apps

Converting App Store Sales Ranks to Sales Numbers

Ever since Apple stopped listing exact sales numbers for iPhone App Store applications, developers have been seeking some sort of guide to how sales rank translates to actual unit totals. One developer, Joel Comm, has released rank-to-sales stats for his dubious "iFart Mobile" application, as follows:

12/12 - 75 units - #70 entertainment 12/13 - 296 units - #16 entertainment 12/14 - 841 units - #76 overall, #8 entertainment 12/15 - 1510 units - #39 overall, #5 entertainment 12/16 - 1797 units - #22 overall, #3 entertainment 12/17 - 2836 units - #… Read more

Users Report iTunes/iPhone App Update Problems

Some users are reporting recently apparent problems updating iPhone and iPod Touch applications through iTunes, with the iTunes erroneously reporting that no updates are available.

According Apple Discussions poster mhoutman:

"since the last couple of days i have the following problem:the updating of some apps (shazam) was first visible on both my iphones, but the next day it disappeared. the same with itunes: it was not visible. today the same with touchgrind: visible on my iphones but not visible in itunes.

We are not sure where the problem lies, but we have witnessed the same problem on our … Read more

The 404 249: Where Rana knows the show number before we do OR Where we'd rather be in Tittybong

Rana and CMC join the show for a "what's up" with iPhone apps and a warm farewell to the last dick. Is Steve Jobs alive? Will New Yorkers pay tax on their iPods? Will Guitar Hero ever add death metal tracks? All these answers and more on The 404. Did we mention that we've got two flesh and blood females on the show? Make sure to stick around until the end of the episode when we find out that Rana has a secret celebrity crush...

EPISODE 249 Download today's podcast… Read more

Google launches App Engine dashboard

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

Google on Tuesday announced a dashboard to detail system status for the Google App Engine.

The move is the latest by a cloud provider to improve transparency in the event of an outage.

On the Google App Engine blog, the company said that it has launched the App Engine system status site and a quota dashboard to detail items like bandwidth usage and CPU. Google said it also plans a billing dashboard to preview what happens if you go beyond those quotas.

Here's a look at the dashboard:

Palm releases its own app store. So what?

In the year since Palm released the Centro as an attempt to revive its lagging business, I've barely heard a whisper about new applications or energy for the Treo and Centro lines. Yet late Monday night, the device maker released its own app store download for Centro and Treo users to more easily access the applications.

The arrival of Palm's free app store--for both Windows Mobile and Palm operating systems--was undoubtedly spurred on by the success of Apple's iPhone App Store, Google's Android Market, and the upcoming BlackBerry app store that's slated to debut in … Read more

Apple kills iPhone app, claiming API violation

Apple has rejected an iPhone application that supposedly uses off-limits technology just like Google's mobile application--only the developer swears it's not true.

Landon Fuller, who developed a photo contact management system called Peeps, said on his blog that Apple had rejected Peeps from the App Store because, "Peeps cannot be posted to the App Store due to the usage of a non-public API. Usage of non-public APIs, as outlined in the iPhone SDK Agreement section 3.3.1, is prohibited." The thing is, Fuller insists that Peeps does not use any programming tools but the public … Read more

Pull My Finger Back in App Store

We are not pulling your legs -- the controversial app Pull My Finger (iTunes link) by the developer Air-O-Matic.com is again for sale in the iTunes App Store for $.99

As our colleagues at CNET News reported in September, Apple rejected the app because it was "of limited utility to the broad iPhone and iPod Touch user community." However, it's back to stay in the Entertainment category of the iTunes App Store.

If you are interested in a demonstration you can see a video of the new app in action. Pull My Finger does what you … Read more

Top iPhone apps get more iTunes exposure

Apple on Thursday night rolled out a new look to its App Store directory, putting more of an emphasis on both the top paid and free applications within each category's listing pages. These lists now appear on the left and right sides of the results, giving users a chance to see what's currently the cream of the crop.

While this information has been available on the iPhone version of the App Store since the 2.2 firmware update, users searching for new applications in iTunes have had a less exploratory experience.

According to a developer who had contacted AppleInsider … Read more

The Real Deal 139: Favorite Tech of 2008

Tom and Rafe name their favorite technology of 2008 and pass along some faves of the listeners as well.

Listen now: Download today's podcast… Read more