apps

Tim Geisenheimer joins the show today along with our favorite former intern, Mark Licea. We talk about Tim's new Kindle 2 and how Amazon decided to release a free iPhone app. That's $359 down the drain for Tim. Along the way, we discuss the Red Ring of Death for the Xbox 360 and a surprise guest appearance by Justin Yu himself, who reveals he's been suffering from multiple outbreaks of yet-to-be-classified STDs.

The Geisenblogger himself shares a little bit about his online persona in the form of his Tumblr, Wordpress blog, and Twitter. "Thriller" has got to be one of the best albums ever made, but Michael Jackson apparently has a stash of songs he won't release to the public until after his death. While we're not too excited about that after the failure of his "Invincible" album, we are excited that he is trying to make right with Sir Paul McCartney for supposedly bequeathing the Beatles collection to him after his death. Take this all with a grain of salt as this is coming from the Internet and The 404.

A woman in Florida gets more than she bargained for when she calls 911 three times to report that McDonald is not giving Chicken McNuggets to her. It sounds crazy until you realize that McDonald's tried to offer her a cheeseburger called the "McDouble" instead of a refund. Finally, if you're a Sprint customer, the company is offering $100 in the form of a Visa gift card if you refer a new Sprint customer. For those of you who managed to sneak in the SERO plan, here's a way to get three months of free service.… Read more

Updated 4:24 p.m. PST with RIM's response about a March launch and more information on the app store.

BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion announced that its upcoming application storefront will officially be called BlackBerry App World. The developer site will be updated Wednesday night to make appropriate changes but will be live again by 7 p.m. PST, according to RIM. In addition, anyone interested in finding out when the store goes live can sign up for alerts on the BlackBerry App World site.

RIM opened up application submissions in January, and the store is scheduled to … Read more

I'm not sure why, but some analysts seemed a little surprised about Amazon's Wednesday announcement that it would begin offering Amazon e-books on the iPhone and iPod Touch and move beyond the confines of the Kindle.

First off, the company had effectively confirmed off-Kindle reading access in February, so it shouldn't have surprised anyone. Second, anybody who knows anything knows it's all about the razor blades (the e-books) and not the razor (the Kindle).

Like the game console world, the real profits aren't in the hardware but the software. Yes, the Kindle 2's hot … Read more

I'm not sure why, but some analysts seemed a little surprised about Amazon.com's announcement on Wednesday that it would begin offering Amazon e-books on the iPhone and iPod Touch, and move beyond the confines of the Kindle.

First of all, the company had effectively confirmed off-Kindle reading access in February, so it shouldn't have surprised anyone. Second, anybody who knows anything knows that it's all about the razor blades (the e-books) and not the razor (the Kindle).

Like the game console world, the real profits aren't in the hardware but rather the software. Yes, the Kindle 2's hot now, but to reach a larger audience, Amazon will eventually have to reduce the price for the reader and shrink its margins.

By contrast, the margins on e-books should remain pretty beefy, and you can imagine all the cost savings involved when you don't have to deal with warehousing and shipping physical books. It's a great business model.

But there's just one problem. While Amazon might be able to find a market for $9.99 books on the Kindle, the iPhone-iPod Touch world is a very different place. Very few people are willing to pay that kind of money for any sort of application, let alone an e-book.

In the Apple application world, the sweet spot for selling anything seems to be less than $4.99--and more like $.99 or $1.99. Sure, you're going to get some bestselling series with almost cult-like followings (read: "Harry Potter" and "Twilight"), but the vast majority of books being "sold" on the iPhone are very cheap--and rightly so because the overall iPhone-reading experience doesn't justify you spending $10 (or even $5) on an e-book. (See Nicole Lee's in-depth piece on comparing the Kindle 2 reading experience to that of the iPhone's).

Of course, the Kindle app isn't the first way to read e-books on the iPhone--there are already dozens of paid and free reader applications (and books-as-apps) available on the App Store. And taking a look at the list of top paid (nonfree) book or reader apps will give you an idea of how pricing works.

Books in the "Twilight" series, and one app called "50 Great Books for 10 Bucks," are the only ones in the top 20 that have a $9.99 price tag. Arguably, the perfect book for Apple's smartphone, "iPhone: The Missing Manual" (written by The New York Times' David Pogue), sells for $4.99. But it took a big hit in sales when the publisher tested a $9.99 price point.

… Read more

I bought a Kindle 2 last week, after a year of waiting for the second iteration of Amazon's e-book reader. I was hesitant at first, as I still love reading hardcover and paperback books, but the free cellular Web access and the addition of magazine subscriptions from publications like The New Yorker had me convinced.

I've had it for a week now, and I love it. It feels great in my hands, and the e-ink screen creates the illusion of reading a real book. I can hold it in my hand and read from it for hours.

I also have an Apple iPhone. I've tried e-book applications like eReader and Stanza, but I just didn't find the reading experience very satisfying.

It's OK for short chunks of reading, while waiting in line or sitting on the bus, but not on a lazy Sunday afternoon around the house. Holding a small device like that for long periods of time just isn't comfortable, plus the small LCD screen can be hard on the eyes after a while. And, of course, there are books only available for the Amazon Kindle that are not at any other e-book store. It's this last criteria that really forced my hand when purchasing the Kindle 2.

So when I first heard that Amazon released the Kindle application for the iPhone (download), I immediately second-guessed my purchase of the Kindle 2. Did I make a foolish buy? Why wasn't I patient enough to wait for the iPhone application? A free iPhone app is definitely a lot cheaper than the $359 for the Kindle 2. So I downloaded the Kindle for iPhone application to find out whether I should send my Kindle 2 packing with a return slip.… Read more

Hoping to gain traction on a device with a much larger installed base than that of its own eBook hardware, Amazon has offered up a free application for the iPhone bearing the Kindle name. The new program instantly becomes the iPhone book reader with the broadest title selection--the entire selection of books available for reading on Amazon Kindle can also be read on Kindle for iPhone.

Amazon, in a bid to keep its own hardware relevant, allows books purchased with the iPhone Kindle app to be transferred to the proprietary Kindle and Kindle 2 devices. Current owners of either Kindle … Read more

Like flies to cow dung, rogue apps are swarming to Facebook.

The popular social-networking site has been hit by what's believed to be the fourth rogue app in a week or so and is investigating the spread of a new variant of the Koobface worm, according to security firm Trend Micro.

The Koobface worm spreads via a message from a Facebook friend that includes a link to what looks like a video, Rik Ferguson wrote on the Trend Micro blog.

The landing page displays the name and photo of the friend. Clicking the "install" button redirects to … Read more

MacRumors has published a report that details information about Apple once again revising iTunes App Store reviews. This time, however, Apple is wielding a big eraser.

One of the more problematic issues for iPhone developers when the App Store first opened was the fact that anyone could post an app review. No purchase was required. Negative reviews from users who had never used apps lowered rank in the App Store. However, last September, Apple's policy changed, and users could only review apps they purchased and/or downloaded.

Now according to MacRumors, Apple has made changes to some "existing … Read more

Every week, I try to pick a game and some other useful utility for my iPhone apps post, but this week I can't help but write about two games. What can I say? They keep coming out with great games! The two games are from completely different genres so if you like games at all, I'm guessing at least one of them will find their way onto your iPhone.

This week's apps include a well-designed Jet Ski racing game and a unique word game that's challenging and makes you laugh while you play.

WordFu (99 cents, … Read more