The Iphone Blog

Archive for July, 2009

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div class=”topStoryImageContainer”a href=”http://cultofmac.com/products-platforms-and-networks-the-endless-tango-between-apple-verizon-and-att/13882″img src=”http://cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/iphoneplatformnetwork-250×150.jpg” class=”imgtfe” width=”250″ //a/div
Picture via Aurum3
The comically wrong-headed announcement that Verizon would be launching VCast Apps, its response to Apple#8217;s App Store, made me realize that pretty much everyone, including, major cell phone carriers, are confused about how and why the iPhone has been such a success. I could spend awhile talking about why an all-Verizon app store [...]
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a href=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/rMmAAHh9nVEmOEwhGbaaTL1axCE/1/da”img src=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/rMmAAHh9nVEmOEwhGbaaTL1axCE/1/di” border=”0″ ismap=”true”/img/a/pimg src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/cultofmac/bFow/~4/tcRv04lWL5M” height=”1″ width=”1″/
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div class=”topStoryImageContainer”a href=”http://cultofmac.com/numbers-portend-an-iffy-future-for-the-zune/13873″img src=”http://cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/zune-hd11-250×150.jpg” class=”imgtfe” width=”250″ //a/divIn sharp contrast to Apple#8217;s largely upbeat recent quarterly earnings announcement, Microsoft reported #8220;a number of grim statistics, including a steep decline related to its Zune portable media player,#8221; highlighted in a report Thursday at MarketWatch.
The portable music player sector seems to have reached a general level of saturation, as even Apple#8217;s iPod #8212; a [...]
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div class=”topStoryImageContainer”a href=”http://cultofmac.com/eff-apple-using-fud-to-press-copyright-claims/13868″img src=”http://cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/lockedphone.png” class=”imgtfe” width=”250″ //a/divThe long-standing tiff between Apple and the iPhone jailbreaking community reached new heights of absurdity in a recent filing Apple made with the US Copyright office, in which the company all but claimed granting iPhone jailbreakers an exemption from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act would invite terrorist attacks on the nation#8217;s wireless network infrastructure.
In a [...]
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Good news for humorists–a dedicated mobile app for comedic video site Funny or Die will be coming to your iPhone, eventually.

Web content platform Babelgum announced on Thursday an exclusive wireless deal with Funny or Die to bring videos from the latter to mobile applications like the iPhone. Look for a Funny or Die app to hit Apple’s iPhone App Store sometime in the near future, though Babelgum hasn’t yet revealed when it plans to submit the software to Apple.

The license agreement also allows Babelgum to integrate Funny or Die videos into the comedy channel of Babelgum apps. Babelgum, which streams videos in film, music, and other categories, says it will also feature a Funny or Die section on its online comedy channel.

The exclusive wireless partnership between the two companies will last for two years.

Note: Funny or Die features some video clips with mature themes.

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(Credit: Apple, Inc.)

We recently encountered a new problem syncing with iTunes after updating an iPhone to OS 3.0. After updating, the iPhone began to sync properly, then stalled, ending in “error 13019.”

(Credit: David Martin)

We researched the issue and found an Apple support document with details about error 13019 and two possible solutions. The document explains that the problem is usually caused by syncing music and recommends that you remove all music syncing, sync your iPhone, then add music back and sync one last time. If you’re lucky, this step may fix the problem. We weren’t so lucky, however, and found ourselves hunting for other iPhone media–apps, voice memos, ringtones, podcasts, movies, TV shows, audiobooks–that might have caused the problem.

Troubleshooting this issue is tedious and involves going to each media type (listed above), unchecking it in iTunes, syncing to remove the media, then adding back the media by checking it in iTunes, and finally syncing again. Eventually, you’ll find the media type that is causing the problem. Apple recommends then leaving that media type unchecked to prevent it from syncing with your iPhone–not a thrilling solution.

We found the error 13019 being discussed on Apple’s discussions boards here and here and–as luck would have it–there is an easier solution.

iTunes music tab

(Credit: David Martin)

Users discovered that voice memo syncing, specifically, causes error 13019 and it occurs whenever voice memos are selected in the Sync Music panel by selecting Include voice memos in iTunes (see photo above). If you uncheck them, your iPhone will likely sync normally. However, we ended up deleting our voice memos from our iPhone before it would sync without errors again. Once we did this, iTunes syncing no longer produced the 13019 error.

Due to this bug, we don’t recommend using the Voice Memo app on your iPhone or syncing voice memos in iTunes until Apple fixes the problem. If you absolutely have to use the app, consider turning off voice memo syncing in iTunes first.

Are you experiencing any other problems with iPhone OS 3.0? Tell us about it in the comments or write to us at iphoneatlas@cnet.com

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(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)

Apple published Thursday a support article cautioning users about jailbreaking the iPhone (as well as other Apple handheld audio devices).

Unlike the company’s recent filing to U.S. Copyright Office that suggested that jailbreaking the iPhone might pose a national threat and be the cause of AT&T’s unreliable service, the article states that “customers who have installed software that makes these modifications have encountered numerous problems in the operation of their hacked iPhone.”

This means that if you get your iPhone jailbroken, for example, you will cause yourself, not others, problems. This is such a relief for me.

