Iphone

Step 1. Rip Off Popular iPhone Game. Step 2. ??? Step 3. Profit? — A year ago, I introduced you to a simple, but challenging, iPhone game called DoodleJump. Produced by Lima Sky, the fun game, which took advantage of the iPhone's accelerometer and had you jumping from platform to platform in search of new high scores, has seen phenomenal success, passing one million downloads before the end of 2009. Thus, it's no surprise that its success has drawn the highest form of flattery - complete copying, possibly with the intention of making you think there is a new companion game to the app, called "Doodle Run".

This evening, I got a press release on the new Doodle Run, being told I could "Run, fly, and shoot your way through danger with Doodle Run for iPhone". The game's graphics even were reminiscent of the trendsetting Doodle Jump, leveraging graph paper in the background of what looked to be a hand-drawn figure and hand-drawn scenery.


I immediately thought Doodle Run was the companion game to Doodle Jump, and clicked through to the Web site for Doodle Run, only to find out it wasn't Lima Sky behind the application, but instead, a developer called eBattalion, whose other work includes games such as Nanoids, Love Link, FLIP, also on the iTunes store - all of which were updated on March 8th, for whatever reason. It seemed to me that the addition of the word "Doodle" to their new Run game was to seize on the popularity of Doodle Jump and trick casual visitors like me into downloading their latest 99 cents offer without thinking.

I e-mailed Igor Pusenjak of Lima Sky to ask if the game was theirs. It is not, and my e-mail was the first they had heard of it. Igor responded:

"Your assumptions are correct. This is not our game nor do we have any agreement with the developers. Thanks for bringing this to my attention."

I sent an e-mail to the eBatallion team less than an hour ago asking of their intentions behind launching their newest app with the name of Doodle Run, and if I hear back from them, I will let you know. But on first blush, this seems like bad intentions of the highest order, which could and does cause confusion in the marketplace. Even if this game is amazing, I am avoiding it on name alone.

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Google to offer stripped-down Nexus One phone in India? —

Google may be preparing to launch a stripped-down, low-cost version of its Nexus One smartphone in India, and possibly other developing markets, according to speculation on multiple Indian technology sites. The rumors appear to have originated in a tweet from a TV show producer.

But irrespective of how it got started, it sure highlights the importance that Google is placing on the developing markets. Irrespective of the origin of the current rumor, the idea sure is an interesting one and highlights the importance that Google is placing on the developing markets.

Apple has historically focused on building high-margin products and slapping the legendary Apple Tax on them, but this strategy hasn’t found many takers in markets such as India. Indeed, many would say Apple has priced itself out of the market. In India, the iPhone 3G 8GB model is priced at about $680, while the 16GB variant is priced at about $790 (the 3GS has not yet been released, possibly due to the limited uptake that the 3G version has met). However, Google’s entry into the mobile handset space has to do with more than just device margins. The company is trying to increase the avenues by which consumers can interact with its services. Be it in the mobile space through Android or through its attempts at experimental fiber networks. And it is in this context that emerging markets such as India represent a large market that Google can ill-afford to ignore.

India is adding close to 18 million mobile subscribers every month, and the Indian telecom regulator TRAI estimates [PDF] there were around 127 million wireless subscribers accessing data services (essentially GPRS/EDGE based mobile data services) at the end of September 2009. That is a sizeable number, and one that continues to grow. Mobile advertising, too, is beginning to make its presence felt. Admob metrics [PDF] from January 2010 show India accounting for over 5% of all ad requests, behind only the US and ahead of many other developed mobile markets including Japan and the UK.

Moreover, Google already has some strong traction in the market. A Comscore September 2009 report estimates that Internet users in India spent up to a third of their online time on Google sites, a figure that is over three times the global average. Given such strong usage indicators of its services, Google will want to build on its brand strength, while simultaneously tapping into the fast growing mobile space. Google is already experimenting with multiple mobile products for its Indian audience, including Google Phone Search (search using voice calls to a toll-free number, with results being sent as a text message), Google SMS Search (search using text) and Google SMS Channels (SMS-based mobile communities). Putting a feature-rich, yet low-cost phone into the hands of its users appears the right next step.

