USPTO Grants Apple iOS App Folders and “Jiggle Mode” UI Patent

iPhone Jiggle Mode Patent

Apple introduced iOS app folders in iOS 4 and has had the ‘Jiggle Mode’ UI since iOS 1. On Tuesday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple the patent for iOS app folders and the ‘Jiggle Mode’ UI. The patent, which is listed as U.S. Patent No. 8,423,911, describes the iOS app folders as “Device, method, and graphical user interface … Read More

Apple Rolls Out Chinese Support Forum, Requests That Developers Localize Apps

Apple Chinese Support Communities forum

According to a report from AppleInsider, Apple is contacting developers through the iTunes Connect program, requesting that they localize their applications. This means that developers will update their apps with multiple languages and will also market applications and books as localized. By localizing apps, developers will be able to reach a number of different regions, because all text, titles and … Read More

Apple Removes iOS App Discovery Application “App Gratis” for Violating Rules

App Gratis

Apple has removed iOS app “App Gratis” after it reportedly violated some of the App Store’s rules, specifically a new rule on the promotion of apps. The rule clearly stated that it forbids “apps that display apps other than your own for purchase or promotion in a manner similar to or confusing with the App Store.” Essentially, this means that … Read More

Apple Adds Age Ratings to iOS App Store Descriptions

Apple Adds Age Ratings to iOS App Store Descriptions

It appears that Apple has been taking a number of precautions on its App Store lately, essentially childproofing iOS, should a parent choose to do so. In iOS 6, the company introduced a feature called Restrictions that allows a user to prevent unintended downloads, and even the type of music that one can listen to. Apple also began to add … Read More

Apple Updates ‘Find My Friends’ App With Location Alerts Page Redone

Find My Friends App Update

Apple has released a new update to its ‘Find My Friends’ application, redesigning the Location Alerts page. The app, which was released last September allows iOS users to find the location of their friends who also use the application. Although the app hasn’t been wildly popular, it does represent the direction that Apple is going with location, and could potentially … Read More

Apple Adds Note to App Store for In-App Purchases For ‘freemium’ Apps

App Store In-app Purchase Warning

After multiple complaints from parents and other App Store users about mistakenly buying in-app purchases, the Cupertino company is finally addressing the widespread complaint. Last week, Apple quietly updated the App Store to add a note to the “Free” apps in the store that mentions on the bottom that it “Offers In-App Purchases.” This warning is currently displayed only on … Read More

Gmail iOS App Style Comes to Google’s Mobile Web App

Gmail

Google appears to be dominating the iOS experience, not only with its Google Maps for iOS application but also with its Gmail app. On Monday, Google updated its mobile web application with a design very similar to its native iOS application. The company did something similar with their Google Maps app in the past. Since launching the rebooted Gmail app … Read More

Apple Updates iBooks with Better Asian Language Support, Paid Japanese Books

iBooks update

With Asia a major source of revenue for Apple, and its products becoming hugely popular in countries such as Japan and China it is not surprising that the company is releasing more of its online services in the region. On Tuesday, Apple updated the iBooks application with improved Asian language support on the books available in the iBooks store, and … Read More

Apple Airs Two New iPad TV Ads, ‘Alive’ and ‘Together’

iPad TV Ads

Apple has launched new TV ad campaigns, focusing on the App Store and the range of apps offered for iOS devices. On Sunday, Apple aired two new TV ads for its iPad and iPad mini, called ‘Alive’ and ‘Together’, highlighting the over 300,000 apps available for the device. The ads, both of which had a similar theme, showed a number … Read More

HBO GO Adds Apple TV Support Via AirPlay, Working on Native App

HBO Go Apple TV AirPlay

HBO has made a move into yet another one of Apple’s products, allowing customers of its HBO GO streaming service to stream shows and movies on their Apple TV devices. On Tuesday, during the AllThingsD Dive Into Media Conference, Eric Kessler of HBO announced that the company will be adding support for its users to stream to their Apple TV … Read More

Real Racing 3 Releasing on February 28, free-to-play

Real Racing 3 free-to-play

Firemonkeys have announced that Real Racing 3 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch will be available for download on February 28th. The adrenaline rushing racing simulation has been widely popular on the App Store. The original Real Racing was developed by Firemint and then developers released the second version. The developers were then acquired by EA. The third installment of the … Read More

Apple iTunes Music Store Surpasses 25 Billion Downloads

iTunes 11

Apple recently announced a major milestone for its iTunes Music Store, hitting 25 Billion downloads. Last March, Apple’s App Store hit 25 billion downloads, with the company giving out a $10,000 gift card to the person who downloaded the 25 billionth app. Apple did not launch a promotion for the milestone as it has done in the past with apps … Read More

Facebook iOS Messenger App Now Supports Voice Calling in the United States

Facebook iOS Messenger Voice Calling

With new features such as Graph Search coming to Facebook, it appears that the social networking site is looking to challenge search giant, Google. Facebook is now beginning to add new features all around, including Voice Calling to the site’s iOS Messenger app. Voice Calling through the Facebook iOS Messenger app is currently available in both the US and in … Read More

Apple’s App Store Downloads Surpasses 40 Billion Downloads, 20 Billion in 2012

iwork app store

Apple has passed yet another milestone in App Store downloads since its launch in 2008 with the iPhone 3G. The Cupertino, California company announced that the App Store has surpassed 40 billion downloads, with 20 billion of those downloads in the year of 2012 alone. In December 2012, Apple surpassed a new record of 2 billion downloads in a month, … Read More