NEW YORK - Apple Inc. on Thursday handed software developers the guidelines it uses to determine which programs can be sold in its App Store, yet it reserved for itself broad leeway in deciding what makes the cut.
The move follows more than two years of complaints from developers about the company's secret and seemingly capricious rules, which block some programs from the store and hence Apple's popular iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices.
The guidelines go some way toward addressing those complaints and broadening the discussion about Apple's custodianship of the App Store.
The rules consist of a checklist specifying that "apps that rapidly drain the device's battery or generate excessive heat will be rejected." Also bound to be rejected are "apps containing rental content or services that expire after a limited time."
But some of the guidelines leave much for developers to figure out.
"We will reject Apps for any content or behavior that we believe is over the line. What line, you ask? Well, as a Supreme Court Justice once said, 'I'll know it when I see it.' And we think that you will also know it when you cross it," the guidelines say.
Earlier this year, Apple forced the creator of a comic-book version of James Joyce's novel "Ulysses" to alter panels featuring nudity, echoing the censorship debate in the 1920s and '30s, when the novel itself was banned in the U.S. for obscenity.
In the guidelines, Apple draws a line between broader expressions of freedom of speech and the App Store.
"We view Apps different than books or songs, which we do not curate. If you want to criticize a religion, write a book. If you want to describe sex, write a book or a song, or create a medical app," the guidelines say.
Apple also says it will block applications that don't do "something useful or provide some lasting entertainment."
The App Store's chief competitor, Google Inc.'s Android Marketplace, has few restrictions for developers. That has been welcomed by developers but has also led to a flood of low-quality applications and even some that prey on buyers. Security firm Kaspersky Lab said it found one media-player application that secretly sends text-message payments - which get added to phone bills - when installed by Russian phone users.
Despite restrictions, Apple's store has been a runaway success since its launch in 2008 and now has more than 250,000 applications.
by Peter Svensson Associated Press Sept. 10, 2010 12:00 AM
Apple gives software developers guidelines for app approval
Showing posts with label ipod. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ipod. Show all posts
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
FOXNews.com - Apple Shows Off New iPods and TV, Unveils Social Network
Apple fans Web-wide tuned in to an annual music-themed event Wednesday, where Steve Jobs unveiled an updated streaming TV device, funky new iPods -- and a social network that's all about music.
The main focus of the event was iPods, ostensibly -- Apple claimed to have sold 275 million of them to date. And at the event, Apple chief Steve Jobs unveiled a slimmer new version of the Touch including "Retina display," the 24-bit high-quality screen that Apple introduced with the newest version of its iPhone.
Jobs called the Touch "the number-one portable game player in the world," noting that over a billion games and entertainment titles have been sold for it. Though the new Touch shares other hardware similarities to the latest iPhone (such as front and back cameras), it doesn't have cellular connectivity, and therefore won't share the radio issues that haunt the new iPhone.
Apple also unveiled a new version of the diminutive iPod Shuffle, with a square design and 15 hours of battery life; it will sell for $49. Jobs showed off a new squarish version of the iPod Nano as well, one that incorporates a multitouch screen. All three new iPods will be on sale next week, Jobs announced.
iTunes is a key part of the music package, and at the event, Jobs showed off the newest version, iTunes 10. It adds an intriguing new music-discovery function called Ping.
Ping aggregates posts from friends and artists you follow, a function similar to the social-networking features in Twitter and Facebook, and includes a new database with over 17,000 concert listings from those artists. Follow a person and get updates from him, with photos, concert dates, and new music he's bought or added to iTunes. It also creates a custom, top 10 chart of music based on those people you follow.
"It's a social network all about music," Jobs said.
Jobs unveiled a redesigned, smaller version of the Apple TV product too, which he acknowledged had not sold as well as the company hoped. "We’ve sold a lot of them but it’s never been a huge hit. But neither has any competitor product," he said.
The new product has no local storage, instead streaming videos and photos directly from iTunes. With it, you can rent first-run movies for $4.99 or high-definition TV shows for just $0.99, initially just from ABC and Fox.
"We think the rest of the studios will see the light and get on board with us pretty soon," Jobs said.
Jobs wrapped up his demonstration by announcing a major price drop for the Apple TV, which will be available "in about 4 weeks," from $229 to just $99.
He began the event by unveiling iOS 4.1, which fixes bugs and adds support for high dynamic range photos, HD video, rentals and more. High dynamic range photos combine images from three pictures taken almost simultaneously into one, incredibly detailed image.
The operating system update also includes GameCenter, Apple's central point for game developers and players.
"If you don't have any friends, GameCenter will automatch you with others," Jobs said. Look for the free download for certain models of the iPod Touch and iPhone next week, he said.
