Amazon Launches Mac App Store Competitor: Mac Download Store

Amazon has it’s eyes set on Apple again. Today they have launched the Mac Download Store. It features over 250 titles like from Microsoft Office (which the Mac App Store does not have), Adobe Elements and Call of Duty 4. The games are available for purchase via “an install-less download process.” Amazon says for Mac downloads, you don’t need to install any software, the Downloader will launch within the browser. It also appears that the Amazon Mac Download Store will also support trial versions of software that can be upgraded within the app unlike the Mac App Store.

Amazon is even launching a special with the Mac Download Store. “Save $5 on Mac Software and Game Downloads” - Celebrate our new Mac downloads stores and save $5 on any Mac game or software product through June 1, 2011. To save, click the “Buy and download” button on the product you have chosen, then enter the code SAVE5MAC in the “Gift Cards and Promotions” box. Limit 1 discount per customer.

There is no official press release from Amazon yet, but The Loop and All Things D have both confirmed that the Mac Download Store is here.

Update: We’re hearing the new Amazon Mac Download Store currently offers no way for independent developers to submit their applications – we’re told Amazon simply worked with existing, established sellers like Microsoft, Adobe and others to set up the new web interface and download system. No indie dev channel has been implemented yet, apparently.

Google Wallet May Work with Future NFC iPhones

Earlier today Google officially unveiled Google Wallet, the company’s first foray into the near-field communication payment market, based on an app capable of running on the Nexus 4G device and backed by names like Citi, First Data, Sprint and MasterCard. Through the usage of an NFC chip for mobile phones and the Google Wallet app for Android, users will be able to pay with real money from a credit card or “Google Prepaid Card” just by tapping on screen and saving a new transaction. The system is currently being field-tested by Google and will launch publicly this summer in the United States, furthermore it will also support Google’s new Offers platform for special deals and discounts as well as MasterCard’s already deployed PayPass terminals.

Google Wallet has been designed for an open commerce ecosystem. It will eventually hold many if not all of the cards you keep in your leather wallet today. And because Google Wallet is a mobile app, it will be able to do more than a regular wallet ever could, like storing thousands of payment cards and Google Offers but without the bulk. Eventually your loyalty cards, gift cards, receipts, boarding passes, tickets, even your keys will be seamlessly synced to your Google Wallet. And every offer and loyalty point will be redeemed automatically with a single tap via NFC.

As Google is stressing the open nature of its commerce ecosystem, MG Siegler at TechCrunch reports someone at the media event today asked Google’s VP of Commerce Tilenius if the Google Wallet app would eventually run on NFC-enabled iOS, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 devices, getting a surprisingly promising answer:

Today, during their Google Wallet/Offers unveiling at the NYC headquarters, Google touted the openness of their new system. Naturally, someone asked a question about what this meant for other, non-Android phone?

“In terms of iPhone, RIM, Microsoft — we will partner with everyone,” Google VP of Commerce Stephanie Tilenius said. Of course, that depends on two things: 1) the inclusion of NFC chips in their phones. 2) the willingness to work with Google on this system.

Of course, considering all the rumors surrounding Apple’s NFC implementation for future iPhones and iPads, it is very likely that Apple will rely on its own payment system based on iTunes accounts or external collaborations with credit card companies, rather than allowing Google to become the preferred system for NFC payments on the iPhone. So while Google is promising today that their app could run on a variety of devices and that they want to partner with everyone to extend the ecosystem, it remains to be seen whether or not Apple will let them release a Google Wallet app for iOS. TechCrunch also reports Google mentioned a “sticker” that could be attached to any device to enable NFC functionalities, and when tapped on another NFC terminal would allow for payments through Google’s cloud, and the Wallet app. Of course, the app would still need to be approved in the App Store or, perhaps, work as a webapp.

Apple was initially rumored to be implementing NFC in the iPhone 5 set for release this Fall, though more recent reports claim the feature will come in future iPhones, not necessarily the one supposed to ship later this year.

