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Monthly Archives: May 2012
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Top iPhone & iPad Apps on iTunes – for the week ending May 28th 2012
App Store Official Charts for the week ending May 28, 2012:
Top Paid iPhone Apps:
- iTranslate Voice (Sonico GmbH)
- Angry Birds Space (Rovio Mobile Ltd.)
- Grand Theft Auto 3 (Rockstar Games)
- Flick Home Run ! (infinity pocket)
- WhatsApp Messenger (WhatsApp Inc.)
- MyCalendar Mobile (K-Factor Media, LLC.)
- Fruit Ninja (Halfbrick Studios)
- Clear Vision (17+) (FDG Entertainment)
- “Free Music Download Pro” – Downloader and Player (BSOSoft)
- Cut the Rope (Chillingo Ltd)
Top Free iPhone Apps:
- PipeRoll (Navigation-Info Kft.)
- I’d Cap That (Krisp)
- Cut the Rope: Experiments (ZeptoLab UK Limited)
- 100 Floors (Tobi Apps Limited)
- Instagram (Burbn, Inc.)
- Logos Quiz Game (AticoD)
- Facebook Camera (Facebook, Inc.)
- Facebook Messenger (Facebook, Inc.)
- Socialcam Video Camera (Justin.tv)
- Flashlight? (YummyApps Inc.)
Top Paid iPad Apps:
- Grand Theft Auto 3 (Rockstar Games)
- Angry Birds Space HD (Rovio Mobile Ltd.)
- Bejeweled HD (PopCap)
- Infinity Blade II (Chair Entertainment Group, LLC)
- SketchBook Ink (Autodesk Inc.)
- Pages (Apple)
- Where’s My Water? (Disney)
- Burnout CRASH! (Electronic Arts)
- MONOPOLY for iPad (Electronic Arts)
- Potty Time with Elmo (Sesame Street)
Top Free iPad Apps:
- Cut the Rope: Experiments HD (ZeptoLab UK Limited)
- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Road Rally appisode (Disney)
- Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? & Friends Free (Ludia)
- Skype for iPad (Skype Software S.a.r.l)
- Subway Surfers (Kiloo)
- iBooks (Apple)
- The Weather Channel for iPad (The Weather Channel Interactive)
- Netflix (Netflix, Inc.)
- Facebook (Facebook, Inc.)
- Mini Motor Racing HD (The Binary Mill)
via The top iPhone and iPad apps on App Store – CBS News.
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VezTek & SCORE Offer a Mobile Apps Workshop for Small Business
VezTek USA will partner with SCORE and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce to offer a Mobile Apps for Small Business workshop on June 27th, 2012.
The workshop aptly named “Your Customers are Mobile — Are You!” is designed to cover topics such as How, Why and What of mobile apps for existing small business, an exclusively mobile app based startup a.k.a. m-Startup, as well as mobile apps as an investment option.
SCORE, “Counselors to America’s Small Business” provides business mentoring services to entrepreneurs in the United States. The organization also presents business workshops and seminars: Business mentoring services are provided by the business executives and entrepreneurs – such as Sani Abdul-Jabbar, managing director of VezTek – who donate their time and expertise as mentors to assist new and established small businesses. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
In a recent AT&T survey more than a third of small businesses said that they couldn’t
survive, or that it would be a challenge to survive, without mobile apps. Inc Magazine named Mobile app industry one of an entrepreneur’s best prospects.
Interested in attending the workshop! RSVP Here »
iPhone App Development Meets Security Tools
Smartphone malware attacks get a lot of attention, but you’re much more likely to lose your device than you are to contract a smartphone virus infection. And you’re just as vulnerable to other problems–such as phishing and spam–on a phone as you are on a PC. No need to panic, however: The following Android and iPhone security tools will help to protect your phone from all kinds of threats.
Android Apps
MyBackup Pro:
The Android OS has built-in backup and restore functionality, but handset makers sometimes don’t enable this feature on their phone models. And Android’s basic recovery program won’t bring back your call logs, text messages, or photos if you lose them.Rerware’s MyBackup Pro ($5, free trial available) gathers up more of your data than the basic Android utility does, and lets you schedule regular backups. You can save backups to your phone’s SD Card, or to Rerware’s secure server. MyBackup Pro also features additional options for users with rooted phones, including the ability to disable bloatware on your handset and prevent those unwanted apps from running.