It is in this context that a stripped-down version makes sense from Google’s perspective. Google has previously signaled that it considers India an unfriendly marketplace for smartphones. One can only speculate on what components might be tossed, but there are a few low-hanging fruit. India does not yet have 3G networks, given that the required spectrum has not been auctioned yet (although that will likely change soon, hopefully). Similarly, GPS and WLAN chipsets could be on the block, if Google is looking at cutting down on the radios. The display, too, could be swapped out for a less expensive and smaller LCD screen as opposed to the OLED display that the Nexus One currently boasts.

The resulting device would definitely not be what Google calls a “Superphone“, and therefore would not qualify for its online webstore. However, that might do a world of good to Google if it were indeed to launch such a phone in India where online commerce is still finding its feet. Apple found out the hard way that in a large country such as India, having a presence at the neighborhood handset retailer store is critical to driving uptake (Apple’s iPhone is primarily available only at select carrier-owned distribution stores, which are very limited). While Google might not have the experience of dealing with large third-party distributors, it has shown that it does not shy away from such challenges. Indeed, the very fact that it chose to launch its own distribution channel for the Nexus One in the US is testimony to that.

India would likely not be the only target country for such a stripped-down version. Brazil comes readily to mind as another good candidate. For Google to translate its successes on the desktop to the mobile web, a strong presence across devices will be inevitable, be it through carrier partnerships or through Android-based phones, or better-still, a Nexus-One style device where Google exerts significant control. And emerging markets such as India with its large mobile base are probably the right entry point.

Tags: INdia, nexus one

Companies: Google

Cameron Daigle’s “is the iPad just a big iPhone” user interface presentation from PodCamp Nashville. Note, the second slide is a gigantic “NO.”

[via Daring Fireball]

Cameron Daigle’s “Is the iPad Just a Big iPhone?” UI Presentation from PodCamp Nashville is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Jobs Says No Tethering iPad To iPhone — tugfoigel writes "Anyone who currently owns an iPhone and was hoping they would be able to use it as a mobile Web access point for a Wi-Fi iPad just got some bad news. Reportedly, Steve Jobs has said this will not happen. Swedish blog Slashat.se claims they e-mailed Job directly to ask him whether or not you'd be able to tether your iPad and iPhone and received a terse 'No' in reply. According to the report, the email headers made it plausible that the reply had come from Jobs's iPhone."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

DIY: Control your Hexapod robot with your iPhone —

Check out this custom made iPhone app that robotics student Robert Stephenson created. Robert wrote this app to control his Hexapod robot using the the user inputs on the iPhone.

Roberst control method includes the touchscreen and accelerometers to manipulate the forward and reverse controls. Robert has done several videos about his project, it’s definitely worth looking at it you are into robotics and iPhone apps.

Now here’s a killer app for the throngs of geeks about to descend on Austin later this week: TabbedOut. The iPhone application allows users to order, review and pay for their tabs at local bars. It sounds like the perfect fix for those full-to-the-gills parties SXSW is known for. Unfortunately, TabbedOut is only available at a limited selection of venues for now — just 35 in Austin, including popular SXSW party stops The Blind Pig Club, Beerland and Mohawk.

“Having just launched in January, the integration hurdle is where we are now,” said Rick Orr, CEO of TabbedOut maker ATX Innovation, in a phone interview. But the company is trying to make the most out of an influx of its exact target audience of smartphone users at crowded bars by releasing an Android app on March 15 and handing out three free tabs to all users in Austin during SXSW.

The way TabbedOut works is you store your credit or debit card account on your phone, then file your order through the app. It pops up on the merchant’s point-of-sale system for them to fulfill your order and accept your payment (right now TabbedOut is integrated with Future POS and Jumpware). Users pay a convenience fee of 99 cents.

The concept is similar to one of my favorite iPhone apps, Taxi Magic, which lets me hail and pay for cabs without dealing with a phone dispatcher, cash or credit cards for a $1.50 fee.

Orr said that TabbedOut’s next core locations will be New York, New Jersey, LA and the San Francisco Bay Area. ATX has raised a Series A round from investors including Trellis Partners and Raven Capital Partners.

