Category: iPhone (Page 27 of 55)

      Wolfram Alpha turns free service into $50 app

      October 19, 2009 /

      Wolfram Alpha on the iPhone.Wolfram Alpha just released an iPhone app that differs in one major way from the web engine – it costs $50. And the WA guys think people will buy it, though they aren’t sure how many.

      A rep for the company contacted Gizmodo and said the following:

      How many people will buy it? We’re not sure, but looking at the other apps that are $50+, we think that we’re of at least comparable in utility and functionality, if not more. And, part of what the company is also doing is making a statement about the non-trivial nature of WolframAlpha’s capabilities, and how much the system has matured since launch.

      So what does that mean for the future of the web version of WA? Does the company really expect users to pay $50 to take that free service mobile?

      Apps, iPhone

      App exposure site founded by a 15-year-old

      October 19, 2009 /

      app-of-the-dayWhen I had the thought that someone should do some app organizing, giving consumers a way to find the very best iPhone apps out there, I didn’t think it would be a high school sophomore. Jordan Satok had plans to surprise me, it seems. The 15-year-old web entrepreneur started appoftheday.com, a site that aims to give exposure to the very apps many of us are looking for.

      The daily recommendations come courtesy of community nominations. You get just one nomination per day, and since the site ties in with Gravatar, the hope is that users will just log in with an email, keeping developers from going in to spam their own apps with votes.

      Apps, iPhone

      Verizon takes after Palm without pioneering an OS

      October 19, 2009 /

      Motorola Droid.On Saturday night, Verizon publicly declared it would be going after the iPhone with a new Android phone from Motorola. To do so, Big Red is using the same tactic Palm did, but it will probably see a much higher success rate. The reason: the OS.

      It’s not just that I think Android is a superior platform (which I do), or that Palm continues to botch almost everything it tries with regard to the App Catalog (which it does). It’s really that Verizon isn’t trying to pioneer a new OS against the world’s most successful smartphone. Android is not the thriving development community it could be, but it’s not brand new either. That means there will be plenty of app support on launch day, but more importantly that developers are familiar enough to create apps that take advantage of specific features of the new Motorola phone – a big part of what makes the iPhone so good.

      On top of that huge advantage, the phone looks really nice. It’s sleek and slim, has a landscape keyboard that far outstrips the cramped POS on the Pre, and it’s on Verizon. I don’t think I need to mention all the other features Verizon’s new ad points out.

      This isn’t something Apple will take lying down, though. We should see the rebuttal in what promises to be a snarky little ad war before long.

      iPhone, Mobile

      Reading Material: Can in-app sales and the iPad save publishing?

      October 16, 2009 /

      Apple tablet concept.There’s a good read up on Wired’s Gadget Lab about Apple’s recent removal of in-app purchase restrictions for free iPhone apps. The article suggests that the move, when implemented with the Apple tablet, could be the defib the publishing industry needs.

      There are already a couple apps out there using this model, though they weren’t free to begin with. The McSweeney’s app, for instance, allowed you to purchase six months of content on installation. From there it was a subscription service for more of the premium goods. Wired thinks newspapers and magazines could use this model to differentiate premium quality content from the everyday stuff like blogs and user content.

      The key to the publishing transformation, though, is the Apple tablet. For my part, I really don’t like to read content exclusively on my iPhone. I love the flexibility to do so as I please, but having content limited to just that little screen is exactly the reason I’ve avoided the McSweeney’s app. It’s just too small to use for all of my daily reading. A tablet would change that, offering the real estate necessary to make daily reading an enjoyable experience.

      For more on Apple’s plan to pluck a struggling industry from the brink, check out the original post at Wired.

      Apple, Apps, Computers, iPhone

      Apple allows in-app purchases for free apps

      October 15, 2009 /

      iPhone App Store. Apple has decided to lift yet another App Store restriction, one that has bloated the App Store (that app count isn’t entirely accurate) for some time. Developers are now allowed to have in-app purchases in free apps, a move that spells the demise of all those “lite” apps.

      As things used to be, developers were required to charge for the download of an application if they also wanted to charge for content to be added later. By lifting the restriction, Apple has finally enabled developers to make just one version of an application that can then be unlocked through in app purchases.

      I know this makes trial or limited downloads a lot more appealing. Downloading two apps for one purpose always seemed like a hassle to me. I’m glad things have finally turned the corner.

      Apple, Apps, iPhone, News

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