Today's Top Stories
About two months after releasing its iPhone OS 2.2. update, Apple quietly issued the iPhone OS 2.2.1 SDK. As the extra decimal place suggests, 2.2.1 is by no means a radical overhaul, but a relatively simple bug update sans significant API changes, designed for developers building for devices upgraded to the new iPhone OS 2.2.1 firmware revamp. Labeled Build 9M2621, the complete package contains the iPhone SDK and Xcode 3.1.2 Developer Tools for iPhone OS 2.2.1--according to Apple, the new SDK adds support for targeting non-Mac OS X platforms; GCC 4.2 & LLVM GCC 4.2 optional compilers for use with Mac OS X 10.5 SDK; updated assistants to create new projects, targets and source ï¬les; integrated SCM support interoperable with Subversion 1.5; and a simplified toolbar. Download the iPhone OS 2.2.1 SDK here.
http://developer.apple.com/
Still MIA from the iPhone OS: The unified push notification service Apple promised all the way back in June 2008 at its Worldwide Developer Conference. The push service--which alerts iPhone users running one application when fresh data is available for another application not in use--became necessary when Apple declined to include background applications in the iPhone SDK; many developers cited their concerns about such a limitation, arguing it could restrict the usefulness of applications like instant messaging. Speaking at WWDC, Apple senior vice president of iPhone software Scott Forstall told developers that work on the push service would be completed by September--the computing giant has not offered an explanation for the continued delay.
For more on the iPhone SDK update:
- read this Softpedia article
Read more about: iPhone, Apple
With Motorola expected to report grim fourth quarter results Tuesday, the rumor mill is abuzz with speculation on its mobile device plans--in mid-January, the firm announced it would eliminate 4,000 jobs, and after those cuts included a team of 70 employees focusing on the Windows Mobile platform, some onlookers have suggested Motorola is poised to permanently shelve its WinMo efforts. While Motorola confirmed the Windows Mobile-related layoffs to The Wall Street Journal, a spokesman said the job cuts do not signify a shift in company strategy away from the Microsoft mobile OS: "We continue to support Windows Mobile and will have devices out this year," the spokesman said. "Today, our plans remain the same: Rebuilding and repositioning the Mobile Devices business remain a top priority."
Following the October announcement of Motorola's third-quarter results, CEO Sanjay Jha said the beleaguered handset maker would delay a proposed spinoff of its mobile devices unit as it spends 2009 trying to develop smartphones that resonate with consumers--at that time, Jha said both Windows Mobile and Google's fledgling Android mobile operating system were central to the firm's long-range plans, with Motorola hoping to introduce its first Android handset in time for this year's holiday shopping season.
For more on Motorola's Windows Mobile outlook:
- read this Wall Street Journal article
Related articles:
Can Windows Mobile 6.5 reinvent the user experience?
Microsoft wants Windows Mobile on fewer devices
Read more about: Windows mobile, Motorola, android
An Android application that allegedly wipes out data on users' G1 devices is under fire from consumers and raising questions about Google's open-door Android Market policies. eMobiStudio's MemoryUp application, introduced earlier this month, promises to improve memory management for devices running on the Android mobile OS, translating to a smoother user experience and increased battery life--instead, some G1 users on the online Android Community forum have complained the app removes contacts and calendar items, and corrupts the device's memory. "Doesn't work at all erased my phone numbers and froze my phone," one user writes. eMobiStudio denies the charges: "We are very disturbed by these reports," chief technical associate Robert Lee tells Wired. "Whatever damage is out there has not been done by our product."
MemoryUp has now been pulled from Android Market, although it's presently unclear whether Google or eMobiStudio is responsible for the move. The allegations against MemoryUp have nevertheless prompted new questions about Google's open policy toward its Android Market virtual application storefront--the web services giant touts the store as an "unobstructed environment" for developers to distribute their software, contending such an approach fosters innovation. By contrast, rival Apple carefully vets all applications available via the App Store, and frequently rejects apps that don't meet its strict criteria.
"As consumers, we all make judgments about what stores we visit and what we buy based on quality, brand, safety and cost," Yankee Group director of consumer research Carl Howe tells Wired. "Problems like these are going to drive away mainstream users... [The open market policy] was one of the real differentiators for the Android Market. But that is also going to mean there is no standard for the apps to be held to. Certainly incidents like these makes it much harder for [Android] to succeed."
