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Windows Mobile App Store Gets Upgrades

Pulkit Chandna — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:50:39 -0600

It took quite a while for Microsoft to be fully convinced that its mobile OS is long due for an overhaul. Last month, although it did not quite deliver an overhaul, it took a small step toward bringing its mobile offering up to speed with the competition. It launched the Windows Marketplace for Mobile app store on October 6th, the very day it released Windows Mobile 6.5.

Now, the company has upgraded its app store to offer enhanced anti-piracy protection, a better developer’s portal for its registered independent software vendors (ISVs), and the ability to make application purchases from the PC.

But the enhancement that should interest WinMo users the most is the ability to “browse and buy applications from the PC.” All applications bought from the Windows Marketplace for Mobile site will be delivered wirelessly to the user’s Windows phone. Microsoft will make the store accessible to Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1 customers later this month.

Image Credit: Windows Marketplace for Mobile

Apple to Get Ever-So-Slightly More Transparent With App Approval Process

Ryan Whitwam — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:42:14 -0600

It’s no secret that the approval process for iPhone apps is a little ridiculous at times. Apple is totally aware of that, though. So they’ve decided to make the whole process just a tiny bit more transparent. When app developers log into the Dev Center site, they will see a new area for status updates. Apps will be listed as “waiting for review”, “in review”, or “ready for sale”.

You don’t have to look far on the web to find a developer with a heartbreaking story of how they poured their savings into making an app, only to have it held in limbo for weeks or months. While the new policy doesn’t necessarily do anything about the actual delays, devs will at least know where in the process it’s held up.

For its part, Apple claims that 96% of iPhone apps are approved in less than two weeks. Now that we know that a lot of those apps are just repackaged eBooks, that figure seems less impressive. The closed nature of the App Store hasn’t hurt its growth so far. Should Apple even be worried about the process?

Apple's App Store Now Crammed with More than 100,000 Apps

Paul Lilly — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:30:27 -0600

Apple has announced that its App Store now holds over 100,000 apps, highlighting the company's dominance over the also-rans. That includes Google's Android Market and its comparatively paltry 10,000 apps, although Android has had less time on the market.

"The App Store, now with over 100,000 applications available, is clearly a major differentiator for millions of iPhone and iPod touch customers around the world," said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "The iPhone SDK created the first great platform for mobile applications and our customers are loving all of the amazing apps our developers are creating."

What makes the feat even more impressive is that Apple was able to accumulate all these apps in just 16 months. There's definitely something to be said for being the first major player.

Of course, quality is just as important as quantity, and here too Apple has been making strides to improve its App Store. Features like Genius recommendations, App Store Essentials, and sub-category listings are all efforts to give quality apps their due.

Image Credit: Apple

Sprint Says App Store Approvals Will Take a Week

Paul Lilly — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:33:58 -0500

As part of the retooling for the Sprint Software Store, the telco announced plans to aggressively change the turnaround time in receiving, reviewing, and approving new apps.

"If you want to get something onto the (current) Sprint Software Store, someone has to review it, someone's got to test it. By the time those things happen through long lead times, we've seen that some of the content completely loses its relevance. We've got to stop. We've got to get out of the way so that content can get up here faster," J.P. Brocket, Sprint's general manager of wireless applications, said during the the company's Open Developer Conference.

Brock added that the turnaround time will depend on what the app does, pointing out that an app for finding a local pizza joint would get approved pretty quickly, but one touting turn-by-turn directions might take a little longer. But if Sprint can stick to a one-week schedule regardless of the type of app, in most cases it will be getting things done twice as fast (or more) than Apple.

Some other changes are in store as well. Sprint said it would start charging developers an unspecified fee to have their apps re-reviewed, and new payment methods are being added

Image Credit: Sprint

Symbian App Store Up and Running, Developer Program Detailed

Paul Lilly — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:28:37 -0500

While the mobile world -- or at least the media -- remains fixated on Apple's iPhone OS, Google's Android platform, and the Blackberry OS, let's not forget that Symbian is still the market share leader, and now it has an app store to boot, the Symbian Foundation announced at the Symbian Exchange and Exposition 2009 (SEE 2009).