The problems that Apple mentioned include:

• Device and application instability: Frequent and unexpected crashes of the device, crashes and freezes of built-in apps and third-party apps, and loss of data
• Unreliable voice and data: Dropped calls, slow or unreliable data connections, and delayed or inaccurate location data
• Disruption of services: Services such as Visual Voice mail, YouTube, Weather, Stocks as well as push-based third party applications have been disrupted or no longer work on the device
• Compromised security: Security compromises have been introduced by the modifications that could allow hackers to steal personal information, damage the device, attack the wireless network, or introduce malicious software or viruses
• Shortened battery life: The hacked software has caused an accelerated battery drain that shortens the operation of an iPhone or iPod Touch on a single battery charge
• Inability to apply future software updates: Some unauthorized modifications have caused damage to the iPhone OS that is not repairable

Personally, I haven’t seen much difference in performance as well as other issues with my iPhones (both the 3G and the 3GS) between when they are jailbroken and when they are not. I did notice that my iPhones offer a lot more features when they are jailbroken. For example, my 3G now can also record video, and I can use both phones to store my files (as external storage devices.)

However, if you install many third-party applications made for jailbroken phones, chances are you will run into some badly developed applications that can cause trouble.

Unlike unlocking, jailbreaking is just the modification of the operating system, which is software, and can be always be undone by restoring the device. Unlocking is when you want to have the code of the cell-connection baseband chip altered or fooled by an intermediary SIM card so that the iPhone works with other GSM cell services. (Unlocking, unfortunately, can also most of the time be undone when you upgrade the phone’s firmware). While I haven’t had any issue with this, either, Apple claims that opens the door (PDF) to many security issues.

Well, there wouldn’t be any problems at all, really, if the devices were shipped without being locked down to a carrier or to Apple’s App Store. People just want to use their devices the way they want, and they should be able to do so. This is why the Electronic Frontier Foundation has asked regulators (PDF) to basically legalize the jailbreaking practice of the iPhones.

If you own a jailbroken iPhone/IPod, please share your experience with it in the comment section.

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While Taito has already released an iPhone port of the original Space Invaders, we’d recommend you slide past that and buy, instead, a spectacular revamp that launched this week on the App Store by the name of Space Invaders Infinity Gene.

As you’ll quickly see from the trailer above and gallery below, this shooter is Space Invaders in spirit and design, but in execution it’s a full-fledged arcade onslaught of power-ups, boss battles, and a thumping techno soundtrack that pulses along perfectly. This isn’t Taito’s first reinvention of Space Invaders: its Space Invaders Extreme was received with warm reviews and a cult following, and currently lives on the Nintendo DS, PSP, and Xbox Live Arcade.

Infinity Gene is a port of a Japanese cell phone game, with more minimal line-drawn graphics than Extreme. The title screen is actually a direct port of the original Space Invaders, before transforming into a start menu that consists of a branching level tree. Based on how you perform across dozens of levels, new weapons variations and options will become unlocked. Your ship can move all across the board, unlike the original Space Invaders, and while your ship autofires, your finger can drag anywhere onscreen to move your ship around. This keeps your digits from getting in the way of the finely rendered artillery attacks.

One of the most exciting new features, something that extends the life of this title to the near-infinite, is Music mode. You can pick any song on your iPhone or iPod Touch to play along to, and Infinity Gene generates a unique level matched to your music. I’m not sure what the secret sauce is to this mode, but I took some screenshots to show what levels were created for some of the tracks that live on my own musically cluttered iPhone 3GS.

Infinity Gene is available now for $4.99, and it’s easily one of the best neo-retro experiences on the iPhone yet.

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The mystery surrounding Apple’s approval process on the App Store is legendary. What gets approved or rejected on any given day can be a source of bewilderment for developers and consumers alike. But the company still surprised everyone when it rejected Google’s Voice app for the iPhone on Tuesday.

(Credit: Apple)

The story doesn’t end there. Apple then proceeded to remove third-party apps from the App Store that it said duplicate features of the iPhone. One of those apps is called VoiceCentral, and the developer is understandably upset.

Riverturn’s VoiceCentral has been available in the App Store for the past four months. The app integrates Google’s GrandCentral and Google Voice with the iPhone.

Until this week, everything was going fine for the developer. He submitted the app and was approved by Apple. He released updates and they were approved by Apple. Then, all of a sudden and without warning, his app was pulled from the store.

What seems to be the most upsetting part of the whole situation is that the developer can’t get any answers from Apple. In a telephone conversation with the Apple representative who was tasked to inform him the app was being removed, the most common answer from Apple seemed to be “I can’t say.”

In a blog post on Riverturn’s Web site Tuesday, the developer paraphrased the call. At one point the developer asks the Apple rep if there’s something he can change in the app so it can be resubmitted to the App Store. The response: “I can’t say.”

The developer then asks, “if we can’t figure out the issue then how will we know whether to resubmit the app. And how will we know whether to invest in any other development efforts? Future apps could be impacted.”

The response: “I can’t help you with that.”

As if that wasn’t enough, The Unofficial Apple Weblog is reporting that the developer is now being flooded with refund requests from customers. The problem is Apple keeps its 30 percent commission, but the developer has to refund the entire amount to the customer.

Originally posted at News – Apple

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Yes, yes. "Arvale: Journey of Illusion" was exactly what I was looking for…

(Credit: Eric Franklin/CNET)

Ever had trouble finding a particular app at the iPhone App Store? Who hasn’t? A couple weeks ago I spent like 10 minutes trying to find a game a friend had just shown me. That may have had more to do with me being intoxicated and less about the App Store’s search functionality, though.

Still, things may be improving. According to AppleInsider, Apple is now asking iPhone developers to enter 255 comma-separated characters as keywords to iTunes Connect to be used for search in the App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch.

iTunes Connect is the application that developers use to upload and submit their iPhone and iPod Touch apps to Apple.

Definitely a welcome change, and it can only improve sales, so I’m sure most developers will be taking advantage of it. I would not be surprised to see some developers exploit this, though, by entering popular keywords for apps that are completely unrelated just for the chance of added exposure.

Hopefully this addition will also improve my app-finding luck as well. Whether I’ve been drinking or otherwise.

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