, in fact – but this goes several steps further, integrating with an educational to-do list for an e-course.

As you might expect, everything is tightly interlinked. Video content required for a certain lesson takes you not just to the clip itself, but the exact point referenced. That also gives Apple an opportunity to leverage the free iTunes U content into making schools and universities – along with itself – some money, linking purchases of apps and other textbooks in with one-click ease. All notes taken get pulled into the central iTunes U “My Notes” section, and clipping out portions – as well as changing color and the like – is tap-and-drag simple. iCloud is used to sync bookmarks and notes across multiple devices.

It’s potentially homeschoolers that could be the most impacted by iTunes U, especially when K-12 content begins to flood the app. All of a sudden, parents taking direct responsibility for their childrens’ education will have a full portfolio of lessons with which to work from. Even those in the traditional schooling system should find appeal here, though, with fewer of those “I don’t know how to help them learn” moments.

You can download the iTunes U app yourself from the App Store; let us know what you think in the comments!

Soul Calibur hit arcades way back in 1998, but it wasn’t until it hit the Sega Dreamcast as a must-have launch title that it gained serious recognition. The updated graphics, smooth animation and varied weapon-based fighting system made it  an instant classic, and despite the eventual demise of Sega’s little white console that couldn’t, it helped spawn a series that’s now working on its fifth entry. (Soul Calibur is itself a sequel to a Soul Edge/Soul Blade, from 1996.) The game was re-released on the Xbox Live Arcade back in 2008 to general applause.

The iOS version includes all the original fighters and stages, though at the moment multi-player is a no show. Namco-Bandai claims that the graphics have been updated to support the iPhone’s Retina display, but true Sega fans know that the original supported the Dreamcast VGA adapter, outputting to computer monitors at as much as 1600 x 1200 resolution. That being the case, we can expect a version for Android’s 720p phones and tablets any day now, right, Namco? Right, Namco? 

[via TechCrunch]

According to the writers, attempts to have Apple abide by Chinese laws for copyright certification have been rebuked, and some of the copied texts have been downloaded several million times. 37 works in particular are named in the case, with authors including Han Han, Li Chengpeng and Murong Xuecun, all well-known in China.

It’s not the first time Apple has faced controversy over its ebooks strategy. Late last year, the European Commission announced it was undertaking an investigation into allegations of potential antitrust behavior around ebooks, with Apple and publishers accused of price fixing and/or anti-competitive deals.

Although Apple will likely protest that it has procedures for copyright holders to complain about illegal uploads, the company may have to take a more proactive stance in future. Back in March 2011, the Chinese Baidu search engine was forced to carry out a search-and-destroy of illegal ebooks, amounting to around 2.8m entries in total. Apple is yet to comment publicly on the Chinese suit.

[via TNW]

Apple is taking it on the chin and refunding all the people that purchased the app and the app was quickly removed from the App Store. The people that downloaded the app at 99 cents will get refunds for sure; it’s not clear if the folks that then purchased in-app items that were non-existent also get refunds on those in-app purchases. Presumably, they would get in-app purchase refunds too.

I guess that a bunch of geeks just wanted to see what the app was and didn’t mind losing the dollar. An email was sent to the people that bought the app from Apple telling them the refund was coming. Some are wondering if this email is a hoax though since it has grammar errors in the message. It reads to me like someone that might not speak English natively wrote it.

[via Macrumors]

Android’s tally is impacted because ABI Research doesn’t take into account titles intended for smartphones. The research firm also takes the time to dole out a little criticism to tablet manufacturers. “Many Android tablets in the market are still using older versions of Android,” research associate Lim Shiyang highlights, ”which disadvantages users from enjoying the better effects of apps produced from more advanced software development kits.”

That may well change when Ice Cream Sandwich hits tablets in general, it’s suggested, with yearly downloads for Android smartphones reaching 58bn by 2016, more than double predictions for iPhone.

iPad owners, meanwhile, seem to have proved more voracious downloaders than their iPhone brethren, at least in terms of speed. It took around 18 months to pass the 3bn download point, whereas iPhone took around two years.

While it took Google longer to reach 200,000 active apps than Apple – 31 months versus 22 – the Android Market’s growth accelerated after that. It took the search giant just four more months to hit 300,000, and a further four to reach 400,000, whereas Apple took eight and seven months for each milestone respectively.