For more on the Android Market controversy:
- read this Wired article
Related articles:
Google vows to clean up Android Market
Google confirms premium Android apps coming in Q1
Google to share Android Market revenues with operators
Read more about: Google, Android Market, Android
 Nokia announced the finalists in its Calling All Innovators competition. Launched in September 2008, the contest called on developers to submit mobile applications with the potential to enhance and improve society. In all, Nokia named 11 finalists in three categories:
ECO-Challenge--Applications designed to minimize mobile technology's global environmental impact and enable consumers to more easily reduce their energy consumption or carbon footprint. The finalists are GreenDrive (EMEA), which promotes vehicular fuel efficiency by sensing current and impending road conditions that influence fuel consumption and offers real-time directions for the shortest driving route in the quickest time legally allowable; Ticketek Mobile Ticketing (Americas), which trims paper consumption by enabling consumers to use a barcode stored on their phone to gain admission to events; Green Phone (APAC) , which maximizes battery life via more efficient regulation of device backlight, WLAN, Bluetooth and charger power consumption; and TigerMap (China), which combines real-time mass transit information with recommendations on restaurants, entertainment, hotels and shopping in more than 150 Chinese cities.
Emerging Markets--Applications designed to improve daily life in developing nations--e.g., mobile solutions targeting education, health data access, infotainment or rural agriculture. The finalists are mPedigree (EMEA), which allows users to text a quality-authentication code on medication packaging to a provisioned mobile shortcode to guard against counterfeit drugs; DigitallCS (Americas), which enables farming co-ops to inspect member growing practices and upload data to a website in order to verify adherence to agricultural standards; and Nano Ganesh (APAC), which allows Indian to remotely contact with distant, modem-equipped electric irrigation pumps and monitor power supply and pump operation.
Technology Showcase--Applications designed to maximize the potential of any technology optimized for Nokia's Series 40 or S60 devices, including Flash Lite, Java, Python or open source. The finalists are PhotoMap (EMEA), which digitizes and stores photographs of fixed public maps taken with a camera phone for access, browsing and geo-referencing via mobile device; kReader Mobile (Americas), a text-to-speech app with cross-language translation capabilities that digitizes any book, letter, receipt or other printed document and translates the captured text into audio that is "read" back to the user; Neuscreen (APAC), which exploits the Nokia N95's drawing, touchscreen and camera functionalities to track the motion of a pen light and enable "virtual" drawing; and X Dancery (China), which analyzes any MP3 file to automatically generate a unique tempo-based game for each selected song.
According to Nokia, close to 1,000 developers entered the Calling All Innovators competition--the winners, to be named Feb. 17 during the Mobile World Congress 2009 event in Barcelona, will share $150,000 in cash and prizes as well as distribution opportunities.
For more on the Calling All Innovators finalists:
- read this release
- see this slideshow of application screenshots
Read more about: Nokia
While Apple's App Store virtual storefront is stuffed with so-called "lite" applications--i.e., demonstration applications enabling iPhone and iPod touch users the opportunity to sample an app prior to purchase--the computing giant's official policy has maintained that all demonstration versions must act as fully functional stand-alone entities, not simply as a featured-limited tool design to up-sell the official premium version. According to Ars Technica, the somewhat murky definitions are now significantly clearer based on the case of Expando Free, a puzzle game that seemed to exist for the sole purpose of promoting the title's premium incarnation, in effect violating the spirit of the App Store's rules and regulations--Apple has now said it will not accept feature-limited versions of App Store submissions, mandating that iPhone applications cannot reference features not implemented or up-sell to the full premium version. In addition, developers must remove any reference to demo or beta from
the application binary and all supporting materials, or "metadata" in App Store parlance. "Free" or "Lite" versions remain acceptable, although each must still be fully functional and stand independently of the premium app.
In other App Store goings-on, Ars Technica notes Apple will not report App Store payments to the Internal Revenue Service, and will not send developers a 1099 form for the 2008 tax year. According to Apple's iTunes Royalty legalese, App Store payments are considered sales commissions, not royalties, meaning developers are therefore responsible for reporting their own earnings based on App Store revenues. Some developers may have assumed otherwise, given that they were instructed to fill out tax forms and submit their social security numbers as part of the App Store contract.
For more on the App Store demo restrictions:
- read this Ars Technica article
Related articles:
The App Store after the gold rush
App Store frustrations bedevil developers
Is App Store pricing hindering app development?
Read more about: iPhone, Apple, App Store
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In its current incarnation, Apple's App Store is a bit like your local Wal-Mart, offering bargain-priced consumer goods from a variety of manufacturers. But reports suggest Apple is mulling the addition of a premium App Store gaming boutique more along the lines of a luxury retailer like Saks Fifth Avenue or Neiman Marcus: According to PocketGamer.biz, the new upscale App Store would offer a range of titles for the iPhone 3G and iPod touch priced at $19.99 each--sales would be limited to select large publishers with pockets deep enough to fund the extended developmental cycles necessary to create more sophisticated and expensive games. Of course, that would effectively shut out the myriad small developers responsible for the majority of existing iPhone applications, which is not exactly the hoped-for response to lingering
questions about the impact of free and cheap apps on App Store placement and discoverability.