Lookout Mobile Security:
The plainly designed Lookout Mobile Security (free, plus a $30-per-year premium version) is our choice for keeping malware off a phone. In addition to regularly scanning your phone for all known malware, this utility scans new apps as soon as you download them, to confirm that they are safe. Lookout can also help you locate your lost or stolen phone. In a recent comparison, the security testing firm AV-Test named Lookout the most capable security app for Android.
DroidWall:
Want to prevent certain apps from accessing the Internet?DroidWall (free) lets you specify which apps to block. The tool is dead-simple to use, and it can stop apps from transmitting your personal data to remote servers or downloading annoying ads. The catch: To use DroidWall, you need to root your phone, which may void the warranty.
mSecure Password Manager:
To keep track of all of your account passwords, look no further thanmSecure Password Manager ($10, also available for iOS). This app encrypts your passwords to keep them safe in case you ever lose your phone. As a bonus, mSecure Password Manager can generate complex passwords for you, and it lets you sync your passwords across Android and iOS, as well as BlackBerry, Symbian, and Windows Mobile (though not Windows Phone 7).
iPhone Apps
Webroot SecureWeb Browser:
Few security apps are available for iOS through the App Store, but you can find many secure Web browsers that offer extra features to lower your risk of stumbling upon a malicious website.For example, Webroot SecureWeb (free) will warn you about sites known for phishing and other malicious practices. On top of that, the browser analyzes your search results to determine whether the recommended sites are safe, unsafe, or questionable. SecureWeb ties in to Webroot SecureAnywhere Complete’s password manager, so you can reach your passwords from any location. It also includes a couple of nice interface additions, such as a tab bar, so you don’t have to switch over to a separate screen to move between browser pages.
iWipe:
If you own a jailbroken iPhone, you have a few more security options. One of them is iWipe ($2, available on the Cydia store). This useful utility ensures that the files and data you’ve deleted from your iPhone stay deleted. The tool writes zeros over the free space on your iPhone’s storage, making it harder for someone (for instance, an iPhone thief) to access sensitive data you’ve trashed.
Firewall iP:
Another app for jailbroken iPhones, Firewall iP ($2, available on the Cydia store) lets you decide which apps may connect to the Internet. Firewall iP also permits you to block apps from connecting specifically when your iPhone is operating on a cellular network; that can keep bandwidth-hungry apps from eating up your monthly allotment of data.
via Fill Your Mobile Security Toolbox | PCWorld.
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iPhone 3GS Likely to Extinct for Not Supporting Retina Display
It would appear that one of the old favourite iPhone handsets will soon be hanging up its boots, after Apple asked that developers send screenshots of their apps with Retina Display resolution or higher.
“When you create or update your apps in iTunes Connect, you must upload screenshots that are high-resolution. We require your screenshots as high-resolution images so that your app is optimized for the Retina display,” Apple requested.
Many draw a single conclusion from this request: Apple intends to kill the older non-retina iPhone 3GS, when the sixth generation iPhone (5) hits the market. Production of the 3-year-old iPhone, which is currently available on carrier contracts for free, would therefore be terminated, Cult of Mac reports.
The Retina Display resolution, 960 x 540 pixels, is featured in iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 and latest iPod touch. The old timer iPhone 3GS has a display with a resolution of 480 x 320 pixels, and apparently it’s heading towards extinction.
More specifically, Apple has asked developers to upload to iTunes screenshots of their apps with the following requirements: “960 x 640, 960 x 600, 640 x 960, or 640 x 920 pixels. Images must be at least 72 dpi, in the RGB color space, and the file must be .jpeg, .jpg, .tif, .tiff, or .png. You can update your screenshot files at any time in iTunes Connect.”
This would make sense to drop the 3GS, since having three handsets concurrently would match Apple’s present strategy, with the iPhone 4 being the new ‘low-end’ model, and the iPhone 5 (we think this time) the new top dog.
via Death Knell for iPhone 3GS? Apple Demands Retina Display Optimized Apps | ITProPortal.com.
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How to Get a Job in the App Industry
NEW YORK (MainStreet) — Looking for the next gold rush in job opportunities? There are apps for that.
The mobile and online applications industry created about 466,000 jobs in the U.S. between 2007 (the year apps were first introduced with the iPhone) and December 2011, according to a comprehensive report from technology advocacy group Technet. These include 311,000 jobs at companies developing apps as well as another 155,000 positions elsewhere created indirectly by the success of this industry.
To find this out, the researchers combed through the Conference Board’s databaseof “help wanted” listings for common words and phrases relevant to applications jobs like “Facebook API,” “Windows Phone” and, of course, “app.” Sure enough, the report finds that applications jobs have increased each year since 2007, with the number of job postings containing the word “app” increasing by 45% between 2010 and 2011 alone.