Back in October, Google was said to have had 500,000 app submissions, though only 315,000 actually sat in the Android Market itself. The total number is continuously being pared back as rogue apps, malware and copyright-infringing titles are removed.

Google has made efforts to change the apparent reluctance of users to buy paid apps in recent months, most notably with the Android Market 10 Billion Promo that ran in December. There, numerous titles were offered at just $0.10, in the hope of encouraging Android device owners to register a credit card and get into the habit of shelling out for software. As it stands, setup of an Android device does not require any payment details by default, whereas an iTunes account – needed for an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch – does.

Before October and November, the number of daily downloads of the top free apps had been declining. That decline was blamed on the anticipation of the iPhone 4S and the fact that new users weren’t purchasing the iPhone 4. Part of the big climb in downloads is also said to be thanks to iOS 5.

The updates for apps to run on iOS 5 prompted a lot of downloads. Compared to November of 2010, app downloads were up 83% for 2011. The downloads should keep growing as well with an estimated 30 million new iPhones come in online in Q4 2011.

[via Gigaom]

UZU

An app that’s been the #1 app in the App Store and was voted 2010′s Best Generative Art and Sound App, this magic creation machine never gets old. Touch your screen and let the magic flow, lines of color spinning and exploding in front of your eyes, all controlled by your fingertips. There are several versions of this app, free and pay, the one we’re most interested in is the plain ol’ Uzu. [Uzu on iTunes App Store] $1.99 USD

AC/DC Pinball

There are several pinball games available for the iPad made by the same group: Gameprom. This AC/DC pinball machine is hosted by a the same group that shows off SLAYER Pinball, an equally epic game, then the rest are hosted by Gameprom (shown in the iTunes App Store here). The AC/DC table is a great example of one that’ll instantly appeal to vast hoards of users because not only does it feature some excellent classic rock tunes, it’s one dern good pinball table as well. Gameprom is the current king of pinball in the mobile environment, no contest. [AC/DC Pinball on iTunes App Store] $2.99 USD

BONUS: Hands-on from launch day:

Soundrop

This absolutely impossibly simple application is so good, the developer was tapped to work with Bjork on her newest album because she wanted an app of her own. There’s nothing better for creating gravity-based beat music based on the dropping of digital balls and watching them bounce as they hit tune bars you place. Colors and sound assigning galore for one heck of a fun time for anyone and everyone. [Soundrop on iTunes App Store] FREE

Photo Transfer App

You can either go through the relatively laborious process of uploading all your photos taken with your iPad 2 to your computer with your cords and your apps and your waiting, you can connect both your iPad 2 and your computer to the same Wi-fi network and let it all work its magic with the amazingly simple titled “Photo Transfer App.” It has literally never failed to work for me and I use it all the time. [Photo Transfer App on iTunes App Store] $2.99 USD

Multiponk

In this game you’ve got a multi-player interface and high definition graphics combined with simple gameplay and a host of challenging computer opponents. Basically it’s PONG but with a slightly more 3D interface and it’s on the iPad. Because the iPad, like most tablets these days, has multi-point touch compatibility, you’ll be able to play with up to three friends in a four-way tournament, best bumper wins! [Multiponk on iTunes App Store] $4.99 USD

Asphalt 6 : Adrenaline HD

This is the greatest racing game to be released for the mobile platform thus far, no contest whatsoever. The only thing that comes close is Asphalt 5, and that’s not got nearly the fun we’re experiencing here. Race your favorite high-class car copied straight up from the real world, except for extraordinary details such as Adrenaline afterburners, and decide for yourself who will be your worthy opponent and who will be run off the road by your mighty hand. Crashing into your opponents encouraged! [Asphalt 6 : Adrenaline HD on iTunes App Store] $0.99 USD

SampleTank

When it’s time to get going with music making on the iPad, there’s nothing more diverse than SampleTank. And now that you’re fully functional on the iPad at full HD resolution, taps become hits on instruments of so many kinds your head will spin. Pull out the pads if you like patterns, key the keyboard if you’re an ivory superstar. Combine this with a variety of SampleTank associated hardware for a full concert-quality performance. [SampleTank on iTunes App Store] $19.99 USD

Google Currents

For reading blogs, there’s really nothing better than a brand new project created by Google and a host of partners that included SlashGear! Check in the Tech section for SlashGear sitting front and center, and be sure to search for Android Community while you’re at it – unless you’re a straight up Apple addict, of course, that’s your prerogative! [Google Currents on iTunes App Store] FREE

