A Mad Magazine contributor has been told by Apple that his iPhone app featuring drawings and contact information of members of the 111th Congress has been rejected because it depicts politicians in an objectionable light.
Richmond's iPhone app in action.
(Credit: Tom Richmond)According to Tom Richmond, who wrote about his app's rejection on his personal blog, his app--dubbed Bobble Rep-111th Congress Edition--in no way should have been construed as objectionable.
Richmond said that the focus of the app was to create a "database of all the members of the United States Congress which allowed the user to find the names and contact information of their senators and congressional representative either via Zip code or by using the iPhone's GPS location services." Rather than use the politicians' individual portraits, the app depicts each senator and representative in caricature form, which Richmond drew himself. All told, the app features 540 caricatures of the politicians.
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Amp Up Before You Score iPhone app.
(Credit: Pepsi)PepsiCo has tweeted an apology on its Amp Energy Twitter account, as well as its Pepsi account, to those who may be offended by its new iPhone application, Amp Up Before You Score, which some have complained is insensitive to women.
"Our app tried 2 (sic) show the humorous lengths guys go 2 pick up women," a tweet read on Amp Energy's Twitter page. "We apologize if it's in bad taste & appreciate your feedback." The message was retweeted on Pepsi's official Twitter page.
The soft-drink maker stopped short of removing the free application from Apple's App Store.
Amp Up Before You Score is described by Pepsi as a "road map to success for your favorite kinds of women--24 in all." According to the company, the app first helps men "identify her type." To do so, the app shows a listing of "types of women" and features a "cheat sheet on the stuff she's into, with lists, links, and some surefire opening lines."
Perhaps the most suspect part of the app is the "Keep a List" function. The company describes that feature as such: "Get lucky? Add her to your brag list. You can include a name, date, and whatever details you remember."
After Pepsi released the app, people immediately took offense. Not only did Pepsi and its Amp Energy division hear it from Twitter users, the company also took shots from blogs that found the app particularly offensive. An overwhelming number of reviewers gave the app one star on its App Store page.
So far, Amp Up Before You Score is still available as a free download in Apple's App Store. If you want to see the app in action without downloading it, you can view a video from Pepsi here.
Vonage Mobile for the iPhone, iPod Touch.
(Credit: Vonage)Voice over Internet Protocol service provider Vonage on Monday announced that it has launched its first mobile apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and BlackBerry devices.
Dubbed Vonage Mobile, the company's free VoIP app enables users to place international calls from their mobile devices. iPod Touch owners can do so by placing calls through Wi-Fi. BlackBerry owners will transmit calls over the cellular network only. iPhone owners will be able to place calls from Wi-Fi or through AT&T's network.
According to Vonage, its app will help users save up to 50 percent on international calling charges levied by carriers. After downloading the app, users need to enter an international number. They can also select a call recipient from their existing iPhone or BlackBerry contacts list. Those who receive calls will see the user's cell phone number on their caller IDs. Charges will be taken against the user's credit card, which they need to input when they first start using the app.
For now, Vonage is offering per-minute rates. The company said in a statement that by the end of the year, it will offer the Vonage World plan to users. Vonage World for home users currently allows them to make calls to more than 60 countries for $24.99 per month.
Vonage's app launch comes on the heels of controversy over whether Google's similar Voice app should have been denied access to Apple's App Store. The debate still rages on.
Vonage's new mobile app is available now in Apple's App Store and Research In Motion's BlackBerry App World. Both versions are free.
Apple announced Monday that over 2 billion apps have been downloaded from its App Store since the e-commerce shop's launch in July 2008. The company also said that there are now more than 85,000 apps available.
More numbers: There are currently 50 million iPhone and iPod Touch customers, as well as over 125,000 developers in Apple's iPhone Developer Program. All that has combined to make the company's App Store the world's largest applications store, Apple claims.
"The rate of App Store downloads continues to accelerate with users downloading a staggering two billion apps in just over a year, including more than half a billion apps this quarter alone," Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement. "The App Store has reinvented what you can do with a mobile handheld device, and our users are clearly loving it."
At a rock-n-roll-themed event earlier this month, Apple reported that the store had over 75,000 applications and accommodated 1.8 billion downloads. In other words, in about three weeks' time, it has added over 10,000 apps and users have downloaded an additional 200 million applications.
Among those thousands of new apps recently added, one stands out for apparently pushing the borders of what Apple allows in its store: the first app featuring images and videos of bikini-clad adult film stars.
The iStat app's killer feature has been killed.
(Credit: Bjango)The version 1.1 release of developer Bjango's iStat application for the iPhone last week was marked with disappointment.
To maintain the application's availability on the App Store, Bjango had been told by Apple that it had to remove what was arguably the most compelling feature of version 1.0: Free Memory, which enabled people to clear wired and inactive memory to increase the iPhone's battery life. It also improved the device's performance.
Bjango, which focuses on developing apps for the iPhone, felt that it had no other choice but to create a new version sans the Free Memory feature. iStat 1.1, $1.99, offers only iPhone monitoring. Among other things, users can see battery life calculations and how much memory and disk space remains.
"Apple would not say why we needed to remove the 'Free Memory' feature," Tori Gale, support manager at Bjango, wrote in an e-mail. "(Apple) simply demanded that it was removed, or (it) would delete (version 1.0 of) the app from the store...Nothing iStat did violated the terms of the developer contract, as far as we know, and Apple didn't say that it did."
When pressed for more insight over Apple's ultimatum, Gale had, much to her chagrin, little to say. "Apple really hasn't given us any information," she said. "We simply don't have much we can say."
