Beta software updates are available only to registered developers. The build number of the beta update released today is 12D5480a. Xcode 6.2 beta 5 with Watchkit was also made available today.

iOS 8.2 enables Watchkit features for developers. During its Q1 2015 earnings report Apple’s CEO Tim Cook announced that the company is on track to ship Apple Watch in April. Developers are busy developing apps for Apple’s upcoming smart watch, adding glances and notifications for their existing iPhone apps.

Apple Watch will work only with an iPhone as it relies on its bluetooth connection to process information. Developers  are beginning to showcase some examples of AppleWatch apps they are working on. The smart watch could be a great way to unlock your car, check To-Do lists or even collect gold and elixir resources from Clash of Clans.

Apple hasn’t revealed battery life of the upcoming device however, it is obvious that it will vary depending on how often you use the device. Apple has hinted that it is possible to get a full days worth of use without charging in some use case scenarios.

According to a rumour Apple has asked one of its Apple Pay partners to have their app ready by mid-February. The company will be looking for a successful launch of its smart watch with major apps available for its new product category on launch day.

Are you excited about Apple Watch? Which apps would you like to see on launch day? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Instagram recently updated its iPhone app with video support, enabling more than 130 million users to upload and share video clips on Instagram. Video sharing comes to Instagram as Twitter’s Vine has become increasingly popular to share short clips with loops.

Facebook unveiled Instagram’s video sharing feature with enhancements such as brand new filters for video and even adding “cinematic stabilisation” to the video capture feature. The length of the entire video clip can be just 15 seconds while it can be taken in parts to cover a entire scene or event.

The videos shared by users appears in the same timeline as before with just a play icon on top right. By default auto-play option is enabled so as you scroll to a video and lift your finger the video auto-plays. However, in the settings options you can disable auto-play option.

Instagram has paid attention to a lot of detail while building the video sharing capability. If your phone is on silent the sound of the video will be on mute and the volume can be controlled by the volume rocker switch on your phone.

Initial reaction to the addition of video appeared to be quite positive on Instagram as people started recording their first video saying “bye” to vine. And many photos with the screenshot of vine being deleted from the users’ phone. If this wasn’t enough to showcase the success of the new feature, Facebook also confirmed to hit 5 million video uploads in just the first 24 hours of the launch.

Instagram has certainly gone up against Vine and has introduced a few nice enhancements which it hopes will encourage more people to share video moments. It will be interesting to see what new features will be added in the near future as Facebook continues to roll out its mobile strategy.

According to a report from Reuters, Walmart is expanding its ‘Scan & Go’ Self-checkout system to over 200 of its retail stores. The system, which is similar to Apple’s own EasyPay system is modeled around iOS devices and allows customers of Walmart stores to pay for their shopping items at a checkout station while exiting the store.

For now, “Scan & Go” only works on Apple Inc devices. An Android version should be out soon, Walmart said.

With more than half of its shoppers using smartphones, Walmart is trying to make shopping more convenient for shoppers who embrace mobile technology. More than half of the customers who have tried the “Scan & Go” feature have used it more than once, [Walmart senior vice president Gibu] Thomas said.

The system is currently in a testing phase in only 70 of Walmart’s retail locations, but will be in over 200 stores. Walmart already has the system running in stores in a number of areas, including Georgia, Arkansas, Vancouver, Washington and California. With this expansion, Walmart plans to move west to the following areas:

Walmart is bringing “Scan & Go” into a dozen more markets: Denver, Colorado; Phoenix, Arizona; Omaha, Nebraska; Dallas and Austin, Texas; Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma; Wyoming; Bozeman, Montana; Seattle, Washington; San Jose, California; and Portland, Oregon.

This likely means that the new self-checkout system has proved to be efficient and user-friendly in the company’s pilot testing locations. Walmart is one of the world’s largest corporations that operates discount department stores and warehouse stores, and with widespread adoption of Apple’s iOS devices, this new system could prove to be successful in a number of Walmart’s stores. As a result, Walmart could save money on employees, especially during off-peak hours of shopping when stores are mostly empty. The ‘Scan & Go’ feature is available through Walmart’s free iOS app {Direct Link}, much like Apple’s EasyPay app.