SXSW seems like an opportune time for other payments startups to have their own coming out parties. We contacted Square — the mobile transaction company founded by Jack Dorsey of previous SXSW breakout success Twitter — to ask about its SXSW plans but haven’t heard back yet.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):

The App Developer’s Guide to Choosing a Mobile Platform

Google Buzz Could Have Dominated Location. (And Snuck Up On Facebook And Twitter.) —

Tomorrow it will be exactly one month since the launch of Google Buzz. The song remains the same: it’s a mess. Normally, that wouldn’t bother me so much — after all, a lot of services are a mess — but Buzz has a lot of potential. But again, it’s been a month. I’m starting to wonder if it will ever reach that potential. I’m also starting to wonder if it shouldn’t have been introduced as something entirely different.

Despite its many annoyances, I’ve been using Buzz regularly over the past month (Gmail integration tends to shove it in your face and I hate unread counts). The one thing I keep coming back to is that Buzz on the iPhone and Android is pretty impressive. Specifically, the location functionality as run through the mobile web is impressive. In fact, that’s what I think Buzz should have started out as.

Yes, I know Google already has a location-based service: Latitude. But let’s be honest: no one uses Latitude. Or if they do, they likely don’t even realize they’re using it because it’s just turned on in the background. And that’s precisely why Latitude doesn’t work.

The past several months have proven that consumer demand for location services is contingent on one thing: the ability to “check-in.” That is, rather than having a service that is always on in the background transmitting your location (like Latitude), people are actually using the services that allow you to dictate when and where your location is sent out (like Foursquare and Gowalla). There’s a reason that services like Loopt has pivoted from one method to the other.

Checking-in works for people because of two main things: simplicity (of the concept) and privacy. People prefer checking-in because it makes sense. You hit a button to say you’re somewhere, and it gets transmitted. You don’t have to worry about whether your mobile device is always transmitting because you’re in complete control of it. In the future, as people become more comfortable with the concept, I suspect some form of “always-on” location will become the norm, but for now, it’s baby-steps.

And that’s why Latitude, as it’s currently built, doesn’t work for most people. But Buzz — the mobile version, at least — is the location-based service that Google should have built. It has the idea of checking-in built into it; you simply do so by buzzing from your device. When you do that, Google offers you the opportunity to tag your buzz to a certain place and instantly send it out to your followers.

That’s another key to why Buzz (and check-in services as a whole) works as a location service: with it, Google finally understands that people don’t want to let others know their GPS coordinates. That means nothing to most people. Instead, Buzz lets you select an actual place (like a restaurant, for example), and send that out with your message.

People understand the concept of places, not coordinates. And Google, thanks to its Search and Maps businesses, happens to have databases of more places than probably any other company out there. With Buzz, they’re finally using it.

As a sharing service within Gmail, Buzz isn’t ready for primetime yet. As a location service, Buzz could have been a serious challenger to Foursquare, Gowalla, Brightkite, Loopt, and all the others preparing for big launches at SXSW later this week. Imagine Buzz as a location-based iPhone and Android app (or even just a web app). It still could have been linked to your Google Profile and perhaps would have even been a better gateway drug to making Google more social because it would have been a more gradual build-up.

And to ensure some usage beyond Google Profiles, Google could have put Buzz in Gmail Labs, as an option for Gmail. As a broken social sharing service, Buzz in Gmail is annoying. But as a location-based stream of check-ins (that people could still comment on and like), it’s potentially interesting. And it still would have been exposed to millions of potential users that way. And some users could have even used browser location features to use it within Gmail (Google Chrome is one of the browsers testing this natively).

Google could have kept the Buzz button on its mobile interface for easy check-in/update ability from all of its mobile apps. And Buzz built-in to the native Maps application on Android is simply brilliant.

As a location-based app, Google would have likely been instantaneously bigger than all of its rivals. This is the key reason people suggest that when Facebook enters the location game, it will wipe out the other players — it’s the huge built-in user base.

Then the next step could have been to more directly emphasize the concept of sharing. That would have been to opposite approach of Twitter, which first was all about sharing, and more recently has added the location layer (which Facebook is also likely to do at some point this year). But that makes sense for Google, since the social elements have been their weak point and no one yet has a huge stranglehold over the location space.

Instead, right now, Buzz is oddly split between this sharing service within Gmail and this location-based service that exists on the mobile web. They should have focused on the latter, used the location buzz (pun intended) at SXSW to take out their upstart rivals, and then morphed into a social sharing service down the road. Then they would have been well-positioned (and perhaps more importantly, better prepared) to take on the more established social sharing sites, Twitter and Facebook.