Get Social with the Sparrow 1.2 Giveaway!

Sparrow is the email client for the rest of us who want nothing more than an elegant app that requires no setup, looks good, and works seamlessly with Gmail out of the box. There is no concept of mapping folders to your Inbox or setting up an archive heap: Sparrow simply works with your IMAP or POP3 accounts with little needed configuration. As you may have previously read, Sparrow recently updated to include a universal inbox so you can see all of your activity in one place, and Facebook fans will be happy with the additional ability to add people as Facebook friends and pull down profile pics. Toss in Gravatar and Address Book support, and Sparrow aims to keep you connected its venture towards social integration. A lite version of Sparrow is free in the App Store, and the full version can be found for $9.99. Today, AppSumo is offering a 40% discount off Sparrow so you can pick it up for just $6, and we’re teaming up with the sales gurus to make the deal even sweeter. We’re giving away ten copies to our email churning MacStorians, and you can find all of the necessary rules past the break.

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Intel Could Make non-Intel Chips for Others

At an investor event in London earlier today, Intel CFO Stacy Smith said the company would be open to make chips based on external intellectual properties and cores, Reuters reports. Using Intel’s chip manufacturing process, widely regarded as superior to most competitors in the silicon-making space, producing chips for other companies would be a “fantastic business” for Intel, Smith said, though it would trigger an “in-depth discussion” within the company.

If Apple or Sony came to us and said ‘I want to do a product that involves your IA (Intel architecture) core and put some of my IP around it’, I wouldn’t blink. That would be fantastic business for us.

Then you get into the middle ground of ‘I don’t want it to be a IA core, I want it to be my own custom designed core,’ and then you are only getting the manufacturing margin, (and) that would be a much more in-depth discussion and analysis.

Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors are currently used in Apple’s MacBook Pros and iMacs, with the popular MacBook Air line rumored to get an upgrade to the same CPU architecture in June or July. Intel, however, does not make chips for mobile devices like the iPhone or iPad, a growing market where Intel has been left behind, putting British company ARM in a leading position as the only chip maker for iOS devices and upcoming tablets that will hit the market later this year. In the past months, due to the popularity of ARM’s architecture, it was rumored Apple could consider switching from Intel to ARM on the desktop as well; on the other hand, Intel announced its intention to develop chips for always-on, always-connected mobile devices with Silvermont and Airmont processors said to be included in future Android and MeeGo devices. As for Apple, it is unlikely that the company will switch architectures on its iOS and OS X platforms in the immediate future, though Smith’s statements could open to some interesting possibilities when it comes to Apple-designed cores combined with Intel’s manufacturing power.

Apple Patents LCD Screen That Plays Nice with Sunglasses

A new patent application surfaced at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office entitled “Display that Emits Circularly-Polarized Light” and discovered by AppleInsider today points at a new kind of LCD screens capable of playing nice in outdoor viewing when an iPhone or iPad user is wearing sunglasses to protect himself from harmful UV rays. The problem with polarized sunglasses – not necessarily LCD screens exposed to directly sunlight, something Apple’s own displays have long been criticized due to poor performances when compared to the Amazon Kindle – is that they “only allow through light with an electric field that vibrates in the vertical direction”, and considering current LCD displays have an electric field that vibrates in one direction, the user wearing polarized sunglasses may see distorted images when looking at the screen from certain angles. Polarized sunglasses and LCDs don’t play nice together, and Apple’s proposed solution is aimed at building an LCD display that, with circularly polarized light, allows sunglasses to not see black areas, distorted images, and so forth.

The layer receives the linearly-polarized light on one surface, converts the linearly-polarized light to circularly-polarized light, and then emits the circularly-polarized light from another surface,” the application reads. “By emitting circularly-polarized light, the display reduces the perceived distortion found at some angles when the display is viewed through a linearly-polarizing filter.