{Via MacRumors}

On Tuesday, Google updated its Google Maps for iPhone application for the first time since its release in late December. Google developed its own Maps application for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch after Apple removed its native Google Maps app, opting to create its own solution from the ground up. The app, which has been updated to version 1.1 adds new features such as Google contact integration, and local business search.

Google contact integration allows a user to quickly pull up names and addresses for family and friends and to map out driving, walking and transit directions to those locations. Local business search is also crucial for users of the app, who will now be able to quickly search for restaurants, bars, cafes, gas stations and other businesses. Users can then click on one of them and get any of the three types of directions.

What’s New in Version 1.1

– Search your Google Contacts; sign in to have your saved addresses show up when you search for friends and family by name.
– Quickly search for local places by selecting popular categories such as restaurants, bars, cafes, gas stations, etc.
– Choose between Kilometers or Miles for your preferred distance units.
– Note that some features may not be available in all countries.

Google’s Maps for iPhone is one of the more stable options for a iOS mapping solution, particularly because Apple’s own Maps can be faulty and some of the other recommended are cluttered with social navigaton features. Google also has a reputation as the leader in maps app, and introduced a clean iOS app focused solely on directions, contacts of the user, and searching for businesses. The Google Maps for iPhone update is now available on the App Store for free [Direct Link].

{Via MacRumors}

Apple’s new Passbook feature, introduced with the latest iOS 6 is compatible with a host of apps on the Apple App Store, and is capable of storing boarding passes, gift cards, tickets, and even prescription, putting them all in one place for easy access.

Upon release of the new Passbook app on iPhones and iPod touches, the only airlines that supported the feature were Lufthansa and American Airlines, which allowed users to store and scan their boarding passes directly on their devices. Late last week, Air Canada released an update to their iPhone app, adding electronic boarding passes through Passbook, as well as support for the iPhone 5.

Customers who check-in on mobile.aircanada.com, aircanada.com or at and airport kiosk and access their Electronic Boarding Pass with a supported device (iPhone or iPod touch on iOS 6) will receive the Passbook version of the Electronic Boarding Pass. The Passbook version works just like our existing Electronic Boarding Pass and will allow customers to identify themselves at airport kiosks, check-in counters, enable them to pass through security and board their flights.

Air Canada has also mentioned that they have Passbook enhancements planned for 2013, which will likely further integrate the Air Canada iPhone app features into Passbook. As more airlines adopt the Passbook format of their electronic boarding passes, as well as other companies including their services through Passbook, it is becoming increasingly simpler for users to use their iPhone and iPod for mobile payments. If Passbook becomes a major feature of the iPhone, it is also very likely that NFC would become a possibility, and perhaps even the arrival of credit and debit cards on the iPhone.

{Via iMore — Image Credit: iPhoneInCanada}

Late last month, following the release of iOS 6, Starbucks promised its customers that Passbook support would be arriving at the end of September. Although the Seattle based company was slightly late on its promise, support for Apple’s Passbook was added in an update to the Starbucks iPhone app.

Customers can now store gift cards and use QR codes on the phone to quickly pay for food and drinks. Although this was already a feature in Starbuck’s app, it will now be synced with all of a user’s gift cards and boarding passes, allowing them easy access to them at any moment.

Passbook gives Starbucks customers updates when they are near their favorite stores and automatically puts up a notification with a link to the gift card for payment. Other apps that use the Passbook feature include Ticketmaster, American Airlines, Fandango, United Airlines, Lufthansa, Major League Baseball, Eventbrite, and McDonalds.

The Starbucks app is available in the App Store [Link] as a free download and can detect when iOS 6 is installed, prompting the user to install the app on Passbook.