Shadowgun

There’s a third-person shooter adventure game on the mobile platform by the name of Shadowgun, and it’s the current benchmark in gameplay, controls, and graphics, to which all other similar games are compared. At the moment there’s no greater shooter game in the mobile world than Shadowgun, and it’s one whole heck of a lot of fun. Beware the zombie mutants around all corners. [Shadowgun on iTunes App Store] $2.99 USD

SlashGear

We’ve got our own app for the iPad and iPad 2 and yes, it does look and work pretty cool. You can get all your required reading in from an easy to navigate interface as well as check in on any new reviews we’ve done with futuristic projects from the gadgetsphere! Best of all, this whole situation is free of charge, of course! [SlashGear on iTunes App Store] FREE

We expect the latest mame app will be pulled very shortly, so if you are the retro gamer sort you might want to grab it while the grabbing is good. The app is called iMAME and for now, it is available. The app has a bunch of classic arcade games inside. I will admit that I have never heard of these games so classic might be a stretch.

The games include Circus, Side Track, and Hard Hat. Gottabemobile reports that you can load other game into the emulator, assuming you have the needed geek skills. The games are wrapped in a virtual arcade cabinet, which is quite irritating looking. Apparently, the virtual controls aren’t that great either. That said, it will work with the iCade cabinet if you have one, just like that Atari app.

[via Gottabemobile]

In fact, the Windows Phone Marketplace grew by 400-percent in 2011, as Microsoft ramped up its developer outreach and pushed the new platform. The Android Market remains the place for free apps, though freemium titles – where in-app purchases are used to make money off of a free download – now account for almost 50-percent of iPhone titles in the App Store.

iPhone app sales remain the biggest source of income from total revenue, including both one-off and in-app purchases, followed by those for the iPad. Distimo looks at iPhone and iPad performance separately, finding that iPhone app sales generate total revenues almost four times the revenue of the Android Market, and iPad app sales generate over twice those of Google’s store.

As for the most successful apps, Angry Birds took the top spot in Distimo’s findings, followed by Facebook and Skype. Google Maps took fifth spot, impressive since it’s only available to download on Android devices, though it does have an advantage what with being pushed on each handset and tablet.

The exact cause of the problem is still unclear, with Apple yet to comment publicly on the issue. However, what’s important for owners is that they’ll be able to take advantage of the various holiday promotions generally launched just prior to the App Store team locking down the top ten charts.

Speculation had grown that Apple might be quietly adding pressure to those running older devices to upgrade to newer versions of iOS, or even to newer iPhone and iPod touch models altogether. That now seems not to be the case, however.

[via Engadget]

While EA Games’ deals do offer a few bargains for would-be iOS gamers, the company has a more strategic ambition in mind than simply offering holiday cheer. Apple’s App Store team goes on vacation for eight days over the Christmas period, during which time the download store’s various charts are frozen.

Developers who have secured a place on those charts – by suddenly selling thousands of copies of $0.99 games, for instance – can expect a huge surge of sales when a new batch of iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners open their toys on December 25. Last year, EA managed to grab eight of the ten spots on the paid games chart.

iPad:

Battlefield: Bad Company
Battleship
Boggle
Bop It!
Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Dead Space
FIFA 11
Madden NFL 12
Mirror’s Edge
Monopoly/Monopoly Here & Now
NBA Jam
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit
Pictureka!
RISK
SimCity Deluxe
Tetris
The Game of Life
Transformers: Dark of the Moon HD
Trivial Pursuit Master Edition
Ultimate Mortal Kombat
Yahtzee

iPhone:

Battlefield: Bad Company
Battleship
Boggle
Bop It!
Cluedo
Command & Conquer
Connect 4
Dead Space
Deal or No Deal
FIFA 10
Fight Night Champion
Madden NFL 12
MMA
Monopoly Here & Now
NBA Jam
Need for Speed Undercover
Pictureka!
RISK
SimCity Deluxe
The Simpsons Arcade
The Sims Ambitions
The Sims 3 World Adventures
Skate It
Spore Creatures
Tetris
The Game of Life
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Trenches II
Ultimate Mortal Kombat
Yahtzee Adventures

[via Hot UK Deals]

Complaints seemingly began after a December 16 update, leaving owners able to update the apps they currently have installed but not acquire any new ones.

