Posts tagged with "app store"

Apple Posts The Best iPhone & iPad Apps of 2010

Just like every year, the iTunes Rewind section in the iTunes Store lists the best music, movies, TV shows, podcasts and audiobooks of 2010. This year’s iTunes Rewind is available here, and it includes a huge selection of apps, too.

As you can see in the screenshot above, Apple is showcasing Hipstamatic, Angry Birds, Flipboard and Plants Vs. Zombies in the iTunes Rewind 2010 main page. As you click through, you can check out the “Hot Trends” in iPhone and iPad apps in 2010 – and many more apps are listed there.

The “Hot Trends” contains other sub-sections, such as “Shoot, Edit, Share” (iTunes) which features apps like Instagram and Path. Read more

Mac App Store Actually Coming in January 2011→

Mac App Store Actually Coming in 2011

At the Back to the Mac event in October, Steve Jobs said the Mac App Store would open in 90 days – thus giving it a January 2011 release date. According to rumors surfaced a few days ago, though, it seemed like there was the possibility of an early launch next week.

Well, Jim Darlymple over at The Loop reports:

Reports earlier this week claimed Apple would launch the Mac App Store on December 13, ahead of the holiday shopping season. However, according to my sources, Apple will launch the store in the new year.

While a specific date was not given for the official opening of the store by my sources, Apple will meet the 90-day deadline given during its October “Back to the Mac” media event.

Please note that Darlymple’s sources are usually spot-on and correct. Those rumors never really made sense to me either, considering Apple didn’t notify developers about an early launch.

So there you have it: the Mac App Store is indeed coming in January.

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Apple: No Promo Codes In The Mac App Store

The good news today is that promo codes for iOS apps are no longer limited to the U.S. App Store, but it looks like the upcoming Mac App Store (set to launch in January 2011, even though someone says it may open as early as next week) will be based on a different system. In fact, it appears that developers won’t have the possibility to generate promo codes for Mac apps sold through the Mac App Store.

In the iTunes Connect Developer Guide (version 6.2, last updated on November 1, 2010 - PDF) Apple mentions that promo codes are exclusive to iOS and won’t be available for Mac apps:

Promo Codes button (for iOS apps only). See the Requesting Promo Codes section to learn about promotional codes)

Promotional codes are not available for Mac OS X apps.

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Finally: App Store Promo Codes No Longer Limited To The U.S.

This is great news. With a brief note on iTunes Connect’s website, Apple informed developers that promo codes, the ones to redeem apps in the App Store, are now working worldwide:

Your promo code distribution is no longer limited to U.S. customers. Promo codes in iTunes Connect can now be redeemed by all App Store customers worldwide. Your Team Agent can request 50 codes per version of your app in iTunes Connect and your customers can redeem these codes in any App Store. To learn more about requesting promo codes in iTunes Connect, see the iTunes Connect Developer Guide.

Previously, promo codes only worked in the U.S. Store, forcing developers who were willing to gift apps to the press or users to make sure they had a U.S. iTunes account. Now promo codes are international. In the past we at MacStories indeed had a few headaches trying to explain you guys that, due to Apple’s limitations, promo codes were only available for US customers.

It took Apple two years, but it’s over. Really good news for users, developers and bloggers.

Finally! [9to5 via MacKinando]

Apple Confirms Devs Can Use The Same App Name Across iOS and Mac App Store, Provides Other Tips

Three weeks ago we reported Apple updated its Mac App Store submission FAQ for developers to inform developers that it was possible to submit apps with identical names to the iPhone, iPad and Mac App Store. Today they’re making it official by posting the news on the Developer News website:

You can now submit a Mac OS X version of your app to the Mac App Store with the identical name as your iOS app on the App Store. Having the same name for your app on both the App Store and Mac App Store allows you to maintain the consistency of your brand and makes your app easily recognizable to customers.