As the report concludes, “That’s rapid expansion by anyone’s standards.”
So how does one go about getting their foot in the door of the growing app industry? MainStreet went through dozens of current listings for app developers at major companies and found a few common themes.
You Need the Right Programming Experience
Not all app stores rely on the same programming language, which means those looking to break into the industry need to figure out which platform they’re interested in, and ultimately they will probably need to learn multiple coding systems. Those interested in Apple’s app store, for example, will need to be proficient in Objective C, while Android apps are typically written in Java. Many jobs now also require developers to have experience using HTML5, a mobile-friendly alternative to Adobe Flash, to produce Web pages that work on products like the iPhone and iPad.
Try Building an App of Your Own
Several of the job listings we saw for companies like Boxee and Etsy specifically called for applicants who had managed to get at least one application of their own into an app store. Unfortunately, if you’re just now trying to break into the industry, this can become a catch-22. So for the ambitious developers out there, your best bet may be to go it alone and try to build an app yourself. Apple’s app store is notoriously difficult to get into, but others like the Android app store aren’t as difficult as you might think. Not only will this allow you to say you have a published application, but it will show potential employers that you’re serious about the industry.
Where You Live Matters
There are certainly telecommuting opportunities in the app industry, but where you live can still make a difference. As Technet’s report shows, California alone is responsible for about one quarter of all app-related jobs, which should come as little surprise given this is the home of Silicon Valley. By city though, New York actually has more app-related jobs than San Francisco, and other cities like Seattle and Washington, D.C., aren’t too far behind. Not only does that mean there are more job opportunities in these areas, it also means there may be more chances to network with people who work in the industry and can help you get started.
Mobile App Platform Selection: Android & iOS Own 80% Market Share
The first question – for most app inventors and investors alike – is to identify the right platform for their new iPhone or Android Mobile App. The anecdotal evidence suggests that Apple’s iPhone and Google Android platform are the clear winners: the following PC World article provides some statistics to make the mobile platform selection decision a bit easier.
Android, Apple Own 80% of Global Smartphone Market: Microsoft’s Share, 2.2%
What a difference a year makes in the booming smartphone market.
A year ago, the world’s leading smartphone operating systems, Android and iOS, owned a little over half the market. Now they own more than 80 percent of it.
Of the 152.3 million smartphones shipped in the calendar quarter ending in March, 59 percent had Android on them and 23 percent ran Apple iOS, according to a report released Thursday by International Data Corporation (IDC). That’s nearly a 30 percent jump from the pair’s 54.4 percent share of shipments during the same period in 2011.
The remainder of the market was left to Symbian (6.8 percent), RIM Blackberry (6.4 percent), Linux (2.3 percent) and Windows 7/Mobile (2.2 percent).
“The popularity of Android and iOS stems from a combination of factors that the competition has struggled to keep up with,” Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Phone Technology and Trends program, said in a statement. “Neither Android nor iOS were the first to market with some of these features, but the way they made the smartphone experience intuitive and seamless has quickly earned a massive following,” he added.
In addition, both platforms have been able to build robust developer communities, added Kevin Restivo, a senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker program. “In order for operating system challengers to gain share, their creators and hardware partners need to secure developer loyalty,” he observed.
“This is true because developer intentions or enthusiasm for a particular operating system is typically a leading indicator of hardware sales success,” he added.
During the period, Android shipments showed the greatest growth, to 89.9 million units from 36.7 million in 2011, a 145 percent increase. Almost half those shipments (45.4 percent) were smartphones made by Samsung.
Apple iPhone shipments climbed 88.7 percent during the quarter, to 35.1 million from 18.6 million in 2011.
Android and iOS gains during the period were largely at the expense of Symbian and Blackberry smartphones. Symbian’s shipments dropped 60.6 percent and Blackberry’s slipped 29.7 percent.
While Microsoft’s share of the market remains small, shipments of smartphones based on its operating systems climbed 33 percent, to 3.3 million from 2.6 million in 2011.
“Windows Mobile/Windows Phone has yet to make significant inroads in the worldwide smartphone market, but 2012 should be considered a ramp-up year for Nokia and Microsoft to boost volumes,” IDC noted.
“Until Nokia speeds the cadence of its smartphone releases or more vendors launch their own Windows Phone-powered smartphones, IDC anticipates slow growth for the operating system,” it said.
via Android, Apple Own 80% of Global Smartphone Market: Microsoft’s Share, 2.2% | PCWorld.