The timing of the issue could well prove frustrating to owners and developers, with Apple’s holiday “lock-down” fast approaching. App Store staff take an eight day break from Thursday this week, during which point no new apps are added and the various charts are frozen.

That can mean big rewards for any developers lucky enough to get their software in those charts in time, which often means cut-price downloads in the preceding days. EA, for instance, has promised over thirty cheap games prior to the lock-down, something iOS 3.1.3 users won’t be able to take advantage of on their device (though they will, of course, be able to buy them on iTunes and then sync them across).

Apple is yet to officially acknowledge the issue, or indeed give any indication that a fix might be incoming.

[via Engadget; Image credit mwiesner]

Last year, Electronic Arts (EA) managed to scoop several of the coveted chart positions with a well-timed $0.99 sale on many of its iOS games. The strong demand in the days prior to the holiday lock-down meant the producer was a fixture on the charts across Christmas. This year, EA says it will be offering 36 new games and updates for the holidays, with titles like The Sims FreePlay the culmination of as much as two years of forward planning.

However, the rush for last-minute inclusion can open the door to dire problems if apps don’t behave as expected. With no updates, tweaks or fixes possible until Apple’s team returns to work, what at other times could be a minor flaw and quickly addressed can stretch out into a week of poor reviews and damning ratings.

Even though the big money is generally in the charts, regular developers can see significant results simply from the holiday demand. One described more than a six-fold increase in daily downloads to the newspaper, simply from new owners wanting to fill their homescreens with titles.

The app, they pointed out, can create a fake driver’s license for any of the 50 US states, which can then be sent on to an email address. “From the email attachment, the image can then be printed and laminated,” the letter to Apple highlighted, “creating a high quality counterfeit driver’s license difficult to discern from one that’s genuine.”

Apple responded by pulling Driver License from the App Store, where it had previously been available for around two years PC Mag reports. However, DriversEd.com have defended the software, arguing that some of the coalition’s suggestions are in fact inaccurate.

The fake licenses are rendered at an underwhelming 72dpi, company founder and COO Gary Tsifrin told PC Mag, and include specific design inaccuracies – including incorrect fonts, colors and layout tweaks – to differentiate them from the real thing. “By design, it would take more effort and expertise to modify the product of the DriversEd.com Driver License app than to construct a counterfeit from scratch” Tsifrin insists. The app even prints “MOCK” across the top of the fake.

Apple in fact “pulled the app prematurely” the exec concludes, saying the company hopes it will be reconsidered in light of this new clarification. Apple is yet to comment publicly.

“Apps that are released under an Open Source Initiative-recognised open source licence can, at least in the pre-release version of the Windows Store, be distributed according to terms that contradict Microsoft’s Standard Application License Terms if this is required by the open source licence. Among other things, the Standard Application License Terms prohibit the sharing of applications.”

Microsoft released more details about the upcoming Windows Store earlier this week. Also, ZDNet reports that “Metro-style applications will be licensable, marketable and downloadable from the Windows 8 Store. Non-Metro-style Desktop Apps will only be marketable from inside the store, with links provided to developers’ sites for sales/downloads.”

This legal loophole may potentially benefit open-source developers in avoiding the impediments encountered by some who were frustrated and hindered by Apple’s much more restrictive App Store ‘terms and conditions’. What’s strange about this whole action taken by Microsoft? That it was accomplished almost completely under the radar, almost as if Microsoft doesn’t want to promote the fact that they’re allowing open source apps in the upcoming Windows 8 Store. Readers, any thoughts as to why? Feel free to leave your comments below.

[via ZDNet]

The rivalry between Apple and Google over apps has been a long running one, with each company competing to offer iOS and Android users respectively the most choice in their mobile download stores. However, each company takes a dramatically different approach to its store: Apple insists on a strong-arm approvals process, making developers submit their titles for review before they can be included in the App Store itself.

In contrast, Google allows developers to submit their apps at will, and relies on user feedback reports, reviews and other safeguards to weed out “bad” software. The two companies remain well ahead of Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform, which has around 45,000 titles on offer.