Jobs also gave a preview of iOS 4.2, which brings wireless printing, GameCenter, high dynamic range photos and more to the iPad. Notably, it will also include AirPlay, which lets users send audio, photos, and video over Wi-Fi to other gadgets. Jobs said the update would come in November, and would be free for iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPads.
The event was streamed live from Apple's website, though the "open" format Apple chose to use for the live stream (based on the new HTML5 standard) proved choppy, and was only supported in certain Apple devices, such as iPads, iPhones, and the latest version of the company's operating system, MacOS X 10.6.
By Jeremy A. Kaplan FoxNews.com September 1, 2010
FOXNews.com - Apple Shows Off New iPods and TV, Unveils Social Network
Apple - iPod nano - A new design for music and Multi-Touch.
iPod nano with Multi-Touch is designed to be easy, and fun - just like music. And it's even smaller, so music can be an even bigger part of just about everything.
Music has a whole new feel.
iPod nano has been completely redesigned with Multi-Touch — the same technology that makes iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch so amazing. Now it’s half the size and even easier to play. And everything you want to hear is just a tap or swipe away.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Apple devices to soon have long-sought multitasking
by Rachel Metz Associated Press Apr. 9, 2010 12:00 AM
CUPERTINO, Calif. - Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iPad devices will soon be able to run more than one program at a time, an ability that phones from Apple's rivals already offer and that iPhone owners have long sought.
The changes, coming this summer to iPhones and this fall to iPads, mean that users might be able to listen to music through the Pandora program and check a bank account online simultaneously. Currently, users must return to Apple's home screen, effectively quitting the open program, before starting a new task.
"We weren't the first to this party, but we're going to be the best," Apple CEO Steve Jobs declared Thursday, as bloggers, software developers and others in the audience greeted the news of such "multitasking" with applause.
The iPhone already permits some multitasking, but that's largely limited to Apple's own programs. Apple had not given users ways to seamlessly switch among all the software "apps" available from outside software companies, the way phones from rivals Palm Inc. and Google Inc. already do.
That will change with the updates known as iPhone OS 4. Apple generally makes such updates available for free, and often automatically, as a software download.
"It really changes the way you use the iPhone," Jobs said. "You're bouncing around the apps with tremendous fluidity."
Jobs said the company waited so long because it wanted to offer multitasking in a way that didn't drain the iPhone's battery or reduce the phone's performance.
In demonstrating the feature, Jobs double-tapped on the iPhone's main button while playing a game to reveal a row of icons for other programs that were quietly running in the background and accessible with a finger tap.
Other updates include the ability to have messages from multiple e-mail accounts land in a single inbox and a way to connect an iPhone with a regular keyboard using Bluetooth wireless technology.
But Apple still won't support Flash technology
, even though many Web sites require it for displaying video. Flash is on many wish lists.
Although Apple is making the updates available to all iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad models, some features will only work with newer versions. The multitasking function, for example, won't work with the original iPhone or the iPhone 3G - only the 3GS versions that came out last summer. For the iPod Touch, you'd need the models that came out late last year.
Jobs also announced an advertising platform
called iAd in which Apple will sell and host ads to run on apps made by outside developers; those developers will get 60 percent of the ad revenue. He said users shouldn't find the ads annoying because Apple will make it easy for people to navigate back to what they were doing before clicking.
Jobs said the company had wanted to buy mobile-advertising service AdMob, but lost out to Google. That deal is undergoing regulatory review.
Apple devices to soon have long-sought multitasking
CUPERTINO, Calif. - Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iPad devices will soon be able to run more than one program at a time, an ability that phones from Apple's rivals already offer and that iPhone owners have long sought.
The changes, coming this summer to iPhones and this fall to iPads, mean that users might be able to listen to music through the Pandora program and check a bank account online simultaneously. Currently, users must return to Apple's home screen, effectively quitting the open program, before starting a new task.
"We weren't the first to this party, but we're going to be the best," Apple CEO Steve Jobs declared Thursday, as bloggers, software developers and others in the audience greeted the news of such "multitasking" with applause.
The iPhone already permits some multitasking, but that's largely limited to Apple's own programs. Apple had not given users ways to seamlessly switch among all the software "apps" available from outside software companies, the way phones from rivals Palm Inc. and Google Inc. already do.
That will change with the updates known as iPhone OS 4. Apple generally makes such updates available for free, and often automatically, as a software download.
"It really changes the way you use the iPhone," Jobs said. "You're bouncing around the apps with tremendous fluidity."
Jobs said the company waited so long because it wanted to offer multitasking in a way that didn't drain the iPhone's battery or reduce the phone's performance.