Oh well. Time to go mute some more posts on the Buzz we’re stuck with.

John Gruber seems to have it on good authority that the missing iPad apps are missing because Apple couldn’t figure out how to keep them elegant in a large-screen environment, and that no ‘Dashboard view’ is in the works. I don’t doubt his sources, but I’m frankly very surprised.

Looking on the bright side, the absence of these core apps will pave the way for hundreds of developers to try innovating on their own to make a better version, knowing they’ll be vying for the attention of an entire iPad user base with no built-in calculator, weather, finance or timer app. There should be a lot of interesting innovation in the space (and yes, a lot of nickel and dime crap).

At the end of the day though, the problem persists: If Apple can’t come up with a suitable usability model for small ’subtask’ apps like peeking at stocks, responding to an instant message or performing a quick calculation then it’s unlikely that third-party developers will be able to, because the difficulty is inherent in a large-screen, completely modal interface.

Considering that Apple’s been thinking about tablet devices for over a decade and has held beck because the prototypes didn’t meet Steve’s high bar, it’s extremely surprising to me that they’d launch without a real answer for such simple tasks. April 3rd notwithstanding, this is a problem that Apple will absolutely solve at some point. The only question is when.

Apple Store SOHO —

photos by Scott Beale

A few photos I shot last week while visiting the Apple Store in SOHO.

This is a blog post from Laughing Squid, subscribe via RSS, Email, Twitter & Facebook.

Related posts:

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- Apple Store on New York City’s Upper West Side

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- The First Wedding In An Apple Store

- Palo Alto Apple Store

Pad won't have clock, weather, etc. apps on launch — Apple's recent announcement regarding the iPad ship date implies that the device might not ship with the full set of apps that come standard on the iPhone. Daring Fireball blogger John Gruber suggests design considerations drove the company to omit several utilities such as Stocks, Calculator, Clock, Weather, and Voice Memos....

For the programmer who has everything: Android pillows —

Need a DIY gift for the phone programmer who has everything? Consider making him or her some Android pillows. These pillows who the eventual move toward the iPhone OS – more fluff.

[via Technabob]

Back in February I first wrote about Siri, the popular voice-controlled mobile assistant, and since it's launch it has been well received by many. Because Siri has only been available for the iPhone, I have not been able to use it because I only own an original iPod Touch. A new version of Siri is now available that works with the iPod Touch running iPhone OS 3.0 or greater. The application also has more data and a larger vocabulary. Unfortunately, I still cannot use Siri because my original iPod Touch does not have a microphone. I have not upgraded my iPod Touch, which frankly is getting pretty scratched up, because I have not had a strong need to do so, but Siri is the first application I have encountered that I am interested in and cannot run, so a trip to the Apple store may be in my future.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Review: Case-mate Hug Wireless Charging Pad and Case for iPhone 3G/3GS —

Short Version: A bit of a twist on traditional induction chargers, Case-mate’s “Hug Wireless Charging Pad and Case” attempts to offset its $100 price tag by adhering to the Wireless Power Consortium’s universal charging standard, which promises interoperability with other charging pads and devices that are developed using the same technology.

Full Review: One of the larger barriers to adopting new technology is the relatively high price tag pitted against the uncertainty of whether or not that technology will become widespread enough to spawn future devices. What’s the sense in dropping $100 on an induction charger for your iPhone if there’s a possibility you’ll switch to a different phone in the future?

Case-mate makes the plunge a bit less frightening by basing its “Hug” system upon an open wireless charging standard, the Wireless Power Consortium’s eCoupled technology (the same technology used in Palm’s “Touchstone” chargers for the Pre and Pixi lines). This theoretically means that you’d be able to charge your phone on any wireless charging surface based on the same standard—Case-mate offers a bedside table, Starbuck’s coffee table, and airplanes as examples. We’ll have to see how this eventually plays out in real life, but you get the idea.

It also means that you’ll be able to use the included charging pad to juice up any other devices that use the same standard—a different model phone with an eCoupled-enabled case, for instance. So while $100 may seem a bit steep, you’re investing in what the WPC and Case-mate hopes becomes a widespread standard. You may have to buy different cases and/or battery covers for different devices in the future, but that charging pad should be the last one you ever need to purchase (in theory).

