Applications

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

Amazon.com has announced that they are launching a new online Kindle eBook store optimized for the iPhone’s Mobile Safari browser.

This is one of Amazon’s most requested feature and finally, it has come for us all. Simply tapping the “Get Books” button in the Kindle for iPhone will launch the store in Safari.

Perhaps one day, we will see an integrated method, but for now, it is cool.

Look for this app soon in the app store.

Good news for the data junkies, Filemaker has brought Bento, it’s consumer level database application (which would fit nicely alongside Keynote, Pages and Numbers…) to the iPhone for the very reasonable price of $4.99.

The iPhone version comes with “25 pre-designed, ready-to-use database templates. Customize templates with a few taps to organize virtually any type of information you have”, can integrate with Contacts, Safari, Mail, and Google Maps, and, unsurprisingly, data can be synced with the desktop version of Bento.

For those of you, me included, who have an iPhone data application in mind but dome they way you want, a user friendly database application like Bento can be just the ticket.

One caveat from the Bento for iPhone website though. “Bento for iPhone and iPod touch is available in English only, therefore the templates are English-only. Bento for iPhone supports input in a variety of languages and can be synchronized with Bento 2.0v4 for Mac in any language. Bento templates are available in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese and Dutch in the localized versions of Bento 2.0v4 for Mac.”

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...

Apple recently eked out Beta 4 of the 3.0 Firmware (which has a somewhat vague release date of Summer, possibly around WWDC) and the prerelease of iTunes 8.2 (which interestingly enough references Blu-Ray media). Sifting through the newest Beta Firmware has revealed some interesting new features.

We’ve known that being able to sync notes would make its way in to Firmware 3.0 for quite some time but this feature has finally been lumped in for testing purposes with the newest Beta build. However, Mac OS X 10.5.7 is required to actually sync note and has yet to be released by Apple outside of the development circle. Another interesting feature is the ability to sign in to multiple iTunes accounts from your iPhone. This would allow you to re-download an App (no media) your friend bought for free but relies on that friend trusting you enough to use his personal information. The increased ease in accessing any iTunes account in Beta 4 is welcome, the current iPhone firmware lacks any easy way to sign in or sign out.

Topping off the small round of features is a camera retake function that shows you… more...

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...

Mactracker, the massive knowledge database for Apple products, has made its way from the Mac desktop to the iPhone.

While you could Google the specifics of the Mac, iPod or obscure Apple product you’re trying to find, Mactracker consolidates all of this data in to one App for the iPhone. The interface is minimal but gives you a quick look at which product families are available. The App mimics the web version made available by Ian Page, Mactracker’s developer but having access to the App on your Homescreen works so much better.

While Mactracker isn’t something you will be using every day, it comes in handy when shopping for used Macs at a flea market or when you’re grabbing hardware upgrades and you need to know what type of RAM your new Macbook takes. Mactracker can be downloaded from the App Store

Via: Macworld

TNA Wrestling

Rating:
MMMM

I have been messing with this app for about two weeks now actually and it has been a joy. I wish more fighting games would come to the iPhone, however, here is one that I’ll think you’ll enjoy as well.

Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling released its TNA Wrestling game for the iPhone and iPod touch and it is exactly as its name implies - total nonstop action.

Developed by Longtail Studios, the game revolves around a story mode, in which players create their own wrestler, with the goal of making it from unsigned rookie to TNA World Champion.

Along the way, players will wrestle against 15 different TNA stars, unlocking new moves, creating rivalries, making decisions outside of the ring that will effect future matches, and participating in various match types including tag team, gauntlet, iron man, and lumberjack events.

It is all so exciting and I recommend you try it out. The graphics are impressive and the sound is spot on. To get your hands on this game, you will have to muster up $5, but well worth it.

Price:
$4.99

Pros:more...

There may come a time in your life when a thief has stolen your iPhone or it has simply been misplaced in the big concrete jungles we inhabit. Usually you’d sign it off as lost or use some Internet ingenuity to retrieve it but Orbicule, the makers of theft recovery products for the Mac are bringing their expertise to the iPhone.

Undercover utilizes your iPhone’s GPS connection or iPod Touch’s Wi-Fi triangulation mechanism to plot its location and relay the information back to you so you can catch the thief or reclaim your lost device. While Apple does not allow Apps to run in the background, Undercover uses another way to get the thief to open the App: by posing as a game. Once the unsuspecting users opens the App, it sends an alert to your online account at www.retrievemyiphone.com. Undercover is available from the App Store for $4.99.

Via: Macworld