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‘App Store’ Stories

Google On the Defensive As Well Regarding FCC Probe

By Evan Selleck on Friday, Aug 21st 2009 No Comments

It looks like AT&T isn’t the only company refuting some kind of shady business, and while it may be Apple getting the majority of the news, Google had to refute some claims of denying a Skype application today too. It looks like an article published this morning in The USA Today targeted Google for doing the same thing Apple did to Google Voice, but with a full-featured Skype application. Apparently, as USA Today claimed, Google trimmed down the Skype application to be a “watered-down version of the original that routes calls over traditional phone networks.” So now it’s Google’s turn to chase away the nay-sayers.

Android

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AT&T Declares It Had No Hand in Google Voice Block

By Evan Selleck on Friday, Aug 21st 2009 3 Comments

AT&T just released an official statement regarding the blocking of Google Voice from Apple’s App Store, and it looks like they’re taking absolutely no blame for the situation. This time around, AT&T is being very clear in their statement, coming from AT&T’s Senior Executive Vice President, external and legislative affairs, Jim Cicconi. He states that AT&T had nothing to do with it simply and bluntly, but it looks like there’s more to the story.

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SlingPlayer Mobile 1.1 for iPhone makes it to App Store

By Chris Davies on Friday, Aug 21st 2009 No Comments

dish remote access iphone1 Sling Media’s new version of SlingPlayer Mobile for the iPhone and iPod touch, version 1.1, has been approved by Apple. That means users of the place-shifting TV streamers can now watch footage in true widescreen, as well having native DISH Network control with a new on-device navigation app. The new version also improves response times, so the whole experience should be snappier.

Unfortunately there’s still no 3G support, so you’re limited to using a WiFi connection to get your remote viewing fix. Sling did submit a version of the SlingPlayer Mobile app to Apple which supports 3G connections, albeit intended only for international markets rather than in the US, but there’s no word on whether that too has been approved or is still mired in the bowels of Cupertino.

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Do Microsoft take a dig at Apple App Store approval policies in latest promo?

By Chris Davies on Monday, Aug 17th 2009 No Comments

Could Microsoft be the next in line to take a pot-shot at Apple’s App Store approvals process? That’s certainly one interpretation of the company’s latest promo video for the Race to Market Challenge, Microsoft’s competition intended to drum up submissions for their upcoming Windows Marketplace for Mobile download store. In the video, a developer is shown bringing his new app to a well-stocked application store, only to be rejected.

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Video after the cut

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iPhone spyware debated as app library “phones home”

By Chris Davies on Monday, Aug 17th 2009 1 Comment

iphone map After Palm’s Pre was heavily criticized last week over claims that the handset collected location data regarding the user and transmitted that back to the company, a developer has spotted that at least one third-party iPhone library, in use by several apps, does something similar. The library is by Pinch Media and is used to track app owner data; it does this by recording not only location when you first start the app but your physical movements (among other things) while the app is open.

Pinch Media’s library is used by developers – such as those behind free iPhone titles Camera Zoom and Twitterfon – to collect analysis data on app usage and common problems. However the library does not give the user any way of monitoring or shutting off the tracking; agree to it when you install the host software, and it will continue to gather data for as long as you use the app. If you don’t have a network connection then the location data will be cached and sent when you’re next online.

Full list of collected personal information after the cut

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Zune Gets Creative with XNA

By Evan Selleck on Friday, Aug 14th 2009 No Comments

Alien Zune

The media portion of the upcoming Zune HD is something of considerable consideration recently, as many people are wondering if the upcoming PMP will strive to defeat the iPod Touch, or even start a fight with it. And, as we’ve seen recently, Microsoft seems pretty determined to get the ball rolling on developers working with their peripheral. But, one question that hadn’t been pressed much, was how the future games of the Zune HD could be developed and implemented.

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Apple App Developers Being Bribed to Trade Over to the Microsoft Zune HD?

By Evan Selleck on Friday, Aug 14th 2009 4 Comments

Zune HD

One of the reasons the iPhone and iPod Touch are so popular, is because of the hefty App Store. There has been some significant conversations out on the web about whether or not mobile media devices releasing from this point on will survive in the market without having their own version of Apple’s App Store, and now that Microsoft’s Zune HD is on the precipice of release, people are wondering whether or not the Zune HD can move on from being just another Personal Music Player (PMP), and navigate into the lucrative world of mobile media.

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Qik for iPhone 3GS arrives: uploads but no real-time streaming

By Chris Davies on Friday, Aug 14th 2009 No Comments

We’re big fans of Qik here at SlashGear; we’ve used the streaming video service to give you sneak-peaks behind the scenes at various press events. Now an official version for the iPhone 3GS has been added to the App Store, taking advantage of Apple’s newly-loosened attitude toward video capture. Unlike Qik as we know it, however, the first version of Qik for iPhone 3GS doesn’t support real-time low-latency streaming, but instead works as a capture-and-upload tool.

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Apple iPhone Shot Up and Burned

By Evan Selleck on Thursday, Aug 13th 2009 No Comments

You either love them or hate them, and we’re pretty sure Apple knows this, and they’re probably perfectly comfortable with that position. And it seemed like in the last two weeks or so, people were starting to get really angry with the giant, especially after that whole Google Voice debacle that flared up. But this guy, who decides to take his 9mm handgun and some gasoline to his iPhone 3GS, might be taking things a bit out of proportion.

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SlingPlayer Mobile 1.1 adds native iPhone DISH control, international 3G support

By Chris Davies on Tuesday, Aug 11th 2009 No Comments

Whether or not there’s PR leverage to be had in prematurely announcing your submission to Apple’s App Store approval process remains to be seen, but it does give us a sneak-peak as to what’s (hopefully) coming down the pipe. Sling Media have tipped us on their latest iPhone and iPod touch app, SlingPlayer Mobile 1.1, which now includes full 16:9 widescreen support (i.e. that takes up the whole width of the display) and improved DISH Network integration.

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