As a charging solution, the Hug system is surprisingly nimble. I was able to take my iPhone 3GS from near zero percent battery to 100% in two hours. That’s pretty good considering early induction charging systems have operated at a much slower trickle. The first one I reviewed, almost a year ago now, took overnight. That system was for Wii remotes, too, which aren’t quite as important as having an adequately charged cell phone.

The system is comprised of the charging pad and a protective iPhone case, which Case-mate describes as “slim.” We can go back and forth all day about using slim as an adjective but I can tell you that the case added some noticeable bulk to my phone. It doesn’t feel like it’d be super protective, either. It’s made of two plastic pieces that snap together; the backing of the larger main piece feels somewhat solid but the sides of both pieces are pretty bendy. I definitely wouldn’t want to drop my phone, and let’s remember that there’s induction technology built into the case that probably shouldn’t be bumped around too violently.

The fattest part of the case measures about 0.8 inches thick, versus an unprotected iPhone at less than half an inch thick. It’s still pocketable, though it definitely feels lumpier.

Charging time, as I said earlier, is a respectable two hours for full recuperation of an iPhone 3GS battery. I noticed a very faint, quickly repeating ticking sound as my phone was recharging and every time I’d put the case down on the pad my battery indicator would spike a few percentage points for some reason. Not a big deal either way, but it’s there.

Conclusion:

So would I carry my phone around in this case all day long? Maybe not presently, but I’d definitely do it if all these magic charging surfaces start popping up everywhere. Absolutely. It beats lugging around cables or spare emergency batteries for sure. If the WPC really wants this standard to take off, it should give the charging pads away for next to nothing for a while. For $5 to $10 apiece, I’d put them all over my house and in my car.

For now, it’s still a bit too early to tell. The Hug is a nice example of how well the technology actually works, though, and if it reaches more widespread adoption, you may find yourself pricing out induction cases and covers for all your commonly-used gadgets. If you’re intrigued by induction charging and you’re ready to take the plunge, the Hug ought to be a safe bet provided you don’t mind the $100 price tag and the bit of extra bulk it adds.

Hug – Wireless Charging Pad & Case [Case-mate.com]

Steph Tirion, creator of Eliss, annouces Faraway —

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store, SDK

Steph Tirion is an excellent game designer who I've had the good fortune to meet a few times. He first released a great game called Eliss on the App Store and he's now announced the second game he's been working on, called Faraway. Eliss was a terrific little arcade game that made great use of the iPhone's touchscreen, and Tirion says that while his first game dealt with "planets and space management in sectors, Faraway will be about constellations and infinite space travel." Sounds exciting. The game will be playable at GDC this week, so I'll definitely make time to run by and check it out.

Tirion has also announced a new company to represent and sell his iPhone games, and he's calling it LITTLE--EYES. It's really great to see a very smart, independent developer come into his own like on a platform like the iPhone -- there's really no other mainstream gaming platform out there that lets developers really jump in headfirst and release experimental games like these to a a mainstream market. We'll keep an eye out at GDC this week for all kinds of indie developers making it big. While it's cool that Valve and other larger companies are finally coming around, we have to be sure not to forget developers like this either.

TUAWSteph Tirion, creator of Eliss, annouces Faraway originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steph Tirion, creator of Eliss, annouces Faraway —

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store, SDK

Steph Tirion is an excellent game designer who I've had the good fortune to meet a few times. He first released a great game called Eliss on the App Store and he's now announced the second game he's been working on, called Faraway. Eliss was a terrific little arcade game that made great use of the iPhone's touchscreen, and Tirion says that while his first game dealt with "planets and space management in sectors, Faraway will be about constellations and infinite space travel." Sounds exciting. The game will be playable at GDC this week, so I'll definitely make time to run by and check it out.

Tirion has also announced a new company to represent and sell his iPhone games, and he's calling it LITTLE--EYES. It's really great to see a very smart, independent developer come into his own like on a platform like the iPhone -- there's really no other mainstream gaming platform out there that lets developers really jump in headfirst and release experimental games like these to a a mainstream market. We'll keep an eye out at GDC this week for all kinds of indie developers making it big. While it's cool that Valve and other larger companies are finally coming around, we have to be sure not to forget developers like this either.

