Here are today’s @MacStoriesDeals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get them before they end!

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On Vietnamese forum Tinhte, a user has uploaded the above photo which he claims is a new “light” version of the iPhone 4 – potentially the rumored iPhone 4S that has been milling around in recent months. The photographs posted seem to show a nearly identical product to the iPhone 4, with the exception that there is no glass front and back panel. Instead the iPhone is plastered with a translucent plastic on either side with the familiar stainless steel banding around it.

According to information leakage, predictable from the English website, the more likely Apple will introduce the iPhone 4s (cheap version) and the iPhone 5 next month. And it looks like the iPhone that you see below is the iPhone 4s.

On the whole we’re fairly skeptical of this photo, except for the fact that in the past, Tinhte has been somewhat successful at leaking Apple prototypes, including this internal iOS 4 build and last year’s MacBook refresh. As for the possibility of a cheaper iPhone launching this year, not only has the rumor mill been churning out stories fairly frequently but Tim Cook conceded in this month’s earning call that Apple would be doing “clever things” to address the pre-paid mobile market and wouldn’t “cede any market”.

[Tinhte via TechCrunch]

Here are today’s @MacStoriesDeals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get them before they end!

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After doing some digging in iOS 5, 9to5 Mac today reported that Apple is planning to open up face detection APIs to developers. It appears from what they found that Apple will bring similar face detection techniques that Photo Booth on Lion currently employs to iOS and allow developers to build different apps that utilize the APIs.

These claims come after 9to5 Mac found the ‘CIFaceFeature’ and ‘CIDetector’ APIs within a recent beta build of iOS 5, which they say are “very advanced” APIs. The first of the two can be used by developers to locate where a person’s mouth and eyes are, whilst the latter is used when processing those images for face detection. Apple’s Developer Library online also already has some notes on the new APIs for developers to take advantage of.

Obviously at this point there is only speculation as to what these purported APIs could be used for – an obvious stretch is that the iPad version of Photo Booth may add the new effects added to the Lion version that take advantage of the information of where a person’s facial features are. It is also claimed that Polar Rose, a company that specialized in facial recognition software and was purchased by Apple last year, played a role in the development of these technologies within iOS and Lion.

[Via 9to5 Mac]

Here are today’s @MacStoriesDeals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get them before they end!

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It appears that Apple has finally decided to start forcing apps to abide by its new in-app purchase and subscription rules that became enforceable at the start of this month. It appears that the first big casualties will be the Wall Street Journal and Kobo apps. The Wall Street Journal has reported that their apps will soon remove all purchasing options from their apps and Kobo, the Canadian e-Book retailer, has already done something similar. Both apps had been linking users to their website to purchase subscription content which had been forbidden in Apple’s new rules, as detailed below.

Apps that link to external mechanisms for purchasing content to be used in the app, such as a “buy” button that goes to a web site to purchase a digital book, will be rejected.

Neither app has or had been rejected, instead Apple seems to have opted to talk directly with Kobo and News Corporation, as both have or will soon be updating their apps to remove the offending links. Curiously both apps will not be using Apple’s own in-app purchasing system to allow users to purchase content or subscriptions. Both firms still feel as though the terms are too onerous, despite Apple relaxing the restrictions in June to allow content to be sold through the in-app purchasing at a different price. Previously the rules were going to require all subscription content to be available for purchase through the in-app system and at the same or lower price (despite Apple’s required 30% cut).

Kobo’s Mr. Serbinis said to the Wall Street Journal that roughly 50% of their iOS app users already bought content through their website, but that this change “will inconvenience those customers accustomed to buying their books directly from our apps on Apple devices”. Similarly, a News Corp spokeswoman said “We remain concerned that Apple’s own subscription [rules] would create a poor experience for our readers, who would not be able to directly manage their WSJ account or to easily access our content across multiple platforms”. Both companies seem reluctant to offer in-app purchases and cede 30% of revenues to Apple, despite even being allowed to charge customers more if purchasing in this method. It follows other publishers such as The New York Times and various Conde Naste magazines, which have embraced Apple’s in-app subscriptions and purchases.

[Via The Wall Street Journal]

Owain Weinert, a 9-year-old boy that has been battling with Acute Lymphocytic Leukaemia recently reached out to the Make-A-Wish Foundation to see if he could have his dream of making an iOS game realised. Make-A-Wish inquired and managed to get in contact with the Seattle developer 4th & Battery, which you could classify as a ‘spin-off’ of PopCap (makers of Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies) that focuses on creating more experimental, indie or a “little flawed” games.

They granted Owain’s wish and helped him create Allied Star Police. Owain said he wanted to make something that was fun so that he would want to play the game. The result is a game that features a “combination of tower defense and real-time strategy gameplay” in which there is a “good vs. evil” story set in a “futuristic fictional world”.

Speaking of Owain, Mathew Lee Johnston, a senior producer at 4^th and Battery, says that he “was like every other designer and developer I’ve worked with”. “The minute he walked in the door he handed us a fully realized game design, figured out to the last detail”. What does Owain think, now that the game is available?

My brother can’t stop playing it, my dad can’t stop playing it, and neither can I. This started off as a dream of mine and now my friends and people all over the world can play my creation.

Allied Star Police is available in the App Store for the iPhone and iPad for free. I’ve given it a quick play with two rounds and its certainly a fun game that offers a twist on the classic tower defense mechanic – it is most definitely worth the download. If you want to read more about the story of Owain and PopCap jump over to the Owain’s Wish page.

[Via Cult of Mac]

US carrier AT&T today reported its second-quarter financial results, which broadly speaking has seen some strong growth. The company’s consolidated revenues were up $680 million (2.2%) to $31.5 billion year-over-year and AT&T added a total of 1.1 million new subscribers during the quarter.

AT&T also saw its best ever second quarter for smartphone sales, which were up 43% year-over-year with a total of 5.6 million smartphones sold. The loss of iPhone exclusivity doesn’t seem to have affected AT&T too much because 3.6 million (or 64%) of all smartphones sold were iPhones, which is identical to last quarter in which AT&T sold 3.6 million. To give that figure some perspective, of all iPhones sold in the last quarter (globally), AT&T sold 17% of them. Also interesting is that a quarter of the iPhones sold by AT&T were to new subscribers.

Jump the break for AT&T’s full press release on their earnings.

[Via Boy Genius Report, Asymco]

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With today’s release of OS X 10.7, there are many great Mac deals! Here are today’s @MacStoriesDeals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get them before they end!

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Here are today’s @MacStoriesDeals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get them before they end!

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Two weeks ago we reviewed Saver for iPhone, which was a new expense-tracking app for the iPhone that had just launched in the App Store. In the review, I made particular note of the design of Saver – which I feel has one the nicest user interfaces of any iPhone app I’ve used. For a task that is important (for many) but often dull and boring, Saver not only makes things a little more exciting and vibrant but it also makes it extremely easy (whilst still being fairly powerful) to accomplish various tasks such as adding an expense entry or viewing what kinds of things you spend most on.

You can read our full review of Saver here and purchase Saver on the App Store here. However, the developer of Saver has been kind enough to offer MacStories readers 3 copies of the app so we are running a giveaway. If you are interested, jump the break for the full details of how to enter.

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Here are today’s @MacStoriesDeals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get them before they end!

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