App Store director selling fart apps
Apple s applications director is on the App Store. Wired reports that Phillip Shoemaker, director of applications technology at Apple, is behind a selection of seven iPhone apps from Gray Noodle, including both a fart app called Animal Farts and a urination simulator called iWiz. Shoemaker s apps range in price from $1 ro $2, and have generally received below-average ratings from users, while also testing the limits of Apple s App Store decency restrictions. Apple told Wired that Shoemaker was hired partly because of his background in application development. “Phillip’s apps were written, submitted and approved before he became an Apple employee,” an Apple spokeswoman said in a statement. “His experience and perspective as a developer is one of the valuable things he brings to Apple’s developer relations team. Apple’s policy allows for employees to have apps on the App Store if they’re developed and published prior to their start at Apple.” The report notes that Shoemaker said he had started working at Apple via a tweet on March 9, 2009, while three of his apps weren t published until afterwards. Former Apple senior iPhone software engineer Evan Doll said the company typically doesn t allow employees to sell apps unless they receive special permission from an executive, part of a policy to avoid conflicts of interest. “Apple employees are generally prohibited [from selling apps],” Doll told Wired. “You have to get a special exception from a VP. Otherwise, big no-no. If he was doing it pre-Apple then he’d have an easier time getting an exception.” Doll left Apple last year and now runs the company behind the Flipboard application for the iPad. Following the publication of Wired s story, Shoemaker edited or outright deleted many of his social networking profiles that linked him with Gray Noodle, and has yet to comment on the matter.
Mix: Pan-EU iTunes, HBO on iPad, R2-D2 case, Mobile Mix
Apple has posted a seeking a full time iTunes Pan-EU Label Relations representative. According to the posting, the job will involve securing comprehensive and innovative promotions around key releases, foster[ing] the relationship with the key account managers at the record labels, making iTunes the most important partner in helping the label to drive the digital market, and helping to coordinate and implement European wide projects for iTunes. The employee will report to Carl Ekdahl, head of iTunes Pan EU, and will be based in Copenhagen, Denmark.HBO recently revealed that it plans to to iPad users within six months. Speaking in an interview, HBO Co-President Eric Kessler said the company holds cable and Internet rights to films from Warner Bros., Twentieth Century Fox and Universal, none of which it plans to share with emerging rival Netflix. “There is value in exclusivity,” Kessler said, adding that consumers “are willing to pay a premium for high quality, exclusive content.” Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has indicated that his company would like to reach a deal with HBO to offer the company s TV show and movie catalog via Netflix own online streaming service.Lucasfilm s online Star Wars shop is now taking pre-orders for an (pictured). According to a concept image on the case s store listing, the case will feature R2-D2-inspired graphics, sculpted details, and open access to all ports and controls, possibly with pass-though button covers for the volume and power buttons. The R2-D2 Hard Case for the iPhone 3G and 3GS sells for $30 and is expected to ship in October.Millennial Media has released its Mobile Mix report for July 2010 (), with Apple continuing its run as the leading device manufacturer on Millennial s network. Apple represented nearly 35% of all impressions on the network in July, with the iPhone representing 25% of all mobile phone requests. iOS was the leading OS on the network, with a 55% share of impressions, and ad requests from iPad units grew 327% month-over-month. Millennial Media’s numbers are based on impressions served on its network of mobile sites and apps, which reaches 81% of the U.S. mobile audience, according to the company.
Nintendo NES games return to App Store
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Facebook app adds Places, background uploads
Facebook has released an update to its iPhone and iPod touch application adding support for its new Places feature and improving iOS4 multitasking support. Introduced by Facebook earlier this week, Places is a new location-based social networking that allows users to register their presence at physical locations in a manner similar to services such as Foursquare and Gowalla. Facebook 3.2 provides a new section on the home screen for accessing the new Places location feature and integrates GPS location services support to allow users to view nearby places from within the app, check-in at various locations and view friends locations. The new version can also now continue photo and video uploads in the background on iOS 4 multitasking-capable devices and adds the ability to set the privacy of individual status updates and see all recipients of inbox messages. Facebook 3.2 is as a free download. The Facebook Places feature is presently only available in the U.S.
Cresyn: Former Apple manager Devine paid for consulting
South Korea-based Cresyn Co., a supplier of earphones for the iPod, has said that former Apple global supply manager Paul Shin Devine was paid for . “It was our understanding the contract was with Apple since we knew he was an Apple employee,” Kim Chang Jun, a spokesman for the Seoul-based company, told Bloomberg. “Apple was specified in the contract, and we believed it, so we sent the money.” Devine, along with associate Andrew Ang of Singapore, was recently indicted for wire fraud, money laundering, and kickbacks. Devine allegedly shared confidential information from Apple with suppliers of iPod and iPhone accessories, which then used the information to negotiate favorable contracts with Apple. Reuters reports that in addition to Cresyn, Apple claims that Devine was with Singapore s Glocom/Lateral Solutions, JLJ Holdings, and Fastening Technologies, as well as Taiwan s Nishoku Technology and Pegatron. Said Jonathan Chang, a deputy spokesman for Pegatron, We are investigating the case now and feel sorry about this. Pegatron owns Kaeder Electronics, a maker of third-party plastic cases for the iPhone, iPod, and other devices, which was named in the kickback charges but is not a direct Apple supplier.