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The Verdict is in: Google Android Didn’t Infringe Oracle Patents
Google Inc. (GOOG), the largest Web search provider, didn’t infringe Oracle Corp. (ORCL)’s patents in developing Android software, a federal jury found in the second phase of an intellectual-property trial in San Francisco.
The 10-person jury ruled unanimously today that neither of the two patents at issue was infringed. Jurors found May 7 that Google infringed Oracle’s copyrights and deadlocked on whether it was “fair use,” denying Oracle the ability to seek as much as $1 billion in damages from the search engine company. Last year Oracle said copyright damages could amount to $6 billion.
The patent phase of the trial was less important than the copyright issues because the patents were worth much less, said Brian Love, an intellectual-property attorney and teaching fellow at Stanford Law School. Still, the jury finding today underscored how the trial went against Oracle, he said.
“This case is maybe something like a near disaster for Oracle,” Love said in a phone interview.
The company may be limited to seeking about $150,000, the most allowed by law, for copyright infringement, the presiding judge in the case has said.
‘Couple of Days’
“That potentially is not enough to cover what they are spending over a couple of days” in legal fees during the trial, Love said.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup said he may issue a ruling next week on whether Oracle’s Java application programming interfaces, software tools at the heart of the case, can be copyrighted. A ruling that they can’t would be another blow to Oracle, while a ruling for Oracle would revive the company’s ability to seek large damages.
Alsup also must rule on Oracle’s request for a patent judgment in its favor based on his reading of the evidence, and Google’s request for a new trial on copyright infringement.
Immediately after the verdict was announced, the judge dismissed the jury from the case and canceled the third phase of the trial over damages.
Oracle, the largest maker of database software, alleged Google stole two patents for the Java programming language when it developed Android, which now runs on more than 300 million smartphones. In the first phase of the trial, the same jury found the search engine company infringed Oracle’s Java copyrights while it couldn’t agree on whether the copying was “fair use.”
‘A Victory’
“Today’s jury verdict that Android does not infringe Oracle’s patents was a victory not just for Google but the entire Android ecosystem,” Catherine Lacavera, Google’s director of litigation, said in an e-mailed statement.
Google and Oracle’s experts had estimated damages for both patents at $3 million to $4 million if the jury found infringement.
“Oracle presented overwhelming evidence at trial that Google knew it would fragment and damage Java,” Deborah Hellinger, a spokeswoman for Oracle, said in an e-mail after the verdict. “We plan to continue to defend and uphold Java’s core write-once run-anywhere principle and ensure it is protected for the nine million Java developers and the community that depend on Java compatibility.”
Jury foreman Greg Thompson, 52, said today that during deliberations he alone among the 10 jurors thought that Google infringed Java patents. After almost six days of discussions, said he was persuaded by other panel members to change his vote.
Jury Foreman
The jury lost two members over the course of the six-week trial. Thompson said he alone voted that Google’s use of Java copyrights didn’t constitute fair use early in deliberations in the copyright phase. Eventually he convinced two other jurors and the jury deadlocked after nine members voted that Google made fair use of the copyrights, he said.
“The more tech-savvy a person is, the more difficult it is to persuade them about what limitations should be placed on technology,” Thompson said in an interview after the trial.
Handing patent cases to juries is “always a mixed bag,” Love said.
Google rose $8.66 to $609.46 at 4:02 p.m. in New York trading after spiking as much as 0.7 percent when the verdict was announced. Oracle climbed 32 cents to $26.68.
The case is Oracle v. Google, 10-3561, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).
via Google Android Didn’t Infringe Oracle Patents, Jury Says – Bloomberg.
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Are iPhone & Android Making Us Ugly?
Because so many readers are beautiful — or at least confident in their rugged looks — they may not have recently considered a chinplant.
This is not an aggressive move in wrestling. It is a cosmetic surgery procedure that makes your face look less saggy. It costs around $7,000 and I’m sure the results are as stunning as all other forms of cosmetic surgery.
The reason for an alleged surge in chinplants is people’s obsession with their smartphones.
As the Daily Mail tells it, leading plastic surgeons believe that technology is at the heart of droopy faces.
We lean over our smartphones and our facial skin hangs away from us, as if it, too, is desperate to see what a cat can do with a basketball and a toilet paper roll on YouTube.
Indeed, even so-called marionette lines — those creases from the corner of your mouth that sometimes extend down to your chin — might be caused by your constantly bent head.