{Via MacRumors}

On Thursday, Google added Street View to its new web version of Google Maps. The update allows smartphone users on multiple platforms to get walking and transit directions, and now street view. The update allows iPhone 5 and iOS 6 users to once again use Google Maps on their iPhone, with Apple CEO Tim Cook suggesting that users can open Google Maps in Safari and then save it as a web clip.

The update was likely released early in the morning, as it took a while for it to show up for all users. The new feature began to show up in the United States and parts of Canada at first, followed by countries all around the world. Users can now pan around in 360 street view after Apple replaced it with their own iOS Maps application, complete with their own cartography.

Currently, it appears that Google is adding major cities to the “web app” and is stil working on it. According to AppleInsider, the web version is not fully stable and closing the app resets the page fairly quickly.

Google’s move to implement a web based maps is a very bold one and shows the leverage that they have in cloud based operations. Many of these features will also likely be optimized for an iPhone app in the near future and is being tested on the web version.

On Tuesday, Google released a native YouTube app for the iPhone and released it onto the App Store ahead of iOS 6 release date. The app allows users to browse in the same way the iOS app did, although it now runs with ads similar to the web version of YouTube. The ads will allow for hundreds of Vevo videos that could not be seen previously to be viewed. The YouTube blog noted some of the features of the new app:

– Tens of thousands more videos: Watch official music videos like Taylor’s latest hit.
– New YouTube channel guide: Swipe your finger from the left edge of the screen to reveal a guide with your subscribed channels on YouTube, giving you instant access to everything from Alli Sports to YOMYOMF.
– Find awesome videos faster: Get to videos like “Gangnam Style” faster with new search tools that give suggestions while you type, and let you sort through videos or channels. Flip through related videos, comments and more info, all while watching a video.
– More ways to share with the people you love: Share that incredible video you found on YouTube on Google+, Facebook or text message in the app, as well as from Twitter and email.

The app is currently available as free download in the App Store and does not support the iPad natively, however, according to the NYTimes, it is in the works.

{Via MacRumors}

Because this app has a single purpose the interface is very easy to use with a simple search feature to find you movies and then two lists, To Watch and Watched.

The search results are comprehensive and I’ve yet to be beaten in finding movies, even some obscure movies from my youth are listed thanks to the apps integration with the themoviedb.org which even provides a snapshot of information about each movie.

Once you’ve added a movie to your To Watch list you can share it via Facebook, Twitter, SMS or email and, once you’ve watched the movie move it to your watched list. You can even choose to show badges for the movies on your To Watch list so you have a constant reminder of how many movies you have still to watch.

The simplicity of the app makes it very easy to use and movies can be added and moved between lists with a couple of clicks. While the lists can be sorted based on release date, alphabetically and the order in which they were added it would be nice to be able to edit the order manually so that you could prioritize the order in which you want to watch them.

For movies that are yet to be released at the movie theatre yet you can also choose to be notified via push notification when it does happen.

There are apps out there that offer more functionality than ToDo Movies but if you want to keep things simple then you could download this app by spending 99 cents.

What we like

• Excellent list of movies
• Push notifications for new releases
• Simple design

What to know

• No manual ordering
• Limited functionality

With that controversial point out of the way lets move on to the app itself which provides a start menu like interface for all the activities that you do frequently from launching apps, texting, calling, emailing, searching the web and more, you can set all of these actions up and customize them to meet your specific requirements.

One significant change with the pro version of Launch Center is how it looks which sees a significant improvement from its previous incarnation. From the polish of the app icon to the new grid layout the whole application looks like it’s just come out of a car showroom as it glints and gleams as you drill down through the activities that you want to launch.

When you first launch the app it will already be setup with default actions which include the ability to turn on the camera flash as a flashlight, toggle the brightness, search google and dial a contact to name but a few. It’s in the configuration of the app where you can personalize your requirements is where Launch Center Pro starts earning its stripes.