App Store shoppers have downloaded 18 billion apps in total, with a download rate in excess of 1 billion apps per month, Apple says. The half-million app figure was first mentioned by Scott Forstall at the iPhone 4S event back in October, though subsequent independent research that month suggested it was more like 456,000

The termination came just hours after Miller made the loophole public, and according to Apple is “effective immediately.” The company’s justification is the fact that the exploit was hidden inside a stock ticker app shell, and contravenes the section of the App Store agreement that forbids a developer from using such a system to “hide, misrepresent or obscure” software.

“I’m mad … I report bugs to them all the time. Being part of the developer program helps me do that. They’re hurting themselves, and making my life harder” Charlie Miller, security researcher

Miller apparently notified Apple of the security issue back on October 14; while Apple has not commented on the situation, the app he submitted – and had approved – has now been removed from the App Store. “This bug basically reduces the security of iOS to that of Android” Miller says, referring to Google’s hands-off approach with Android Market submissions.

In contrast, Apple has always made much of its stringent testing process, insisting that developers refine their code and toe the line with App Store standards if they want their apps to be distributed. Miller claims the loophole he took advantage of was a side-effect of Apple attempting to speed up browser JavaScript performance, as the company raced to brand its Safari mobile browser the fastest on the market.

Meanwhile the ABI Research team stays conservative about the taking over of the world by Android in the face of Apple. Dan Shey, practice director of mobile services at ABI, notes “Android’s app downloads per user still lag behind Apple’s by 2 to 1.” This of course means what there has to be one whole heck of a lot of new Android device purchasers out there buying up 1 app per every 2 a single iPhone user downloads. Of course that includes Android tablet and iPads as well. ABI continued that there is to be a rise by 29 billion global downloads this year of games, music, news, and other applications – this more than three times the amount downloaded in 2010.

All of this comes atop news earlier today that the Android Market (where they keep all their apps) had reached 500,000 app submissions with something like 315,000 on the market and up for sale, all of this inside September. The numbers for Apple’s iTunes App Store were clocked in at 600,000 submissions and 456,000 apps on the market today, all of this coming from research2guidance numbers for September (again, inside 2011.) A far cry from less than 5 years ago when apps where only called applications and they all came in big boxes in the store.

Then there’s the new big version releases of Android and Apple’s iOS with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and iOS 5. Have a glimpse at both of these fabulous new environments in the videos below:

[via Bloomberg Businessweek]

These numbers add up, according to research conducted by Appfire, to be more than 1 million apps created thus far and submitted to the app stores combined, with under 800,000 available for download inside September. Appfire collected numbers adding up to 1 million and 800,000 independently of research2guidance, so we can expect the REAL numbers to perhaps fall somewhere right down the middle of the two findings. Why is there no perfectly clear number? Quite simply because apps come and go every day. With regulations in both app stores different on how app submissions are made, accepted, and eventually pulled from the market due to a variety of circumstances, there is no exact number outside what Apple and Google have behind the scenes.

On the other hand, research2guidance looked at Microsoft’s Marketplace for Mobile in the same timeframe and found them to have something like 35,000 applications with an approximately 13% deactivation rate (per month.) Of course these numbers are subject to time as well, as Windows Phone 7 is still a young mobile OS compared to either Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android. And of course you’ve got to consider the fact that Apple’s application and acceptance rate at which they bring apps into (and usher apps out of) their app store is much more strict than that of Google’s Android Marketplace, and that many apps a fine app store do not make. Quality over quantity!

[via InformationWeek]

What Beeri does is work with Siri to take in the command “pour me a beer,” first of all. When Siri hears you ask for a beer in such a way, she sends a command to Beeri’s Twitter account which then works with Beeri’s onboard Arduino Uno w/Wi-fi shield. Are you lost yet? In this case, what this means thus far is that once you’ve spoken to your iPhone, there’s some Twitter action that goes on that’s then picked up by the physical machine representation of Beeri. Once your Beeri sees this command: beer time!

Have a look at this video to see how well it all works!

Once you’ve seen the video you’ll be sure to have noted that the system still does have some kinks to work out, but the idea is definitely there! The RC truck you see in the video is the Beeri, this truck is rigged up with a circuit board that allows it to take commands like go, stop, and adjust. The truck also has two proximity detectors that tell it when its about to hit the puncture device and when to back up so that the beer can hit the hole. Sound alright to you? Easy stuff!

