Tag Archives: App Store

Apple Restored VKontatke And Mail.Ru To The App Store

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Apple has restored Russian social network VKontatke and webmail provider Mail.Ru to the App Store, three weeks after removing them both for sanctions violations, Alex Hern from The Guardian reported.

According to Alex Hern, the two services are home-grown versions of Facebook and Gmail with domestic market share to match. They were removed from Apple’s platforms in late September, following a wave of British sanctions that targeted the financial organizations that own them.

Apple has not responded to requests for comment from The Guardian. The ownership of VKontake and Mail.Ru has not changed in the past month, and the leadership of Gazprombank and Sberbank remain sanctioned by the British government. It is unclear why Apple restored the apps, but they reappeared on App Stores globally on Monday morning, according to the monitoring project Apple Censorship.

The @applecensorship Twitter account posted the article by MacRumors and the piece from The Guardian about Apple’s decision to return Vkontatke and Mail.Ru to the App Store.

According to The Guardian, the project director of Apple Censorship is Benjamin Ismail. He gave the following quote to The Guardian:

“The only thing we can say for sure is that, once again, Apple implements its App Stores policies in total opacity, thinking it will not be held accountable for its actions. While we are glad to see those apps restored, as some activists and members of civil society organizations were still using them when they were removed, we condemn Apple for its continuous, erratic, and non-transparent way of managing content in the App Store.”

MacRumors reported that the two services were pulled following a package of sanctions enacted by the British government that affected tens of executives at Gazprombank, a Russian Bank with links to VK. The sanctions were in response to a sham referenda staged by Russian authorities in occupied areas of Ukraine.

According to Mac Rumors, Apple said in a statement at the time, “These apps are being distributed by developers majority-owned or majority-controlled by one or more parties sanctioned by the UK government,”

MacRumors also reported that it wasn’t immediately clear why Apple restored the apps, since ownership of VKontake and Mail.Ru has not changed since the apps were removed, and the leadership of Gazprombank and Sberbank remain sanctioned by the British government. According to MacRumors, it is possible that Apple’s decision was related to the use of both services by activists.

An Apple spokesperson shared the following statement with MacRumors:

“The apps from this developer were removed from the App Store, as required by law, after multiple requests were made to the developer to provide documentation to verify that they were not in violation of UK sanctions. Subsequent to the removal, the developer has provided the requisite information verifying that they are not majority owned or controlled by a sanctioned entity. Thus, the apps have been reinstated to the App Store.”

Clearly, Apple and Apple Censorship have differing ideas about what happened that caused the apps to be removed from Apple’s App Store – and then brought back to it. I don’t think we are going to hear any more news about this, now that Apple has given a statement to MacRumors.

Google Quietly Launched “Switch to Android” App on iOS

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Google has launched its “Switch to Android” app on the App Store. The app does not yet appear if you look for it on an iPhone, but it can be viewed via the App Store on your desktop computer. The Switch to Android app is free, but is not downloadable just yet.

TechCrunch reported that Google has not officially launched “Switch to Android”. It also has not released when the app will become available. The app does not appear on Google’s developer page on the App Store or in App Store search results.

9to5Google reported that it is not clear at this time when Google intends for “Switch to Android” to launch widely, but considering how long Apple’s own “Move to iOS” app has been in the PlayStore, Google’s alternative is already arriving years later than it should have.

Google’s Android.com provides information to people who want to “Switch to Android”. There are four steps in the process:

Get Google Drive: – Make sure you have the latest version of Google Drive on your iPhone, then sign in to Drive with your Google Account. If you don’t have a Google Account, you can create one after you download Drive.

Back up your stuff: – Back up your content in Google Drive. Pull up Settings in Google Drive, then tap Backup. You can pick specific things to store, or do it all at once. Your choice.

Turn off iMessage: Go to Settings and turn off iMessage on your iPhone. Also turn off FaceTime. So you won’t miss any messages or calls once you’ve switched to Android.

Sign in on your new phone: Sign in on your Android device with the same Google Account you used during backup. And just like that, you’re in. Your data will automatically available in your Google Contacts, Calendar and Photos apps.

Apps that are on the App Store will include an App Privacy section that shows people what data a specific app will grab. “Switch to Android” may collect your location, contact info, user content, identifiers, usage data, diagnostics, and other data. It might also collect diagnostics – that are not linked to your identity.

I don’t think that either side will win this battle over users. Each side is likely to put some effort into convincing people to switch from whatever phone they are currently using to the competitor’s phone. It looks like it is easy to switch from one to the other. I haven’t seen any information about how easy or difficult it might be to switch back.

After 6 months Apple finally fixes App Store vulnerabilities

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Last summer a Google security researcher announced he had found serious flaws in the Apple App Store. The company was serving up data over an unencrypted HTTP connection, leaving its customers open to attacks from anyone using the same public network. Six months later, the company finally flipped on the encryption.

Elie Bursztein announced yesterday that “I am really happy that my spare-time work pushed Apple to finally enable HTTPS to protect users”.

The lack of HTTPS left iOS customers open to password stealing, app swapping — the ability for an attacker to force a customer to install/buy the attacker’s app of choice instead of the one the user intended to install/buy, fake app upgrades and serious privacy leaks.

“When contacting the upgrade server, the device sends in the clear a PList that contains all the applications installed on the phone. This is a privacy leak as it allows an attacker to know which bank/doctor/services the user uses,” Bursztein said. “It can also allow an attacker to track users, as a list of installed applications is pretty unique to each user (it seems likely that it will generate more than the 31 bits of entropy needed to uniquely identify a user.)”

Bursztein made these attack scenarios public in an effort to force Apple, and other mobile companies, to fix the problems. He has been waiting since July 2012 for the Cupertino company to act on its flaws and now the wait is finally over.