TUAWSteph Tirion, creator of Eliss, annouces Faraway originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments



iPhone - App Store - Eliss - Apple - Game Developers Conference

Stanford survey contemplates iPhone addiction — Remember what life was like before the iPhone? Back when we had to print out maps for trips, do simple calculations in our heads, drive around to find a good restaurant, and watch YouTube videos on a device no smaller than a laptop? Dark times, indeed.

CBS returns March Madness to the iPhone — The fervor over March Madness is akin to the excitement over the Olympics: even if you're not a typical sports fan, you can't help but be interested. Me, I'll watch maybe one college basketball game during the regular season, but come tournament time I can't help but refresh scores and update my bracket like any other diehard. This year, two versions of CBS Sports Mobile's March Madness iPhone app should make that easier than ever.

All Your Apps Are Belong to Apple: The iPhone Developer Program License Agreement —

The entire family of devices built on the iPhone OS (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad) have been designed to run only software that is approved by Apple—a major shift from the norms of the personal computer market. Software developers who want Apple's approval must first agree to the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement.

So today we're posting the "iPhone Developer Program License Agreement"—the contract that every developer who writes software for the iTunes App Store must "sign." Though more than 100,000 app developers have clicked "I agree," public copies of the agreement are scarce, perhaps thanks to the prohibition on making any "public statements regarding this Agreement, its terms and conditions, or the relationship of the parties without Apple's express prior written approval." But when we saw the NASA App for iPhone, we used the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to ask NASA for a copy, so that the general public could see what rules conrolled the technology they could use with their phones. NASA responded with the Rev. 3-17-09 version of the agreement (it has reportedly been revised somewhat since—please send us the current version if you are able).

This "license agreement" is particularly relevant right now, given the imminent launch of the iPad and anytime-now issuance of the U.S. Copyright Office's ruling regarding jailbreaking of the iPhone.

So what's in the Agreement? Here are a few troubling highlights:

Ban on Public Statements: As mentioned above, Section 10.4 prohibits developers, including government agencies such as NASA, from making any "public statements" about the terms of the Agreement. This is particularly strange, since the Agreement itself is not "Apple Confidential Information" as defined in Section 10.1. So the terms are not confidential, but developers are contractually forbidden from speaking "publicly" about them.

App Store Only: Section 7.2 makes it clear that any applications developed using Apple's SDK may only be publicly distributed through the App Store, and that Apple can reject an app for any reason, even if it meets all the formal requirements disclosed by Apple. So if you use the SDK and your app is rejected by Apple, you're prohibited from distributing it through competing app stores like Cydia or Rock Your Phone.

Ban on Reverse Engineering: Section 2.6 prohibits any reverse engineering (including the kinds of reverse engineering for interoperability that courts have recognized as a fair use under copyright law), as well as anything that would "enable others" to reverse engineer, the SDK or iPhone OS.

No Tinkering with Any Apple Products: Section 3.2(e) is the "ban on jailbreaking" provision that received some attention when it was introduced last year. Surprisingly, however, it appears to prohibit developers from tinkering with any Apple software or technology, not just the iPhone, or "enabling others to do so." For example, this could mean that iPhone app developers are forbidden from making iPods interoperate with open source software, for example.

You will not, through use of the Apple Software, services or otherwise create any Application or other program that would disable, hack, or otherwise interfere with the Security Solution, or any security, digital signing, digital rights management, verification or authentication mechanisms implemented in or by the iPhone operating system software, iPod Touch operating system software, this Apple Software, any services or other Apple software or technology, or enable others to do so

Kill Your App Any Time: Section 8 makes it clear that Apple can "revoke the digital certificate of any of Your Applications at any time." Steve Jobs has confirmed that Apple can remotely disable apps, even after they have been installed by users. This contract provision would appear to allow that.

We Never Owe You More than Fifty Bucks: Section 14 states that, no matter what, Apple will never be liable to any developer for more than $50 in damages. That's pretty remarkable, considering that Apple holds a developer's reputational and commercial value in its hands—it's not as though the developer can reach its existing customers anywhere else. So if Apple botches an update, accidentally kills your app, or leaks your entire customer list to a competitor, the Agreement tries to cap you at the cost of a nice dinner for one in Cupertino.