The "Horizon" app store is now live and kicks off with 50 apps, some of which included YouTube, Twitter, and Qik clients. But that's just the beginning, as the mobile OS outfit hopes to have thousands more in 2010 as developers sign up to have their apps listed in the Symbian Horizon Directory.

"We recognize that developers face many challenges in bringing their products to market on Symbian devices," said Lee Williams, Executive Director of the Symbian Foundation. "In particular, the diversity of application stores in our ecosystem increases the burden on developers by requiring multiple submission and review processes. But this diversity can also offer an advantage over competitors' closed systems, where applications sometimes receive arbitrary or commercially motivated rejections. Symbian Horizon retains this advantage while reducing the burden by becoming a conduit to multiple stores, helping developers reach the largest global mobile market in the world more effectively."

Several Symbian platforms already have their own app stores, including Nokia's Ovi, Samsung's Application Store, and Sony Ericsson's PlayNow platform, and all of these will support Horizon and integrate its apps into the mix. And while it's far too early to make any meaningful predictions, the question on everyone's mind is whether or not Symbian might actually challenge Apple's App Store, which is now over 100,000 apps strong.

Image Credit: Symbian via TrustedReviews

Microsoft Pokes Some Fun at Apple's App Store

Ryan Whitwam — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:38:16 -0500

What’s more ridiculous than a “moustaches of the world” app? A certain Redmond software giant hopes your answer to that is “the Apple App Store”. The new ad for Windows Marketplace pokes a bit of fun at Apple and their App Store. Microsoft is obviously of the opinion that there’s a lot of junk in Apple’s App store, and their approval process is terrible. While they may be right, will people get the joke?

The two fellows in the ad give the viewer a tour of rejected Windows Marketplace apps. They’re all pretty awful, but at least they weren’t approved. They mention at the end of the video that the apps that made it through the approval process would be pretty great. Since they’re both wearing lab coats, you should probably believe them.

Even with the App Store’s flaws, the Windows Marketplace has a lot of catching up to do. This ad probably isn’t going to help them win mindshare. Do you think the ad is effective, or does it just come off as a random collection of gags?

Will the Vonage Calling App Stay in the App Store?

Ryan Whitwam — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:30:52 -0500

The ongoing and confusing saga of the iPhone App store continues. This time Apple has approved an official Vonage app with some very familiar features. The Vonage app does standard VoIP via Wi-Fi, as one would expect. However, it also works over the cellular network.

Vonage has clarified that it doesn’t use cellular data, but rather cellular voice. Calls are routed through a special Vonage number allowing very cheap international calls. Sound like anything you know of? Maybe like a little service that starts 'G', and ends with 'oogle Voice'?

Michael Tempora, senior VP of products at Vonage, said that the Vonage app does indeed work in a similar way to Google Voice when used over the cellular network. He went on to say that he saw no reason for Apple to pull the app. “We built the application in complete accordance with Apple’s rules,” he said.

This leaves only a few reasons Apple might have used to reject Google Voice while keeping Vonage. Maybe it was the address book syncing, maybe the free text messaging, or maybe just because it was from Google. Where do you stand? Will Apple yank the Vonage app? Or are they leaving it in to yank Google’s chain?

Apple's App Store Tops Two Billion Downloads and Climbing

Paul Lilly — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:15:26 -0500

Apple today announced that its App Store has recorded more than two billion app downloads since the site first launched in July 2008. Apple added that there are now more than 50 million iPhone and iPod touch owners who have access to over 85,000 apps.

"The rate of App Store downloads continues to accelerate with users downloading a staggering two billion apps in just over a year, including more than half a billion apps this quarter alone," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "The App Store has reinvented what you can do with a mobile handheld device, and our users are clearly loving it."

Earlier this month, Jobs said there were 75,000 apps available at the App Store, with 1.8 billion downloads recorded. That means in this month alone, the App Store added 10,000 more apps, or half as many as Android Market's entire catalog. And with Google recently dropping the hammer on Android's third-party ROM development community, Apple's probably in no immediate danger of being dethroned.

Image Credit: Apple