Earlier today Apple also posted a series of tips regarding in-app purchases and app metadata. Apple reminds developers that “there is certain metadata which cannot be edited, such as keywords and the name of your app” and suggests in-app purchases should come with accurate screenshots and predictions.

According to a rumor surfaced yesterday, Apple may be a targeting an early Mac App Store opening for next week. We haven’t been able to verify this rumor with the developers we contacted, though, as no one apparently got notified from Apple about the change of schedule.

BlackBerry vs. iPhone: What’s In Your Pocket?→

BlackBerry vs. iPhone: What’s In Your Pocket?

Apple says the iPhone is more than a mere appliance for sending e-mail. The device, with its sleek touch screen and ability to run hundreds of thousands of Web-connected applications, games and utilities, can be used for nearly any purpose, business or personal, a line that Apple hopes to blur out of existence.

“Most people now want to use a single device to handle both their personal and professional lives,” said Shaw Wu, an analyst at Kaufman Bros. “That’s what Apple’s really good at — and now RIM is playing catch-up.”

I guess the question is: can they even catch up at this point? 275,000 apps is no small difference. [via]

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Steve Jobs is a Ninja!

UPDATE: Ninja Steve was approved and is live in the App Store for $.99 -> LINK

The gameplay is very simple, Ninja Steve is all about fast reflexes and accuracy. The ‘Smartbots’ fly around until they get close enough to zap you. Touch an enemy to fire a shuriken. After a while you will build up a RDF, which is like an electromagnetic shock, shake your iDevice to activate it. There are three different stages and four different ‘Smartbots’. There are 15 main levels, plus 2 extra levels.

It’s a really simple game with a few Apple-like references but it gets a little stale and repetitive after a while but for $.99, Apple fanboys can kick ‘Smartbot’ ass ninja-style!

Remember when Steve Jobs couldn’t take his ninja stars aboard his private plane back in September? Maybe he should have used a smoke bomb to get them aboard.

Anyway, Woltz Media is developing an iOS game called Ninja Steve. It’s about a CEO named ‘Steve’ (no official affiliation with Jobs or Apple) that is also a trained ninja assassin.

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Mac App Store To Launch Next Week?

According to a rumor posted by Appletell, Apple may launch the Mac App Store as early as next week:

An inside source has just told us that Apple is targeting a Monday, December 13th launch of the Mac App Store. The company apparently told developers to have their software prepared for a launch as early as Monday the 6th of this month, but our contact would be shocked if that happened at this point. Apple has made no official announcements regarding this, and delays could always happen, but there’s a push to be launched before Christmas, well ahead of the previously estimated January release. Guess from where this push has come.

The website claims that Apple is ahead of its schedule for the new store opening, and Steve Jobs wanted a December 6th launch, but it didn’t happen. We didn’t hear anything from developers about a December 6th release, we just know that there’s a deadline for apps to be submitted that should end sometimes later this month.

At the Back to the Mac event on October 20th, Steve Jobs said the Mac App Store would launch in 90 days – which made us think of a late January 2011 opening. Last week, Apple seeded a new build of OS X 10.6.6 to developers to ensure Mac App Store compatibility and even clarified its position on the availability of trials and beta apps in the new Store.

[via MacRumors]

Will Mac App Store Users Really Miss Demos? Probably Not.

The big news this morning is that Apple clarified its position on demos and trials in the upcoming Mac App Store and confirmed what we thought would happen all along: developers can’t have demo versions of their apps in the Mac App Store. Only full-featured retail versions will be accepted. Clearly, Apple doesn’t want to offer limited-time or “half baked” apps in its new Store, and it’s forcing Mac developers to go the iOS way with either free or paid apps.

That is going to cause a few problems and headaches for many, many OS X developers. For years, they have been trained to release demo / trail versions of applications, with a paid version to purchase immediately or after the trial runs out. And indeed Apple suggests just that: keep hosting trial versions on your website, because you’ll be able to insert a link to it in the App Store description page of the app. Just as it’s possible now in the iPhone and iPad App Store. Read more