[via Beeri]

Like Google Latitude does on Android, Find My Friends will allow iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users to see their friends’ locations. Access to your position can be granted permanently, or groups set up to reveal location for a specific length of time: for instance, until the end of a day out to the beach or a theme park.

There’s also a single switch that turns off all location sharing, for those times you want to be completely off the grid. There’s full details on Find My Friends in the SlashGear iOS 5 review.

[via 9 to 5 Mac]

The AppUp initiative was to target Apple’s App Store model by offering ways for individuals to integrate or customize their own curated app stores. The platform initially launched in beta with Intel opening it’s own specific store in September 2010 followed by a high-profile addition of Angry Birds for PC. But even the game phenomenon couldn’t generate more interest for the platform.

AppUp chief Peter Biddle admitted at the time that the platform “is the world’s largest app store that nobody’s ever heard of.” And now only 3 months shy of hitting its two-year mark, AppUp has only registered 350,000 users. AppUp attempts to transfer the old world mom-and-pop model to the apps marketplace, but much like it is in the real world retail industry, consumers don’t seem to have a problem shopping at the big box stores.

Microsoft skirted discussions on the business aspects of its upcoming app store, but did release a primer for its download market that revealed the 30 percent cut on sales for Windows 8 apps designed for the Metro UI. However, when we first reported this last week, it wasn’t clear that these apps couldn’t also be sold outside of the Windows app store, similar to what developers can do with Apple’s Mac App Store.

But reports now claim that Ted Dworkin, a Microsoft director who led one of the sessions at Build, made it clear during the presentation that the only distribution channel for Windows 8 Metro apps was through Microsoft. This strategy may be to model the more curated experience of the Mac App Store to ensure quality apps and prevent malware.

Supposedly, conventional apps developed for Microsoft’s traditional Windows interface will not face this same cut on sales and restriction on distribution. However, it’s still early on and Dworkin has said that Microsoft does not plan to reveal their final store polices and terms until they are ready for app submissions.

[via PC World]

Apps for the Windows 8 Store were originally thought to be free of any cuts on sales, but following a check on developer terms, the Windows Weekly podcast reports that only conventional apps get to dodge the 30 percent cut. Microsoft won’t require apps to publish through its App Store, but being in the official channel would give apps more exposure.

Microsoft also seems open to key competitors writing apps for Windows 8 Metro. During the an analyst meeting this week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that his company would welcome Metro-native Amazon Kindle or Apple iTunes apps.

For more details on the recent Windows 8 developments, make sure to check out our coverage of Build 2011 as well as this complete guide to the latest Windows 8 developer preview.

[via Electronista]

This new project will be house at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab, and will indeed by investigating the mobile landscape as a place where people can learn and grow “anywhere, anytime, with anyone.” Google University Relations are one of several sources which make this new center possible, while three MIT professors will be running the program. The first professor running this new Center for Mobile Learning is Hal Abelson, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at MIT, the second Professors Eric Klopfer (science education) and Mitchel Resnick (media arts and sciences).

The application App Inventor will play a central role in “an enriched research agenda with increased opportunities to influence the educational community. As it turns out, one of the professors who will run this program, Hal Abelson, was the one who initiated App Inventor at Google by proposing it as a project while he was on sabbatical with the Google in 2008. Meanwhile the core code and inspiration for the App Inventor project came from the other two professors involved in the project now in the form of Klopfer’s lab and Resnick’s Scratch project.

Professor Abelson notes the following:

“The new center is a perfect example of how industry and academia can collaborate effectively to create change enabled by technology, and we look forward to seeing what we can do next, together.”

We wish them good luck!

[via Google Research]

It’s been a quickly jumping road up to this point, ladies and gentlemen, and Apple executives are more than likely toasting their iPhones tonight as they reach the top spot with no end in sight. It was all the way back in May of 2010 when Apple passed Microsoft as the top tech company in the world, Apple’s morning value leaping to $340.7 billion, just less than $5 billion of Exxon Mobile’s $354.4 billion at 10:50 A.M. in Washington.

Exxon was originally called Standard Oil, of course, of New Jersey, started by the infamous John D Rockerfeller and has been sitting in a top spot in the U.S. economic index for more than a century. Apple on the other hand has been around for just over 30 years, skyrocketing in the past 10 or so due to major mobile innovations. Apple now sits on top, number ONE in the Standard & Poor’s 500 by its market value, growth sure to continue as Apple takes the top spot.