The Mail quotes the American Society of Plastic Surgeons president, Dr. Martin Roth, offering very disturbing news: “The chin and jawline are among the first areas to show signs of aging.”
And the proliferation of Skype and FaceTime have only enhanced our severe disturbance with our outward selves.
My face has still not returned to normal after leaning that Dr. Robert Sigal of the Austin-Weston Center for Cosmetic Surgery in Virginia launched a FaceTime face-lift earlier this year. (I have embedded your reminder.)
More Technically Incorrect
Here’s how desperately cities want Apple stores
Do hybrid cars kill you with silence?
Are people more honest when they text?
Wife nixes hubby who didn’t alter Facebook status to ‘married’
Fiat brilliantly punks VW on Google Street View
Dr. Sigal claimed that it was his wife who had inspired this procedure, as she just didn’t really like how she looked on Apple’s face-to-face communication system.
However, it is teens who are one of the growth sectors of plastic surgery. Yes, I did say teens.
I am not entirely sure whether technology can encourage us to be any more self-obsessed. However, because this is essentially a self-help blog, I would like to offer a solution that might save you $7,000.
When you text or stare into your smartphone, keep your chin up. No need to thank me. My pleasure. You look beautiful.
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via Are you suffering from smartphone saggy face? | Technically Incorrect – CNET News.
Why & How of Investing in Mobile Apps for iPad & Mobile Tablets
With the latest trend in technology, tablet users become increasingly engaged in a social media whirlwind which binds them together in this global village, with the increased use of mobile apps, along with android app programmers working towards a better tomorrow. iPhone app developers, mobile application developers and mobile website developers have been working towards creating a tablet interface that is easy and friendly enough to use; from senior citizens to young kids, a class of users that wasn’t so open to accepting this trend so easily. Tablet uses have increased because of the rising trend in using mobile apps and using them in different areas and professions. With this increased popularity, companies may even replace everyday common objects such as personal DVD players with these new, cutting edge tablets that seem to be all the rage. From business to entertainment, mobile application development has come a long way. Do tablets have a permanent future in a world of mobile apps and their development?
Emerging Trends in iPad Apps Development
With this new age comes new technology and every day we see humans interacting with technology and engaging in a global village to further understand how to get ahead in this cyber world. Research is done, trends are predicted and stats are collected in order to understand what will work and what will not in terms of a new technology when it is introduced in the market. Same is the case with mobile application development; it has to be carefully evaluated to determine whether it will be accepted by mobile app users at large or not. Similarly research by companies was carried out to identify tablet user trends and what they found was that a large number and we’re talking billions here, of mobile app and android developed app downloads would occur in four major categories. These include social network forums, games, e commerce and digi publishing platforms. According to their research, downloads of mobile applications in iPad and Android media tablets users would skyrocket to more than 30 apps for every tablet over a span of the next five years.
The uses of a tablet, like iPad or Android media tablet will be similar yet different as well to the use of smart phone and their mobile apps usage. This can be seen in the way that digi publishing will be huge on tablets, unlike anything we have ever seen on any smart phone. Smart phones were the platform for mobile apps development and now we see a similar trend going towards iPad app designer. Digi publishing includes newspapers, magazines, newsletters, books, articles and so much more and this was never seen on smart phones. In this way the consumer also prefers a platform which is much more diverse than your average eBook reader, and the diverse platform is the media tablet. In this way, the industry of publishing also flourishes where companies get new readers from all sorts of age groups, such as senior citizens who won’t require the printing of custom, large sized font.
Mobile App Developers – new pop stars
Naturally, with the increase in the use of media tablets everywhere, the demand for mobile application development and iPhone app development tends to rise. This however, is not just true for entertainment and leisure purposes but business is another category where media tablets and app development is growing quite successfully. This is largely because of the fact that online clientele have started trading in their desktops for brand new and sleek media tablets that are not only convenient but portable as well. They can work virtually anywhere, from home, to the office and even the airport while waiting for a flight. Their comfort levels enhances with the increased use of these tablets for e commerce, and for all the online shopping enthusiast, the user friendly touch interface is a great winning point. Businessmen can make video calls to other countries and keep up to date with work on the go. The best part about media tablets that employ a touch screen interface and mobile apps is the fact that they can be enjoyed in a variety of age groups. It is not just restricted to a certain class or group; seniors, younger children, they all rely heavily on the download of apps from mobile website developers and it is predicted that around a billion of mobile apps for children will be download in 5 years or so with the use of media tablets. With such a rising trend, who doesn’t want to be a part of the ever growing global village and make the most out of the exciting world of mobile application development?
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