How To Succeed With a Mobile App

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Smashing Magazine LogoGetting into mobile app development often seems like a path paved with gold, but the reality is very different with many apps failing to succeed. Good apps do not simply “get lucky” but rather their developers work hard at  planning a successful app. Smashing Magazine’s article “How To Succeed With a Mobile App” shows the elements needed to plan for app success.

Smashing Magazine identifies six areas to consider for a great app.

1) The Idea. Find a vaccuum or empty niche for your app.

2) Money. Plan the business model for your app.

3) Define. Write down what your app will do in one sentence and stick to it.

4) Design. If the user has to think how to use the app, you’ve failed.

5) Coding. Native, high-quality, robust code is essential.

6) Marketing. Make friends, build buzz, launch big, love your fans.

But don’t simply read the above and move on. Check out the original article by Jeremy Olson at Smashing Magazine as it has plenty of further information for would-be app coders.

 

Tablets that Failed in 2011 (But Could Come Back in 2012)

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Every year, we get new hype of electronics that are suppose to rock their niche. This year, we saw tablets galore. At CES 2011, I personally saw around 8 tablets that disappeared quicker than a fake Apple store in China.

But those tablets that stayed to try and take the market had to deal with the 500 lb gorilla in iPad2. Some did ok, while others failed miserably. That is what were going to look at today.

Cisco Cius

Cisco Cius
Cisco Cius

Knowing that Cisco didn’t want to deal with the consumer market, they decided to go for the business professional. Why not? It worked for Blackberry all these years. Only problem, it still couldn’t cut it.

Cisco Cius is an Android-based tablet that ran 720p, with Wifi, 4G and Bluetooth. It contains Cisco AppHQ, which is Cisco’s business app store. The seven-inch screen had an optional HD media station that could connect USB peripherals, Ethernet access and a handset, turning the Cius into a landline phone.

There is still hope for the Cius, especially in the office that wants to buy $1000 phones. Maybe in 2-3 years, this device will become more utilized.

 

HP TouchPad

HP TouchPad
HP TouchPad

There is no way to sugar coat this, so I am going to say it. HP shot themselves in the collective foot. The HP TouchPad started out just fine. Using HP’s acquired Palm software, the WebOS system had a companion phone in the Pre3. The big feature was the ability to transfer items from the Pre3 to the TouchPad by setting the phone on the tablet.

This tablet was prematurely killed when CEO Leo Apotheker stopped production of WebOS devices in October. It also brought us the first viable $99 tablet, as stores were liquidating.

WebOS has been since deemed Open Source. Maybe the TouchPad will make a resurgence as a collectors item. ITM – HP will most likely come out with a Windows 7 tablet in the future.

 

RIM BlackBerry Playbook

Blackberry Playbook
Blackberry Playbook

RIM has been hurting as of late. Once a staple in business, they seemed to lose a lot of momentum to Apple lately. To really get into the tablet market, they decided to put out the PlayBook, which in all reality, was a pretty impressive tablet.

1 GB of RAM, dual-core 1 GHz processor, Dual HD cameras, and it also worked well with a Blackberry smartphone. The tablet does have a lot of strengths, but the market did not bode well. If it can stand the water, the Playbook might emerge in a year and really show

 

Motorola Xoom

Motorola XOOM
Motorola XOOM

The Xoomtablet was hit hard on specs vs. iPad2. The Xoom’s 10.1 inch display was deemed “Low end”. Resolution is not the only thing about a display. color depth, brightness and contrast are also big factors.

Still, this tablet, which now can be upgraded to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) could make a comeback with Xoom2 and a better display. It also has Bluetooth, micro USB and GPS.

Overall, all four of these tablets are still in production. They have some great features and – if a little work goes into them – they could shake up the tablet market in 2012. HP TouchPad would be the only exception.

With the Kindle Fire and Color Nook out in the tablet market, as well as some low-cost tablets ( like the  $99 MIPS Novo7 tablet that came out), 2012 might have some viable alternatives in the tablet market.

Preparing for the Kindle Fire: Amazon App Store Updates to 2.0

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Next Tuesday, November 15th, Amazon will release the much-anticipated Kindle Fire.  The 7″ Android tablet has been rumored to be receiving a huge number of pre-orders – 250,000 in the first 5 days if the news reports are correct.  Now, with the release only 5 days away, Amazon has bumped their App Store to version 2.0.

The new look of the App Store is designed to make it more tablet-compatible.  In fact, the user interface looks very Kindle Fire-like with the new UI being a mix of greys and black, instead of the previous mostly white background.  Amazon has also introduced better control with the addition of Parental Controls, plus they have enabled in-app purchases.

You can get instructions for adding or updating the Amazon App Store on your mobile device by visiting this Amazon page.  Check out the screenshots of the new App Store posted below.

Amazon App Store and Angry Birds Rio Hit the Market

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The Amazon App Store for Android was released today and it brought along Angry Birds Rio for the ride.  Even better, Angry Birds Rio is free for a “limited time”.  We haven’t yet heard what that limited time is.  The app store can be downloaded from here.  It’s a pretty fast download and install, but before you get started you will need to navigate your Android phone to Settings => Applications and enable “Unknown Sources”.

The app store looks similar to the native Android Marketplace and carries a lot of free apps, in  addition to the paid ones.  You can browse by a variety of categories such as Top, New, Games, Entertainment, News & Weather, Social Networking, Etc.

The store contains all three versions of Angry Birds (including Rio which is exclusive).  Other apps such as Fruit Ninjas, Audible, CraigsList, and IMDb are also included.

The menu button, again like the Marketplace, allows you to check you apps, Search, view Reommended, and several other options.

You can take a quick tour of the screenshots posted below.