In demonstrating the feature, Jobs double-tapped on the iPhone's main button while playing a game to reveal a row of icons for other programs that were quietly running in the background and accessible with a finger tap.
Other updates include the ability to have messages from multiple e-mail accounts land in a single inbox and a way to connect an iPhone with a regular keyboard using Bluetooth wireless technology.
But Apple still won't support Flash technology
, even though many Web sites require it for displaying video. Flash is on many wish lists.
Although Apple is making the updates available to all iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad models, some features will only work with newer versions. The multitasking function, for example, won't work with the original iPhone or the iPhone 3G - only the 3GS versions that came out last summer. For the iPod Touch, you'd need the models that came out late last year.
Jobs also announced an advertising platform
called iAd in which Apple will sell and host ads to run on apps made by outside developers; those developers will get 60 percent of the ad revenue. He said users shouldn't find the ads annoying because Apple will make it easy for people to navigate back to what they were doing before clicking.
Jobs said the company had wanted to buy mobile-advertising service AdMob, but lost out to Google. That deal is undergoing regulatory review.
Apple devices to soon have long-sought multitasking
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Microsoft Replays Zune Design For Phone Comeback : NPR
Microsoft Replays Zune Design For Phone Comeback : NPR
by The Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain February 15, 2010, 12:51 pm ET
Associated Press - Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gestures during the "Windows Phone 7" presentation at the Mobile World congress in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 15, 2010. The Mobile World Congress will be held from Feb. 15-18.
Apple Inc. rocked the wireless business by combining the functions of a phone and an iPod. Now, more than two years later, Microsoft Corp. has its comeback: phone software that works a lot like its own Zune media player.
The software, which was unveiled Monday at the Mobile World Congress, is a dramatic change from previous generations of the software that used to be called Windows Mobile. But Microsoft is, for now, sticking to its model of making the software and selling it to phone manufacturers, rather than making its own phones.
Microsoft's mobile system powered 13.1 percent of smart phones sold in the U.S. last year, according to research firm In-Stat. That made it No. 3 after Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry and the iPhone. But Microsoft has been losing market share while Apple and Google Inc.'s Android gained.
All the while, the market is becoming increasingly important. People are spending more and more time on their phones, and the devices steer people to potentially lucrative Web services and ads.
Phones with the new software will be on the market by the holidays, Microsoft said. All four major U.S. carriers will offer phones, just as they sell current Windows phones.
The new ones won't be called "Zune phones," as had been speculated. The software will be called "Windows Phone 7 series."
Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin said the new software looked promising, but that it was also Microsoft's "final chance to get it right." He notes that those who have current Windows phones don't seem excited about the brand — many of them believe their phones are made by Apple or Nokia Corp., according to his firm's research.
Andy Lees, senior vice president of Microsoft's mobile communications business, said Windows Mobile suffered from the company's chaotic approach to the market. The software maker gave phone hardware makers and wireless carriers so much freedom to alter the system and install it on so many different devices that none worked the same way.
As a result, while other phone vendors such as Apple linked their hardware and software tightly to ensure a better experience, Windows Mobile might not have looked like it quite fit on a certain handset.
With the new software, "We really wanted to lead and take much more complete accountability than we had in earlier versions of the Windows phone for the end user experience," CEO Steve Ballmer said at the Barcelona launch event.
Microsoft is imposing a set of required features for Windows phones. Manufacturers must include permanent buttons on the phone for "home," "search" and "back"; a high-resolution screen with the same touch-sensing technology as the iPhone; and a camera with at least 5 megapixels of resolution and a flash. Hardware QWERTY keyboards will be optional.
A test device from Asus, which Microsoft used to demonstrate the new phone software for The Associated Press in Redmond, Wash., also had a front camera and a speaker.
The iPhone's success has spurred lots of look-alike phones with screenfuls of tiny square icons representing each program. Just as it did with the Zune, Microsoft has tried to avoid an icon-intensive copy of that setup. Instead, it relies more on clickable words and images pulled from the content itself. For example, if you put a weather program on the device's home page, it shows a constantly updated snapshot of conditions where you are, rather than a static icon that you have to click in order to see the weather.
The idea of pulling information from different Web sites, like Facebook, and presenting them on the phone's "home" screen isn't unique to Microsoft: Motorola Inc. and HTC Corp. have created such software for their own phones.
Windows Phone 7 Series borrows the clean look of the Zune software, departing from the more "computer screen" look of earlier Microsoft efforts. These were also reliant on the user pulling out a stylus for more precise maneuvering, while the software is designed to be used with the fingers. It's not clear how older third-party applications designed for the stylus will work on the new phones.