The first thing you’ll want to take advantage of when you start customizing Launch Center Pro is the use of Groups for while the initial grid is set to 4 x 3 squares to set to your own actions the use of Groups open up an additional 12 actions spots for each of the initial 12. Now that adds up to a lot of shortcuts which may defeat the purpose of the app in the first place but it’s a nice option to have!

Setting up your actions is easy, after going into edit mode, (there’s no wiggle here!), you can either edit an existing action by clicking on it or tap an empty one to create a new one. From here, after selecting to create an action you can choose from one of the common or installed actions before getting the option to customize them even further.

The level customization will depend on the action, for example if you have Tweetbot installed you’ll be able to choose from launching the app, tweeting, tweeting a specific username, launching a profile or searching, while choosing the Music app only provides the ability to launch it. This is not a limitation of Launch Center Pro however but more how any given app allows it to integrate.

Not only can you set a multitude of actions but you can also set the color of the icon and select one of a plethora of images to identify your icon, similar to the images you can have if you have Emoji enabled for your txt messages.

With your shortcuts all setup you can start using Launch Center Pro for what it was intended for, launching actions. Once you launch LCP you simply tap any shortcut and the associated action will launched, while accessing shortcuts that are part of a group requires you to tap and hold and then drag your finger to the shortcut you wish to launch.

There is also the ability to schedule actions which works more as a reminder than anything, rather than actually launching the requested action they launch an alert that will enable you to launch the action, kind of scheduling lite! This limit appears to be more of a limit of the Apple approval process than anything else however.

Once you’ve been using LCP {$2.99} for a few days consistently you’ll wonder how you’ve lived so long without it, even more so if you are a heavy user of the iPhone with a lot of apps as Launch Center Pro will do away with your need to remember where all your apps are.

What we like

• Polished looks
• Lots of customizable actions
• Launches actions not just app

What to know

• Controversial upgrade option
• Limited scheduler

The company released Pages Manager, an app that allows users to manage all of their pages on Facebook within one app. The app can be used to edit and post on the pages as well as edit settings for the pages.

Facebook has posted an update for Pages Manager in the regular application in the form of a banner atop the News Feed. Facebook has also changed some small features, enlarging images, setting trending topics higher in the feed, and allowing users to scroll through trending articles. Facebook is slowly expanding each of its apps and features to make it more easily accessible on mobile devices.

The company started this new drive into mobile after the introduction of the new timeline feature in both the web version and the Facebook app. The Messenger app and Pages Manager app are only the two of the first set of applications that Facebook is likely to release to continue its push into mobile.

{via iMore}

Music streaming service, Spotify, gained popularity in Europe before debuting in the United States last July, allowing users to stream music from major music labels on their Macs, PC’s, and portable devices. Spotify is one of the first streaming services to combine users music libraries, as well as online streaming and allow them to sync their devices.

Today we’re extremely proud to present our native iPad app in all its green-hued glory. Features include:

– Retina graphics for iPad – dazzling display, razor sharp images, richer colors
– Even easier to browse and explore Spotify’s entire 18 million* song catalogue
– New ‘Now Playing’ full-screen view with high-definition cover art
– Search for playlists, users and music – all from the same view
– Check out what’s hot and find trending playlists & songs amongst your friends
– Inbox grouped by user for easy searching
– Gapless playback and crossfade
– AirPlay integration

Spotify has long been available on the iPhone since its release, operating on a pricing model, as opposed to the free model on the desktop computer. On Tuesday, Spotify announced that their new iPad application is now available in the App Store, utilizing the iPad’s 9.7 inch screen. The app is available via an upgrade to the existing app, which will be downloadable as both an iPad and iPhone app.

Spotify Premium is currently offering a free 48-hour trial for new users , allowing them to extend for up to 30 days if they sign up on the website. Premium users who use the service on the iPad, iPhone, and other mobile devices are the option to sign up for a subscription for $9.99 per month.

{via MacRumors}

Facebook, one of the world’s leading social media websites has moved ahead with plans to solidify their efforts in the editing and distribution of photos by purchasing photography app, Instagram.