The patent design seems to suggest Apple might get around the problem of iOS devices used outdoors assuming people generally tend to wear sunglasses in direct sunlight. The patent credits John Z. Zhong, Wei Chen, Cheng Chen, Victor H.E. Yin, and Shawn R. Gettemy as inventors.

Apple Files Lawsuit Against Kid Who Sold White iPhone 4 Parts

A few months ago we covered the story of Fei Lam, whose site, WhiteiPhone4Now.com had been forced to shut down. He managed to sell $130,000 worth of iPhone 4 parts that were in the elusive (at the time) white color. The story since then went quiet, until yesterday when Apple decided to file a lawsuit against Lam and his parents.

The suit claims that the site led to the infringement and dilution of Apple’s trademarks and that it was involved in deceptive practices through selling the iPhone conversion kits. Curiously, Apple has also filed a voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit, which as MacRumors suggests, may mean that a settlement has been reached, although the request for dismissal without prejudice may mean that Apple could come after Lim again at a later date.

Defendent Lam willfully and without authorization has used Apple’s trademarks in connection with the sale of his “White iPhone 4 Conversion Kits,” which among other things included white front and back panels with Apple’s logo and “iPhone” trademarks that are used in connection with the promotion and sale of Apple’s well known iPhone 4 handheld mobile digital electronic devices.

Included in the suit from Apple are quotes from an instant messaging conversation between Lam and Alan Yang, a business owner in Shenzen who obtained the parts for Lam. Of importance is that Yang notes he was having difficulties getting parts shipped out because customs agents in Hong Kong were raising concerns over trademark issues.

Apple has requested a permanent injunction barring the Lam, and his parents who are also included in the suit because he is a minor, from any further sales and forfeiture of all profits from the sale of white iPhone 4 parts, reimbursement for legal expenses and additional financial penalties. If you are interested in more details of the case, check out PatentlyApple which has done an extended summation of the suit.

[Via MacRumors]

Get Android’s App Launcher on Your iPhone via Jailbreak

One thing I’ve always liked about the Android operating system, native Cloud Player and Music Beta apps aside, is the possibility to list all your apps and some favorite ones in the app launcher, a vertical window overlaying the “home screen” that can be opened at any time without having to move between pages. iOS allows you to organize apps in different screens and folders, the multitasking tray gives you access to recently used and paused apps, but I’d like to see a way to quickly get ahold of apps that I use a lot, are not on the first home screen, and aren’t suitable for a folder. Similarly, it’d be nice to have a way to see more apps in a single screen, avoiding being forced to constantly switch between pages. Those who decided to jailbreak their 4.3.3 iPhones might find a good solution in AndroidLoader, a $2.99 tweak from ModMyi’s repository that activates and Android-like app launcher window listing all the apps installed on your device. The launcher can display apps in alphabetical order, it can be scrolled vertically and all you have to do to open it is tap on a small icon placed in the middle of the standard iOS dock. The interface looks rather simple and the tweak is said to be very lightweight with minimal memory footprint.

Check out the demo video after the break. AndroidLoader is available now in the Cydia Store at $2.99. [via iSpazio]
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Kickoff For Mac Aims To Simplify Teamwork

Working and communicating effectively in a group for a project can be quite painful and difficult, but Kickoff is a new group collaboration tool that aims to make it much easier for Mac users.

Designed for small teams of people, Kickoff gives users three integral features required for effective teamwork – chat, file management and to-do’s/notes. What makes Kickoff look really interesting is that each of these core functionalities are fully featured and thought through. For example it doesn’t just store files, because it also has built-in versioning and transfers within chat, whilst to-do’s can be allocated to certain people and a dashboard provides an overall glance at everything in the project.

It syncs everything over the air in real-time and because it’s a Mac app you can easily drag files, use Quick Look on files and receive dock notifications. Unfortunately pricing will probably be a bit prohibitive for many, starting at 20€ a month for up to three users, whilst for up to 15 users it is 50€ per month, although there is a two week free trial. Jump the break for some more screenshots.

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