Overall, the Agreement is a very one-sided contract, favoring Apple at every turn. That's not unusual where end-user license agreements are concerned (and not all the terms may ultimately be enforceable), but it's a bit of a surprise as applied to the more than 100,000 developers for the iPhone, including many large public companies. How can Apple get away with it? Because it is the sole gateway to the more than 40 million iPhones that have been sold. In other words, it's only because Apple still "owns" the customer, long after each iPhone (and soon, iPad) is sold, that it is able to push these contractual terms on the entire universe of software developers for the platform.

In short, no competition among app stores means no competition for the license terms that apply to iPhone developers.

If Apple's mobile devices are the future of computing, you can expect that future to be one with more limits innovation and competition (or "generativity," in the words of Prof. Jonathan Zittrain) than the PC era that came before. It's frustrating to see Apple, the original pioneer in generative computing, putting shackles on the market it (for now) leads. If Apple wants to be a real leader, it should be fostering innovation and competition, rather than acting as a jealous and arbitrary feudal lord. Developers should demand better terms and customers who love their iPhones should back them.

Survey: 75% of iPhone Users Have a Wholly Inappropriate Relationship With Their Phones —

Today in insane, hilarious push polls: Apple iPhone addiction among college students. Conducted by Stanford University researchers, this poll actually asked whether respondents feel that their iPods are jealous of their iPhones. However, it missed a golden opportunity to ask if the students felt that their iPhones are jealous of their 30-racks of Natty Light (my estimate: 13.2% say yes).

The researchers surveyed 200 iPhone-owning students, 70% of whom have owned their iPhones less than one year, on their oft-inappropriate relationships with the gadget. Some of the most important (read: funniest) findings:

75% admit to falling asleep with their iPhones. 0% would admit what happened when the lights went off.30% of the respondents checked the box reading "I consider my iPhone to be a 'doorway to the world,'" which allows the researchers to say "30% of respondents consider their iPhone to be a 'doorway to the world,'" even though nobody actually says that.Under the question "Losing my iPhone would be...", 41% checked "a tragedy." Write-in responses included "Betty White."8% admitted that they at some point have thought "My iPod is jealous of my iPhone." 100% of those respondents giggled while telling their friends about that response.

The survey is framed like a serious inquisition into the possibility of iPhone addiction having disastrous social effects, but those involved are reluctant to actually brand iPhone addiction a medical problem on par with alcoholism or drug addiction. In fact, Tanya Luhrmann, who oversaw the survey, said, "I don't think it is really unhealthy. I think they really like their iPhone."

There's also the little problem of whether the choice of smartphone really matters--modern smartphones, be it a Motorola Droid, Palm Pre, Google Nexus One, or BlackBerry Curve, pretty much all do the same stuff, and their owners have essentially the same relationship with them as iPhone owners have with their smartphone of choice. But until we have a survey that details how many Droid owners "pat" their phones, we'll have to just defer to these results.

[Via LiveScience]

One common complaint about Foursquare is that in a increasingly crowded location-based space, it’s not pretty enough when compared to the likes of Brightkite and Gowalla. The new iPhone app launching soon should help that. But for some, it still won’t be enough. Those people should definitely check out Fourface.

Fourface is a free iPhone app built using Foursquare’s API. It takes the basic functionality of the service (check-ins, seeing who else is at a venue) and puts a stylish user interface on top of it. Specifically, you can choose from “Arcs,” “Clouds,” “Bubbles,” and “Spots,” for your new interface. Each offers a slightly different way to interact with Foursquare, and different ways to do things such a check-in. With Bubbles, for example, you simply find the venue bubble you want (represented by different colors) and hold it to check-in.

Another view, Spots, allows you to click on different areas to see how many people are there (represented by different color bubbles), or get a list of names for who is actually at the venue. Other new interfaces are in the works that you will be able to purchase through the app, apparently.

Fourface is the work of Nodesnoop, a Los Angeles-based iPhone app house that also makes a couple games for the platform. One of them, Mobzombies, is also location-based and also works with Foursquare data.

You can find Fourface in the App Store here.