Most of the built-in applications complement or connect with existing Microsoft programs or services, such as the Bing search engine. The games "hub" connects to an Xbox Live account and lets players pick up where they left off with multiplayer games. They will even be able to play games against PC users. Microsoft also turns to the Zune programming for the phones' entertainment hub, much in the way the iPhone's music library is called iPod. And when users plug the phone into a PC, the Zune software pops up to manage music, movies and podcasts.
About 18 months ago, Microsoft stopped most improvements to its existing smart-phone operating software and started from scratch on Windows Phone 7 Series.
Microsoft "is resolved at a company level to be successful in mobile," Lees said. He indicated Microsoft is willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on marketing to ensure it's successful.
by The Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain February 15, 2010, 12:51 pm ET
Associated Press - Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gestures during the "Windows Phone 7" presentation at the Mobile World congress in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 15, 2010. The Mobile World Congress will be held from Feb. 15-18.
Apple Inc. rocked the wireless business by combining the functions of a phone and an iPod. Now, more than two years later, Microsoft Corp. has its comeback: phone software that works a lot like its own Zune media player.
The software, which was unveiled Monday at the Mobile World Congress, is a dramatic change from previous generations of the software that used to be called Windows Mobile. But Microsoft is, for now, sticking to its model of making the software and selling it to phone manufacturers, rather than making its own phones.
Microsoft's mobile system powered 13.1 percent of smart phones sold in the U.S. last year, according to research firm In-Stat. That made it No. 3 after Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry and the iPhone. But Microsoft has been losing market share while Apple and Google Inc.'s Android gained.
All the while, the market is becoming increasingly important. People are spending more and more time on their phones, and the devices steer people to potentially lucrative Web services and ads.
Phones with the new software will be on the market by the holidays, Microsoft said. All four major U.S. carriers will offer phones, just as they sell current Windows phones.
The new ones won't be called "Zune phones," as had been speculated. The software will be called "Windows Phone 7 series."
Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin said the new software looked promising, but that it was also Microsoft's "final chance to get it right." He notes that those who have current Windows phones don't seem excited about the brand — many of them believe their phones are made by Apple or Nokia Corp., according to his firm's research.
Andy Lees, senior vice president of Microsoft's mobile communications business, said Windows Mobile suffered from the company's chaotic approach to the market. The software maker gave phone hardware makers and wireless carriers so much freedom to alter the system and install it on so many different devices that none worked the same way.
As a result, while other phone vendors such as Apple linked their hardware and software tightly to ensure a better experience, Windows Mobile might not have looked like it quite fit on a certain handset.
With the new software, "We really wanted to lead and take much more complete accountability than we had in earlier versions of the Windows phone for the end user experience," CEO Steve Ballmer said at the Barcelona launch event.
Microsoft is imposing a set of required features for Windows phones. Manufacturers must include permanent buttons on the phone for "home," "search" and "back"; a high-resolution screen with the same touch-sensing technology as the iPhone; and a camera with at least 5 megapixels of resolution and a flash. Hardware QWERTY keyboards will be optional.
A test device from Asus, which Microsoft used to demonstrate the new phone software for The Associated Press in Redmond, Wash., also had a front camera and a speaker.
The iPhone's success has spurred lots of look-alike phones with screenfuls of tiny square icons representing each program. Just as it did with the Zune, Microsoft has tried to avoid an icon-intensive copy of that setup. Instead, it relies more on clickable words and images pulled from the content itself. For example, if you put a weather program on the device's home page, it shows a constantly updated snapshot of conditions where you are, rather than a static icon that you have to click in order to see the weather.
The idea of pulling information from different Web sites, like Facebook, and presenting them on the phone's "home" screen isn't unique to Microsoft: Motorola Inc. and HTC Corp. have created such software for their own phones.
Windows Phone 7 Series borrows the clean look of the Zune software, departing from the more "computer screen" look of earlier Microsoft efforts. These were also reliant on the user pulling out a stylus for more precise maneuvering, while the software is designed to be used with the fingers. It's not clear how older third-party applications designed for the stylus will work on the new phones.
Most of the built-in applications complement or connect with existing Microsoft programs or services, such as the Bing search engine. The games "hub" connects to an Xbox Live account and lets players pick up where they left off with multiplayer games. They will even be able to play games against PC users. Microsoft also turns to the Zune programming for the phones' entertainment hub, much in the way the iPhone's music library is called iPod. And when users plug the phone into a PC, the Zune software pops up to manage music, movies and podcasts.
About 18 months ago, Microsoft stopped most improvements to its existing smart-phone operating software and started from scratch on Windows Phone 7 Series.
Microsoft "is resolved at a company level to be successful in mobile," Lees said. He indicated Microsoft is willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on marketing to ensure it's successful.
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