Instagram, a popular iPhone app, recently added to Android as well was introduced in 2010 for iPhone, and has since grown to include over 30 million registered accounts.

Facebook announced on Monday that they are buying out the company for $1 billion USD and will be bringing the 13 employees over to Facebook to help the social network with other image and photography solutions.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the new acquisition in one of his blog posts, noting that Facebook will be “keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.”

We believe these are different experiences that complement each other. But in order to do this well, we need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.

That’s why we’re committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.

Instagram has gained lots of attention since its introduction, being named Apple’s iPhone app of the year for 2011. The company has achieved great milestones, specifically in adding new users, creating new features, and devising a simple and easy to use software to edit photos and share them. This is exactly what Facebook has been looking for, and this acquisition will likely benefit them greatly.

{via MacRumors}

Lego: Life of George Review

There are times when two things that you hold dear collide and instead of becoming even greater than the sum of their parts they become a monster. Take my love of all things deep fat fried and Cadbury Creme Eggs, put them together and it becomes a sickly sweet mess. But then you can take miniature things and ponies and you get miniature ponies which are simply delightful.

Therefore when I saw that Lego had brought out a game that included physical Lego blocks and an iPhone app I was hoping that it would fall under the latter category rather than the former. The iPhone / Lego combination has come together in ‘Life of George’ a $30 Lego set that works with a free iPhone app with the same name.

George is a frequent flyer and on his travels he takes a lot of pictures of the things that he encounters and he presents these things via the Life of George app in the form of photo albums. Each set of pages consists of 10 hidden items and by tapping on any of the 10 blank pictures reveals the image that you have to build out of the real Lego bricks that come as part of the set.

You are up against the clock and things can get a little tricky especially with the smaller pieces and in your hurry you can often find that what you are building falling apart. As soon as you have built your matching creation you can tap the screen, place the creation on the supplied display board and snap a picture.

You need to make sure that the board is positioned correctly and that there is no glare on the picture to ensure that the app can compare it correctly, but given that you’ve done that then you are scored based on speed and accuracy.

With 13 different locations and 10 creations per page there is a lot of building to be done and that’s before you include the 30 levels that have been added with the Christmas update and 50 spaces that are made available for you to create you on creations to play with. These My Life creations are great fun and really bring out the creativity in the ‘child’. The only tricky part is getting the lighting right when taking the photograph to add your creation to album. The accuracy is pretty great but if there is any glare in the picture it can be seen as there being no block there at all.

Of course all the creations are flat 2D creations, and while I would love it to be possible to include 3 dimensional creations to build I don’t see how an app would be able to record the accuracy of that!

There is also a two player option where you can go head to head on a single device on 5 randomly selected creations taking it in turns to see who has the overall best speed and accuracy. It would be nice if you could share your own creations with other players either via a code or uploading them a website as would GameCentre integration to compare your high-scores with other players around the world.

If you are a fan of Lego and have an iPhone or iPod Touch then Life of George is an excellent combination of the two and well worth the $30 price point. Life of George is available at all good Lego stores and re-sellers and via the Lego Website.

What we like:

• Great creative fun
• Lots of content
• Build your own

What to know:

• No social element to share your creations

Etymotic mc3 Headset + Earphones Review – Big Sound and Big Quality are a better than a Big Name Endorsement

Although the large over ear headphones seem to be all the rage again thanks specifically to a few big name endorsements I’ve never been a fan of the bulk of them, especially wearing them out and about. So I’ve always stuck to the inner-ear type and predominantly I’ve been happy with the ones supplied with all my iOS from Apple.

These standard earphones have always sufficed, but there is definitely a point at which if you spend a little more money you get a lot more quality, the question remains whether it’s worth it or not. So for the last week I’ve been listening to my music, podcasts and audiobooks using the Etymotic mc3 earphones with my iPhone 4S.