What do you think? Will other computing companies ever catch up? Or is Apple up on top for the foreseeable future?

The FBI lets us know that “a child turns up missing in the United States every 40 seconds,” and that “many never return home” but as the majority of the 45 reviews done for the app thus far remind us: this app does not have password protection, nor is it secure in any way should the owner of this app’s host phone lose said phone. Say for example you’ve got all your information set on your two kids Janie and Johnny Doe, their height, width, photos, school schedule, answers to names, everything else about them, and a child predator gets ahold of your iPhone? Your child may then become quite a simple target for said predator with malicious intent for your child.

On the other hand, when used CORRECTLY by a person who doesn’t drop their phone more often than they drop their hat, this app could indeed be quite useful. Quick links to emergency phone numbers including NCMEC National Center for Mission and Exploited Children, links and resources, and safety tips, along with the quick list of your child’s traits should you happen to be losing your mind when you can’t find your kid on the 4th of July at the fireworks display.

This app is currently free for download in the iTunes app store and the FBI is now working with the AFCA to announce its existence to the public. The American Football Coaches Association will soon be producing a public service announcement to be delivered to the public soon – so that’s what you’re hearing on the garbled intercom blasting over the field, incase you were wondering.

66-percent of developers reckon Google+ can “beat” Facebook in the long-term, more than believe Apple’s combination of strong Twitter integration in iOS 5.0 and the existing Ping social network will succeed. The potential for Google to bake mapping, YouTube, search and other services into Google+ is the main reason for their confidence, though the fledgling network is also seen as “showing more innovation” than Facebook. Having Google+ and Android under one roof is another perceived benefit.

Interestingly, while both major platforms compete on the number of apps on offer in their respective software download stores, Appcelerator argues that in fact the purchase battleground is shifting from the app store to the in-app transaction. Use of in-app purchasing has increased, while developers are increasingly saying that selling incremental updates and extras within an app is of more interest than selling apps in the download store itself.

Finally, as for Android tablets, whereas in the company’s last surveys the limiting factor most developers saw was pricing – matching or beating Apple’s iPad 2 line-up – now it’s user experience and app flexibility that is the primary concern. 52-percent of developers suggested that Honeycomb user experience needed to improve if Android slates were to become sales successes, while 46-percent said that phone-to-tablet app portability was key. Price, however, fell to fourth place, with 39-percent of developers believing it to be a key issue, while greater app choice overall was fifth with 33-percent.

The VoIP company is yet to confirm why, exactly, it yanked the software originally. Still, most users will be more curious about what it brings to the iPad, which includes the usual Skype-to-Skype calls (free of charge) as well as Skype Out calls to landlines and mobiles (assuming you have credit on your account). WiFi and 3G calls are supported – assuming your operator is happy with that – and if you have an iPad 2 then you can use the front and rear cameras for video chat.

Original iPad owners, meanwhile, will have to make do with voice calls or incoming video only, since they don’t have a camera to play with. Still, you can still get a Skype In number so that people can directly call your iPad. You’ll need to be running iOS 4.0 or above, and Skype for iPad is a free download.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

“The current app marketplace is defined by 150 years of molecular thinking,” Biddle suggested, pointing to the old retail model of brick & mortar stores. “We’re not thinking about electrons -electrons, for all intents and purposes, are free.” Although it seems bizarre at first glance, in Biddle’s metaphor each individual store can offer a subset of products tailored to the likely audience. “If you were looking for a hat, you don’t want to trip over a hammer – you’re looking for a hat. You go to a hat store for a hat.”

That said, it must be particularly galling for Biddle that – even with its electron-blindness – Apple’s download store is getting far more attention than Intel’s efforts in the same space. AppUp has been running since January 2010 in beta, with Intel’s own specific store launching in September 2010, and yet aside from a relatively high-profile Angry Birds for PC release has made little impact. “AppUp is the world’s largest app store that nobody’s ever heard of” he agreed, going on to admit that “what we’ve built [today] doesn’t fulfill a majority of that reality … but it’s built to.”

“We’re working on curation tools for mom and pops to be able to do sort of like a first pass” Biddle says, and soon those “mom and pop” e-stores will be able to link a themed sub-set of AppUp content to their site or blog and use it as another way of engaging with visitors. Whether that will be enough to distract from iOS and Android’s catch-all download monoliths remains to be seen.