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Apple might have let one slip by. An app that looks awfully similar to the Nintendo DS is now available in its App Store.
Does that look like a Nintendo DS to you?
(Credit: ZM2 Dev)Dubbed DS Double Sys, the iPhone app from ZM2 Dev "can turn your device into a 'Handheld Game Console.'" When users boot up the app, the DS's familiar design is featured on the screen, including its dual displays. App owners can change the color of the DS to match their real-life version, zoom in on individual screens, and even play games. ZM2 Dev said that gamers receiving higher scores on its Pixel Mania title will be able to unlock more DS colors and a "secret game."
According to the app's App Store listing, more games, case colors, and microphone functionality will be made available at some point in the future.
After fielding several complaints over its app-approval policy, it seems rather ironic that Apple would allow an app that looks (and works) exactly like a Nintendo DS into its App Store. That said, it could have something to do with the way the app works.
Early last month, Apple rejected a Commodore 64 emulator called C64 that was trying to gain entry into its App Store. The app, which allowed owners to use Commodore BASIC, also allowed users to play authentic Commodore 64 titles. In a rejection notice sent to the app's developers, Apple cited section 3.2.2 of its iPhone Developer's Agreement, which states that "an application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means."
DS Double Sys is not, theoretically, an emulator. The game is a simulation of a Nintendo DS. That might have helped the app gain admission into the App Store.
Regardless, it should be interesting to see how long it stays in the store. Nintendo can't be happy about an app that costs $4.99 depicting its hardware. And if more games are made available, it might cause even more trouble for the app's developers.
Look for more news on this once Nintendo catches wind of it.
Via Gizmodo (Link)
Sirius XM is at it again. The company that has faced numerous financial issues over the past few years has finally released its much-anticipated app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. There's just one problem: it leaves out much of the good stuff.
The Sirius XM app (and its missing channels).
(Credit: Sirius XM)The new app allows users to access some of the service's sports, talk, comedy, and music channels. The available channels include, Oprah Radio, MLB Home Plate, NFL Radio, NHL Home Ice, Mad Dog Radio, The Foxxhole comedy channel, and NPR.
Users will also have access to a variety of Sirius XM music channels, including E Street Radio, The Grateful Dead Channel, Eminem's Shade 45, Radio Margaritaville, Siriusly Sinatra, and others. All told, users will be able to listen to 120 channels. Any music track can be purchased in iTunes while listening to it in the Sirius XM app.
But it's the omissions that will undoubtedly sway public opinion. According to Sirius XM, "some select programming, including MLB Play-by-Play, NFL Play-by-Play, Nascar Radio, and Howard Stern, will not be available on the iPhone and iPod Touch."
In its press release, Sirius XM didn't provide any reason why some of its most popular channels aren't included. But after some digging, I found that those omissions may be due to "mobile-performance rights."
"Sirius and XM offer all of the channels for which we have mobile-performance rights," the company wrote on its iPhone app's FAQ page. "For that reason, certain channels which may be available on your satellite radio or online radio service may not be available on a mobile device like the iPhone."
Sirius XM is giving users a free seven-day trial with the app. After that, it's charging a fee to access the content. I called a Sirius XM customer service representative to see how much it would cost to get that service. He told me that as a current Sirius XM subscriber, I would need to pay an additional $2.99 per month after the seven-day trial. Those who currently do not subscribe to the service will be forced to pay $12.95 per month for access.
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Amazon is bringing the Kindle to all kinds of devices.
(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Lee/CNET)Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos spoke on Monday at the Wired Business Conference, discussing his company and the future of the Amazon Kindle.
After discussions on Google Book Search and other topics, Bezos sprinkled in a few tidbits of information that could have a lasting impact both on the e-book business and the tech industry as a whole. According to Bezos, he plans to break the Kindle business into two parts: hardware and software.
Amazon's e-books are already available on the iPhone. Users who want to access titles can download the Kindle app and buy books from Amazon's store. But Bezos wants to do more. He believes that the path to success is through sharing e-book technology with competing hardware makers.
"The device team has the job of making the most remarkable purpose-built reading device in the world," Bezos said at the conference. "We are going to give the device team competition. We will make Kindle books, at the same $9.99 price points, available on the iPhone, and other mobile devices and other computing devices."
It might be the smartest move Amazon has made yet.
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The Sony Walkman X-Series.
(Credit: Sony)Remember the Sony Walkman? It was, at one time, the iPod of its day. No other portable media player was capable of competing against the Walkman. Everyone wanted to get their hands on Sony's stellar device. And every year, when Sony would tweak it just a little bit, we all jumped at the chance to buy the latest and greatest Walkman.
But today, the Walkman is just an also-ran. Apple's iPod is dominating the business. With a firm grip on the market, there's currently no sign that Apple will be relinquishing its lead in the PMP space anytime soon. But Sony hasn't given up.
According to Engadget, the Japanese electronics powerhouse is planning to release an Android-based Walkman next year.
It makes sense. Rumors have been swirling since 2008 that its Sony Ericsson joint venture would be releasing an Android-based handset. Why wouldn't Sony also consider Google's mobile operating system for the Walkman?
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Will Zune HD be worth buying?
(Credit: Microsoft)Microsoft wants its upcoming Zune HD to go head to head with the iPod Touch. Is that really plausible?
The Zune HD portable media player, announced last week, will feature an HD Radio tuner and an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) touch screen. It will use flash memory and a version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser. It will feature an HDMI connection for streaming video to HDTVs, Wi-Fi connectivity, HD video support, and a built-in accelerometer.
I think that Microsoft's Zune HD, if as advertised, could supply some real competition for my iPod Touch.
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