As Apple and other companies have proved design and packaging are half the battle in making any device a success and Etymotic have taken that approach too with their elegant packaging and beautiful accessories.

The whole package contains the earphones with built-in mic, 4 sets of different eartips, spare filters, wire clip and a pouch to keep it all in.

The eartips were the first thing that drew my attention due to their distinct and different shapes. The earphones come pre-installed with a set on and I have to admit I was a little disappointed with how they felt and, because they didn’t fit perfectly, how they sounded too.

So my next task was to fit another pair of eartips to see if they would fit better and while the grey industrial style eartips certainly didn’t look that special they fitted snuggly and securely and when I turned on the music I could tell that I had chosen the right ones.

I have worn them for a little over two weeks now and not only are they comfortable but they produce great sound for both spoken work, podcasts and audiobooks and music and because they have in-line controls and a built in mic they are ideal for the iPhone as you can take calls and use Siri while wearing them.

This is only half of what you are getting when you invest in a set of Etmotic earphones as you also get their iPhone App “Awareness!” which you can download for free from the App Store and then enable all the features with the code you are provided with when you register your earphones.

The Awareness! App takes the listening experience to a whole new level although it does take a little while to get used to it. With the multitasking app turned on your earphones become environment aware, with the mic listening to your surroundings and acting on what it hears.

This can range from stopping what you are listening to completely, lowering the volume or feeding the sound that it hears through to your earphones. As I said this can seem a little odd at first but once you have used it a few times it makes listening to audio an even better experience, especially when you are out and about and need to be aware of your surroundings.

The addition of this app takes what are a great pair of earphones to a wonderful pair of headphones and for this reviewer I will never skimp on earphones again.

You can even upgrade to what Etymotic call ‘Rock Star status’ by teaming up with a local hearing specialist to have a pair of personalized custom fit earmolds. I haven’t done this but at for an additional $100 this could be a serious option especially if you have to wear earphones for many hours at a time.

What we like:

• Choice of eartips
• Free Awareness! app
• Inline mic
• Great sound

What to know:

• You’ll wish you had them sooner!

Google’s Orkut social networking service has finally received an iPhone app. On Wednesday, Google introduced Orkut for iPhone, allowing users of Google’s social networking site, access the service on the go.

The official Orkut app for iOS connects you to your friends and family. Now you can send scraps, see your friends updates, upload photos and browse your friends albums anywhere you go. Never miss a conversation again because you are not in front of your computer: get the free Orkut app and stay connected.

• Update your status
• Check your scraps and messages
• Reply to your friends birthdays
• Check your friends updates
• Browse your friends profiles, scraps and photos
• Take new photos and upload them directly to your Orkut albums
• Share your life anywhere, anytime with the people you care about

Although not as popular as Facebook, Orkut as gained a large amount of users from Brazil and India, with almost 80% of its users residing in those two countries. Orkut is also used in countries where Google+ is not available.

Google+ is currently offered in the United States, and with Facebook leading the way, Orkut is still lagging behind in international markets. Orkut for iPhone is now available in the App Store for Free and utilizes all features of the desktop version, similar to Google+.

{via iMore}

The holiday season sends iOS Developers scrambling each year in order to finish up their apps for submission before Apple stops accepting new submissions for the year. However, over the last three years, its become obvious that during this time, app developers experience much higher sales. This could be due to one of two things, either people are downloading more of the old apps because there is less to choose from during this time or because of Apple’s App Gifting service, accessible directly through the App Store.

During this time, popular game devlopers such as Gameloft and EA push out as many apps as they can to flood the market, in order to increase the number of downloads. EA and Gameloft apps often show up under the featured list, claiming #1 and #2 spots, and even App of the Week on many occasions.

Camera+[App Store] developer’s TapTapTap revealed their download numbers with MacRumors early Thursday, describing a significant increase in sales. Camera+ moved up and down the list between 4-8 and settled at position #8 in the Top 200 list during the holiday freeze. Camera+ typically experiences about 18,000 downloads on any given day, but jumped to over 73,808 sales on Christmas day.

