It seems Apple is continuing to invest in advancing web-based technologies to provide a more full feature experienced on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Daring Fireball describes in detail an impressive new web framework called PastryKit. This kit is for making HTML, CSS, and JavaScript-based WebApps.
It is already deployed in Apple's iPhone User Guide web page (when viewed from an iPhone). You can watch the video at hte end of this post.
Apple has implemented a few key interface features in Javascript that could make web-apps feel much more like native iPhone apps. These include:
Completely hiding the address bar
Allowing for fixed-position toolbars that don't move when you scroll
Allows for scrolling with momentum so you can quickly scroll long lists
Since these features have been implemented by Apple in Javascript, they could be available to any web developer.
Apple has approved iVideoCamera, an application which lets you record video on any iPhone including the iPhone 2G and iPhone 3G. Now you don't need a 3GS to record and share videos with your friends and family. Works with firmware 3.1 OS installed and includes:
Ability to save to your camera roll or "Photos" and share via:
FaceBook
YouTube
Vimeo
Twitter and more coming soon
Limitations:
The iPhone can only capture about 3 frames per second
Videos are limited to about 1 minute in length
Resolution is low: 160x213
You can purchase iVideoCamera in App Store for $0.99 (link).
This is a great step forward, because Apple did not allow such apps to be in Appstore before. The quality of the recorded video is quite low, however it might be improved in the future. Could the acceptance of iVideoCamera open the door for Cycorder, popular video recording app that can be installed via Cydia?
Apple created a list of the best iPhone games of 2009. The list is part of their iTunes Rewind 2009 where they are highlighting the best content across 2009 in music, movies, TV shows, audiobooks, podcasts, and apps.
If you are a developer, make sure you do not make fake reviews for your applications. Apple in fact, has taken serious steps, blocking the accounts of a developer and removing 1011 applications because of fake reviews.
The developer "Molinker" had many apps. Each of them had about 50 reviews. The developer was using his promocodes (every developer gets 50 of them for every app) to write reviews for his own apps. One of the users, who bought several apps, investigated this issue and wrote to Phil Schiller. The apps and all the reviews were removed very very quickly from AppStore.
What’s incredible is that the developer had 1011 apps, which is almost 1% of the entire App Store. Well that’s 1% of the App Store that no longer exists.
The developers shouldn’t be surprised, but they are:
We got email from Apple yesterday [Sunday 6th] which told us our contract is changed to pending status.
Actually, we do not know what’s wrong so far. We had contacted Apple for such sudden changes, hope we can get quick response and actions from Apple.
Phil Shiller, Apple Senior Vice President of Marketing, was asked what his favorite iPhone Apps were, and here’s what he said:
Shazam [Free - iTunes link]: “There’s just something so amazing about being anywhere, and some music starts playing and you just hold up your phone and can find out what it is,” Mr. Schiller said. “You never again have to say ‘That’s a great song! Who is it by?”
CNN News [$1.99 - iTunes link]: “It’s really cool having the news in your pocket.”
Dragon Naturally Speaking is a popular speech recognition software application for PC/Mac. Soon it will be released for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
The program for the iPhone will capture a clip of about 20-30 seconds and turn into text everything that was said. Then you can send your dictation via email or SMS.
App Rejection is a new portal where the AppStore applications that are rejected by Apple are collected.
The site can be used by developers to understand all those unwritten rules that lead to rejection. In other words you can learn from the mistakes and adopt your app to make it to the AppStore. To access the site just click here.
iPhone Folders is a Windows Explorer extension that allows you to browse contents of your iPhone or iPod Touch like a regular removable drive. After installation you'll find it in My Computer folder.
Using this extension you can browse your phone filesystem, copy files to and from it, open files directly from iPhone, create shortcuts to folders on iPhone. In thumbnail mode program will display previews of png and jpg files on phone, application icons for installed applications (.app folders).
Compatible with x86 editions of Windows XP, Vista, 7 and x64 editions of Windows XP and Vista. Requires iTunes 8 or 9 for normal operation. Supports jailbroken and non-jailbroken phones (in the later case filesystem access is limited to Media folder).
You can download iPhone Folders version 1.0.31 here.
iLingual, an app that use your or anybody else's lips and uses them to speak.
Here's how it works: you snap a picture of a mouth, yours, your friend's or just a photo from a magazine. iLingual analyzes and converts it for animation. Then, you choose a phrase from the app's library, hold your iPhone over your mouth and there, you sort speak French, German or a little bit of Arabic.
iLingual is a sponsored app, so it's completely free. Here's an iTunes link.
The TV show Lie to Me (season 2, episode 3 to be exact) decided to lie — they showed an iPhone where one of the characters could swipe between SMS notifications.
To the trained eye, of course, it was merely screenshots of standard model text dialogs over the Notes app, with swiping no doubt courtesy of the Photo App, and sound effects added in post. (The whole screen, not just the alert dialog, changed on swipe). Why did they do it?
TomTom navigation application updated to version 1.2. Added features include updates to maps and IQ Routes, advanced lane guidance, text-to-speech, integrated iPod player support and support for the iPod Touch and first-generation iPhone 2G.
To use the app on iPod Touch and iPhone 2G, TomTom's car kit is required. This is due to the fact that both devices lack an integrated GPS receiver. TomTom's car kit is a cradle which contains a GPS module, integrated speaker, charger, and line out. It is not required when the TomTom app is paired with the iPhone 3G and 3GS. The cost for the kit without the app is $119.95.
Full list of what's new in 1.2:
Improved search and route summary screens
Updated map from v8.30 to v8.35
Updated points of interest database
Updated IQ Routes database with millions of new measurements
Added Advanced Lane Guidance in both portrait and landscape mode
Added Text-to-speech in English US, English UK, English Australia, French Canada, Spanish Latin America
Added Help Me! emergency menu
Added iPod player support
Added support for original iPhone and iPod touch (all models)
The TomTom app is available in App Store for $49.99-$139.99 (link). Price depends on the map coverage. The highest price is for TomTom Western Europe. US & Canada costs $99.99. The cheapest version is for Hong-Kong - just $49.99.
Yesterday Tristan Nitot, the European president of the Mozilla Foundation, has responded to some questions about the future opportunity to see Firefox on the iPhone and iPod Touch:
"The issue is more with Apple than with us because they control the App Store and because they refuse applications which compete with something that is already on the phone. It’s unlikely that we’ll see a version of Firefox running on the iPhone"
As for Firefox Mobile, it will be launching on Symbian, Android, Windows Mobile, and Nokia Maemo tablets in December.
Google today announced that it has issued an update to Google Earth the companion iPhone and iPod touch application to the company's desktop application offering virtual globe and other geographic information.
Among the biggest changes in Version 2.0 of Google Earth is the ability to view custom maps stored in the "My Maps" section of users' Google Maps accounts:
By logging in directly to your Google Maps account, you can view the same maps that you or others have created, using the My Maps interface.
What's new:
Take your maps with you wherever you go. View Google Maps created on your desktop computer on your iPhone.
Visual feedback when you select photos, businesses, and other icons. It's now much easier to browse.
More and more developers complain about the rejection of their applications in the AppStore. There's a good reason behind all this.
It seems that Apple has created a tool that can automatically review applications and APIs that are used. According to the rules of the SDK, the developers can not use private API. If this initial test is passed examiners begin to manually check the app.
So the advice is quite simple - follow the rules of the SDK.