App

Slacker better light a fire under its keister if it wants to be the first streaming-music service to offer offline song caching for the iPhone and iPod Touch. In the midst of all the SXSW hoopla, Rhapsody has announced its intentions to offer caching as part of the next update to its own iPhone app.

For those not in the know, this feature allows users to save music to the device so that they may continue listening to the content without the use of a constant wireless connection. It's a more compelling functionality for the iPod Touch, but iPhone … Read more

iPhone and iPod Touch owners could breathe a sigh of relief when Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad.

Apple's highly anticipated tablet computer would not, after all, require purchasing all new applications. Instead, everything in the App Store would automatically work on the iPad. As Jobs explained, tapping one button on the iPad screen transforms apps made for the 3.1-inch iPhone/iPod Touch screen to a snugger fit on the 9.7-inch iPad.

Simple, right? For the iPad owner, sure. But the iPad means bigger changes for the people who create these apps. Though the iPad has been dismissed … Read more

Third-party applications are a big part of what makes the iPhone (and iPod Touch) so desirable, but Apple is hardly perfect when it comes to presenting them in the store. There's still no way to gift a specific app, for example. But there is something that draws even more ire from the scores of iPhone owners: censorship.

Apple has no special way to sort for adult content, and it has outright banned several applications that it has deemed "unacceptable" for reasons of nudity, explicit language, and so forth. However, that doesn't mean the iTunes store is … Read more

Before we get to this week's apps, a news item over at AppleInsider indicates we may be getting a change to the iPhone operating system that many have been talking about. According to one AppleInsider's more reliable sources, the iPhone OS 4.0 could add multitasking support in the next OS update. This means you'll be able to run apps simultaneously making it possible to switch between apps without closing them.

A lot of smartphones already have multitasking support, so it's been one of the bigger complaints for detractors of the iPhone. Frankly, I think it'… Read more

If you fly frequently and have an iPhone, you might have already researched the iTunes App Store for titles that will help you track your flight, pick your seat, and check for delays. As a frequent flier and airline geek, I've browsed quite a few apps on the CNET iPhone and have downloaded more than my share. The selection is quite extensive, but as is true with much of the iTunes App Store, it can take time to separate quality apps from those that aren't even worth a free download.

In the slideshow below, I've chosen 10 … Read more

"And it's about damn time!"

Sorry, that was just my excited utterance upon reading Thursday morning's AppleInsider story about iPhone OS 4. It cites "people with a proven track record" in claiming that multitasking will finally make its debut.

Multitasking, of course, refers to the operating system's ability to run more than one app at a time and let you switch between them at will, just like you can do in Windows, Mac OS, Android, Palm WebOS, and just about every other OS on the planet--mobile or otherwise.

The iPhone OS currently offers … Read more

If you're an Apple fan with a particular love for all things iPhone, you'll want to check out Jailbreak Toys' new App Magnets.

The company has looked at all those apps you'll find in the iPhone and turned them into magnets you can place on your refrigerator. The offering includes magnets of Safari, Mail, and several other apps that come pre-loaded on the iPhone. All told, 18 magnets come in the box.

The Jailbreak Toys iPhone magnets follow a long line of tech-related products that have been converted into magnets. In fact, just a few years ago, … Read more

A refrigerator is not a refrigerator without magnets. And a self-respecting iPhone/iPod Touch owner is not a self-respecting iPhone/iPod Touch owner without a set of Jailbreak Toys App Magnets.

I mean, how awesome are these things! They come in sets of 18 (one for each stock iPhone app, presumably) and sell for the reasonable-to-my-cheapskate-senses price of $12.99.

Shipping will run you another $5 or so, though if you order three sets you can get free shipping by applying coupon code 3forFREE at checkout. My advice: Grab a set for yourself, and stash the other two away for … Read more

Updated at 6:32 p.m. and 7:35 p.m. with additional details.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Google is bringing the app store concept to business cloud computing, giving software developers a storefront for Google Apps customers.

The Google Apps Marketplace, announced here Tuesday at the company's Campfire One event, will allow Google Apps users to purchase third-party applications to run atop the Google Apps suite, said Vic Gundotra, vice president of engineering for Google. Developers will have to pay a one-time $100 fee to list their applications in the store, and Google will get a 20 percent cut … Read more