Paramount releases Top Gun 2 for iPhone
Paramount Digital Entertainment, in cooperation with Freeverse, has released Top Gun 2, the sequel to its earlier first-person combat jet shooter for the iOS platform. In Top Gun 2 players engage in air-to-air and air-to-ground arcade style combat with new high-speed defensive maneuvers and offensive attacks. Players fly using the accelerometer to engage in combat with multiple enemies through seven unique environments, including outer space, in a variety of different mission types. Top Gun 2 features dynamic level design with surprise attacks and unique gameplay and an enhanced AI. Players can choose to pilot an F/A-18 Hornet, F-16 Fighting Falcon or F-14 Tomcat, each with upgradeable cannon and missile systems and unique offensive and defensive capabilities. Top Gun 2 features full-screen anti-aliasing and enhanced visual effects and a soundtrack by Brooklyn-based Daredevil Squadron as well as the classic track Danger Zone from the Top Gun movie. Top Gun 2 requires an iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 4 or later and is at a discounted price of $3 until August 23.
Apple, AT&T end no-contract iPhone sales in U.S. (Updated)
Keep in mind that unlike many other countries, the contract-free iPhone 4 in the U.S. was not being sold unlocked only free of a requirement to sign another two-year contract with AT T. Perhaps it was a question of stock levels, or perhaps it was simply that customers were being confused when buying a contract-free iPhone and not being able to use it on any other network (not that there s much of a choice AT T is the only network currently capable of supporting the iPhone at 3G speeds as T-Mobile uses a different 3G frequency).It s odd that contract-free iPhones are still being sold locked in the U.S. but I imagine this must have something to do with Apple s agreement with AT T. There may also have been concerns about iPhones being bought for export since it went on sale in the U.S. much earlier than most other countries. At this point, however, considering that Apple actually is selling fully unlocked iPhone 4 s in many other countries such as here in Canada it s unlikely that anybody is going to spend time ordering them contract-free from the U.S. and then having to jailbreak and unlock them to get them working on other carriers. There s been some confusion with contract-free phones up here in fact. If you buy a contract-free iPhone from a carrier store it will still be locked to that carrier. Only the Apple Store is selling the iPhone completely unlocked, and for some reason they re charging $30 more for the unlocked iPhone than the carriers are for a contract-free locked unit. Posted by Jesse Hollington in Toronto on August 19, 2010 at 1:39 PM (PDT)
Black Enterprise Magazine launches iPad edition
Black Enterprise, the premier business and wealth building resource for African Americans, has released a digital edition of its magazine publication exclusively for the iPad. The application, Black Enterprise Wealth for Life serves as a portal to download and read monthly issues of the magazine and will provide access to additional exclusive content not found in the printed edition including full-screen high-definition videos, slide shows, photo galleries, social networking links and extended editorial content. The application also allows users to sign-in to their custom reader accounts to share, bookmark and reference personal notes and includes the ability to search by keywords including names, tools, brands and services. An integrated browser allows users to select their desired content with color-coded categories and quick access to an itemized display of pages, photos, videos, bookmarks and ads. Black Enterprise Wealth For Life is as a free download. The app includes the 40th Anniversary Collector s Edition and Best Companies for Diversity issue at no cost; subsequent issues will be priced at $2.
Gameloft updates Modern Combat: Sandstorm for iPhone 4
Gameloft has released an iPhone 4 update to its acclaimed Modern Combat: Sandstorm for the iPhone and iPod touch. Modern Combat: Sandstorm () is a first-person action-thriller where players must locate and annihilate a terrorist cell in a remote desert hotspot. Users play through 10 missions featuring detailed Middle Eastern environments and are provided with a wide range of authentic advanced weapons ranging from assault rifles to rocket-propelled grenade launchers. The game provides local and online multiplayer support, a choice of multiple control systems and polished 3D graphics with cinematic interludes and voice-overs. The latest update brings support for gyroscopic control mode on the iPhone 4 with full 3D range of motion, high-resolution graphics for the iPhone 4 Retina Display and support for Fast App Switching on multitasking-capable iOS 4 devices. Modern Combat: Sandstorm is for $5 and is a free update for current users.
Photogene for iPad adds Flickr, IPTC metadata
iOS developer Omer Shoor has released an update to his acclaimed photo editing application for the iPad. Photogene for iPad is an intuitive application that provides iPad users with a comprehensive set of photo editing tools, including cropping and straightening, sharpening, color adjustments, red-eye correction, resizing, filters, special effects and text boxes and frames. Users can upload their edited photos directly to Facebook and Twitter, send the new photos out via e-mail or save them back to the iPad Photo Library. Photogene also provides support for opening and editing RAW files imported with the iPad Camera Connection kit. Photogene for iPad 1.3 adds support for uploading images directly to Flickr and FTP servers and adding IPTC metadata to photos during upload. The update also provides custom crop ratios and fixes a bug related to selecting Facebook albums. Photogene for iPad 1.3 is for $4 and is a free update for current users. The iPhone and iPod touch version of Photogene has not yet been updated.