Camera+ sells for $0.99 in the App Store, which means that after Apple’s 30% cut, TapTapTap received $51,665 in revenue only for the day of Christmas. That’s a significant increase, but not surprising considering the number of iPod Touches, iPhones, and iTunes gift cards being activated and given as presents on Christmas. The App Store is the basis for numerous success stories, about small developers making a hit with their apps and becoming millionaires overnight, some making anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 dollars in one day.

Pocket God #1 showcases the mishaps of a tribe of Pygmies who have been gifted with immortality and are constantly marked for death by the Gods. Issue #1 starts off as a typical day on the island, with the Pygmies pranking each other to death, literally, until a twist turns their tropical life topsy-turvy. Follow the adventures of Ooga, Klik, and the rest of gang as they experience death by falling objects, sudden lightning strikes, sharks with laser beams, and more comical scenarios based off the popular app. Alien probing may or may not also be present.

“Pocket God has been a huge success on the iOS platform and we’re excited to bring the hilarity and fun to a whole new medium,” said Dave Castelnuovo, CEO of Bolt Creative. “We’re certain fans of the game will get a kick out of this new comic series and, vice versa, we can’t wait to show the comic world our universe full of death inducing satire.”

For more information about Pocket God, please visit www.boltcreative.com.

For more information on the Pocket God comic book, please visit www.ape-entertainment.com or www.boltcreative.com.

To read the misadventures of Ooga and the rest of the pygmies, check out Pocket God #1 on iTunes at http://bit.ly/pgcomictp073010

Pocket God can be purchased in the iTunes App Store by pointing your browser to http://bit.ly/pgtp073010

About Bolt Creative

Bolt Creative is a San Francisco-based developer creating original iPhone applications and games, including 2009’s blockbuster iPhone game Pocket God. Bolt Creative’s goal is to create games that are not only fun to play, but fun to develop and make them laugh. For more information, please visit www.boltcreative.com.

iPhone WiFi sync

iPhone Wi-Fi sync is an upcoming app which does exactly what the name suggests. It allows you to sync your information from your desktop computer (Apple or Windows) via iTunes, with your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad (and visa-versa), much the same way that you can do right now via USB. It will never be as fast as USB, but it’s certainly a convenience people will want, definitely usable, and something other platforms have had for a while now.

Without actually trying the app out, or without any technical details, we can’t with absolute certainty say whether or not it breaks any of Apple’s iPhone Development rules. But on the surface of it we cannot see any reason why it should.

Apparently there is a desktop client and an iPhone app, and the two work together to talk to iTunes, and spoof it into thinking it is connected to a device via USB in some way. There are various ways this can be done. But then end effect is an iPhone or iPad is talking to iTunes using the protocols it is supposed to. Unlike the Palm hacks to get their non-Apple smart-phone to spoof iTunes into thinking it is an iPod.

Being pessimistic I can certainly see Apple taking a close look at how this desktop client bridges the connect between iTunes and the iPhone, and how the files are transferred. But it is certainly possible it is not breaking any rules that Apple has set, or are that concerned about enforcing. But app approvals are a rocky unpredictable road sometimes with Apple. And reasons given for rejection are not always very clear or transparent initially.

Bearing in mind Apple have not provided this functionality themselves it would seem unfair to block an app of this sort. But that may be a reason for them doing exactly that under the guise of SDK rules related to the sand-boxing of Apps and how file transfers are done. Plenty of other apps on the iPhone do allow file transfer between the iPhone and Safari for example. But most rely on specific API calls that Apple prescribe.

The developer, Greg Hughes, a 2nd year Computer Science student at the University of Birmingham, says via his Twitter account that it doesn’t “break any rules”.

On his website he states he will submit the app to the App Store shortly. And we wish him the best of luck with it!

Do you think this App will be approved? Let us know in the comments.

Wi-Fi Sync: Wirelessly sync your iPhone with iTunes