Problems

As we loom closer to the public debut of Firmware 3.0 for the iPhone and the new App Store policies that follow, we’re already seeing some of those changes take effect. Notably, Apple’s App review policy is making a drastic change but also a limit is being placed on how Apps can be downloaded.

Previously, you could download an App and redownload it free of cost after you’ve deleted it but now, Apple will be charging you. However, you’re given the option to download said App in iTunes on your computer. The only reasonable explanation is Apple’s fear of “piracy” as iPhone owners could log in to multiple iTunes accounts and download Apps for free that were already bought by their friends in Firmware 3.0.

Via: The iPhone Blog

It’s that time of the year again as Apple preps its next generation iPhone in time for its World Wide Developers Conference, rumors are coming up about the Chinese version of the popular handset. However, it looks like Apple may cave in and disable many of the device’s core features.

Numerous references have been made over time to the iPhone “Brick” which probably brings up thoughts of a unibody like form factor considering similar mentions have yielded the current generation MacBook family which utilizes a Unibody enclosure. However, with the iPhone, the “Brick” mention may hint at what we’ll see in the Chinese version of the device: no 3G and no WiFi. As disheartening as it may sound, it comes as no surprise as Apple has had extreme difficulty in bring the iPhone to China due to harsh carrier demands, the lack of extended cellular radio options being one of them. By stripping out Wifi and 3G, Apple may have a chance to sell the iPhone one of the world’s largest cellular carrier.

Via: The iPhone Blog

Apple is continuing its round of denying Apps based on their loose definition of what’s right for the general iPhone populace and has has blocked the App Me So Holy from appearing on iTunes.

The App in question allows users to swap in faces or pictures on a religious icon and add text to the picture. Apple banned the App due to “objectionable content” which puts it in the same category of other violent Apps such as a stabbing simulator and baby shaker. While the context in which Apple chose to block the App is confusing, the developer of Me So Holy had this to say about Apple’s odd judgment.

Our question is, is religion really to be placed in the same category as these violent apps? Sex, urine and defecation don’t seem to be off-limits, yet a totally non-violent, religion-based app is. We feel that Apple is being too sensitive to its perceived user group and are disappointed that this otherwise creative, freethinking company would reject such a positive and fun application.”

Via: iPhones Talk

Apple has rejected Apps over the course of the App Store’s lifespan angering developers as to why their work got rejected for some obscure moral standard or the offensiveness hidden in some song lyrics you could get from the iTunes Store itself. The folks at Cupertino are looking to change some of that up.

The biggest issues bogging down the App Store and provoking some people into a wild frenzy is that Apple locks down everything and sometimes things slip through that shouldn’t while Apps that should be available are slapped with some righteousness then promptly denied which creates a bit hypocrisy. While we’ll cover the latest casualties to suffer a whipping from Apple’s team of morality in a bit, it seems they’re having a change of heart and giving the right to police what is appropriate back to the parents (assuming whoever has an iPhone is under 18, after all, that’s why Apple went through the trouble of making sure the store was family friendly).

In a rejection email to one unlucky developers who’s App pulled down content that had a topless woman in it (keep in mind… more...

Been feeling a little careless lately and let your iPhone slip in to a puddle on a rainy day dooming it to the same fate shared by water damaged electronics? While the (slight) emotional damage might be there, Apple will cover your careless attitude/unseen accidents with a special deal.

If you bring your water ridden iPhone in to an Apple Store the first thing they’ll point out is how liquid can mess up electronics beyond repair and that little red spot in the headphone jack, that’s their assurance it was your fault and not just another manufacturing defect. However, instead of turning you away empty handed or helping you set an inferno to your pants pocket and pony up another $400 for an iPhone, Apple will swap your used and abused unit for a refurbished one that’s not plagued by the electronic killing properties of H2O all for a mere $199. The downside is that your contract is basically extended for another two years so the length of chain on your iron ball, yea, it grew another couple of feet.

If you’re unsure of the fate of your iPhone and don’t know… more...

A small amount of developers who have downloaded Beta 4 of the 3.0 Firmware are reporting that a “pink screen of death” appears after installing the Software.

The pink screen of death that shows up in this Beta disappears for most when they restart their devices and may have been caused by the way they install the Firmware. A majority of those who have been plagued by PSOD installed the Beta Firmware through Xcode instead of downloading the iTunes 8.2 prerelease and using that to install but the root cause is still unknown.

This isn’t the first time developers have been hit with a pink screen of death. When Apple was late in seeding out the third Beta for the Firmware 2.0 last year, the current Beta expired and rendered most iPhones and iPod Touches used for development inoperable.

Via: The iPhone Blog

Okay, I exaggerate a smidge. My dear wife fortunately is of the classical Aussie “She’ll be right!” attitude.

Today she sent me a text to join her for coffee and asked if I wanted coffee or hot choc. Hot choc, I replied, or so I intended. However, the iPhone’s auto-correct mischievously converted choc to chic, so my wife gets a message from me requesting a hot chic!

As I say, fortunately she has a good sense of humor.

It does surprise me from time to time how many common words are not in the iPhone’s dictionary, the most surprising is “its”. And it does give me the **its when the iPhone wants to change “its” to “it’s”. It’d be nice if iPhone 3.0 allowed a user definable dictionary. I mean, Microsoft Word has had that since last century.

Every once in a while an App slips through the watch of Apple’s ever vigilant eye and ends up causing a controversy. Take Netshare for example, you might not remember it but it allowed you to tether your iPhone to a computer. Yet, it was pulled shortly after by a request from AT&T. “Baby Shaker” however, was made available on the App Store until someone realized “Hey, we should probably take this down” when an complaint was made.

The App, developed by Sikalosoft, shows a sketch of a baby and the player must shake it until red x’s appear over its eye indicating the baby has been shaken to death. The App’s availability outraged Patrick Donohue, founder of the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation who is devoted to preventing what this App does in the real world. After writing a letter to Steve Jobs with disgust for the App, it was pulled but you have to wonder, just why would this be approved in the first place knowing someone would question the morality of it?

While you can argue Apple should stop playing the moral protectorate of the App Store, the other main… more...

The much anticipated SlingPlayer App for the iPhone may have encountered some delays on its way to the App Store but a rumor is floating around that the iPhone’s US carrier, AT&T, is asking Apple to deny the App in fear of the unprecedented amount of network traffic it would generate.

Wireless carriers instill data caps to thwart data hemorrhaging users but AT&T may be over stepping its boundaries and exploiting their exclusive relationship with Apple to protects its interests over what would appeal to consumers. The problem AT&T would have with the SlingPlayer App is the amount of data downloaded by an iPhone users to watch video content. It all comes down to data consumption, something AT&T has been wary of since the iPhone’s launch and not so much the competition generated from a possible SlingPlayer App and AT&T’s own over the air TV packages as the later is unavailable for the iPhone.

While SlingPlayer has heard nothing from AT&T or Apple on the status of its App, BoyGenius has heard that the decision was to deny the App for the previously listed reasons: bandwidth consumption. The irony of… more...

Charlie Miller, known for his continued research on iPhone vulnerabilities may have found an exploit in Safari that could run low level code in the OS.

Miller first gained notoriety for discovering the first iPhone exploit and another vulnerability in Safari during the Pwn2Own contest in which security researchers and hackers alike attempt to break in to various OS’s running on different platforms. The exploit enables the iPhone to run shell code and if this information were to gain traction, iPhone users could have their device broken in to and have their personal information readily available to an unknown third party. However, there has been no news on any iPhone suffering an attack from this exploit.

Via: Arstechnica