Apple's App Crackdown

Apple is on a mission to track down all of the apps that are posing as app stores.

Apple has decided to take action against deceiving apps by searching through its App store and rejecting those apps that are fooling down-loaders.

This crackdown began in April when AppGratis was rejected from the App store for promoting products from other sources, rather than its own. This could mean a huge clear out of apps that are promoting anything other than itself.

AppGratis was originally approved until it was later removed, which caused quite a controversy. CEO of AppGratis, Simon Dawlat was in complete disbelief when he found out that his app had been rejected because the iPad version of this app was approved just days before.

Since then, there have been more and more developers who have reported rejections from Apple because of this very problem.

The App store has been referring to its regulation, 2.25, to track down these ‘app discovery’ apps. This regulation bans any apps that it feels customers could mistake as an app store within the App store.

There are a number of ‘app discovery’ apps that are purely the efforts of a developer trying to force an app into the chart’s. These apps can also be recognised solely as the efforts of marketing strategies.

Apple have a history of targeting these apps though. Back in 2011, the App store was vigilant against any app that offered in-game currency in exchange for downloading any other apps. So this is not something we should be surprised about. 

In fairness, this may actually come as good news for those customers who have already been deceived by ‘app discovery’ apps, like AppShopper for example. This new crackdown is likely to bring a stop to these deceiving apps and will mean we can browse through the App store without worrying about any apps posing as an app store in its own right.

The only thing that could be a problem though is if Apple decides to get to into its policing and ruins the App store altogether.

What is Google Glass?

When you think of the internet, you think of Google and when you think of technology, you think of …. Glass?

The search engine super-giant has released its new Google Glass, a computing device that you wear like a pair of glasses. This new Google Glass is aimed at the next step in technology and boasts similar features to that of today’s smartphones.

For those of you that don’t know what Google Glass is, we are going to clear up a few things for you:

So, what actually is Google Glass?

Like we said, it’s a computer device you wear on your head but not only that, it has been reviewed as the equivalent of a 25-inch screen that is just eight feet away from you. It may not be as detailed as a top of the range smartphone but it does have a good screen and is relatively easy to function. 

What are its features?

In a nut shell, Google glass is a display, a camera, a touchpad, a battery and a microphone all built into one device that is very reminiscent of a pair of spectacles. You can also video, send and receive emails, texts and calls and you can, of course, do Google searches. This clever piece of kit might be cutting-edge technology but at what cost you ask?

How much is it?

When Google Glass was first shown to its audience at the Google I/O developer conference in 2012 it cost $1500 to pre-order. So, not cheap. 

Although it may look a bit silly on your face, like some sort of torch or glasses with no lenses, it has got a lot of people rather excited.  And we are no different!  Especially when we found out that Google Glass will be able to run apps.  Google Glass will only run apps pre-approved by Google before we can use them which mean only the decent ones will be available.

With Google Glass being built with Android technology it is bound to have some interesting apps and has been purposely intertwined with Google’s own services which mean the apps will operate more like features than separate apps altogether.

The potential of this device is enormous; let’s just hope it lives up to our expectations.

Windows Want You!

With Apple and Android leading the way in terms of apps, it was only a matter of time before Microsoft did something about where they currently lay in the market share table.

Android and iOS currently make up around two-thirds of the market and Windows have decided to change this statistic by offering app developers the chance to build them some apps. 

Windows are offering these developers $100 per app they create for them and their Windows 8 OS. These developers can submit up to 20 apps each which would mean they can earn themselves $2000. This does mean though that 10 will be made for the Windows Phone store and the other 10 can be submitted for the Windows 8 store. 

Although many people have slated this idea by saying it screams desperation, BlackBerry did the exact same thing by offering developers the opportunity to develop apps for their new OS 10.  They did this to ensure that they had enough apps ready for the launch, which apparently resulted in around 1000 apps being submitted to Blackberry World in a day. 

Windows are currently only managing a mere 4000 apps per month, so it is well worth them taking a shot at emulating what Blackberry did.  

So, although this may seem like a desperate idea, it is a short term solution which is pretty much guaranteed to improve the platform. There is a downside to this though; it could mean that they accept a lot of strictly average or below par apps in order to reach their required amount to bolster their share in the market. 

Apple and Android are sitting pretty at the top of the market share table, but Microsoft is definitely determined to become one of the big wigs when it comes to percentages.
If you are interested in developing an app for Microsoft you will need to be pretty sharp about it though, as they are only going to be open for the first 10,000 apps, or until the end of the offer period. The date for this is the 30th of June.

The Birds Are In Full Song - Twitter #music

We’re not on about a real bird in this instance, we are on about social networking website, Twitter, who has launched its new music app.

Twitter has exploded in popularity over the last seven years and has now turned an ear to music by creating a ‘music-discovery’ app. This app is called ‘Twitter #music’, which is a fairly ordinary name but there is not much ordinary about its intentions.

Twitter #music claims to ‘change the way that people find their music’. Although this may seem like a very bold statement on the outset, they may have just done exactly that. The app, unlike many other music streaming websites, has narrowed their focus in order to create a simple and accessible platform.

The app allows the user to collect music from nowhere other than Twitter, which means that there are lists for more ‘Popular’ music as well as ‘Emerging Tracks’. This is not all; Twitter #music also allows you to see what other people are listening to with the #NowPlaying chart of songs that get tweeted by the user. And just like the normal platform of Twitter, where it suggests friends you might know, it also suggests artists that you may enjoy too.

The reason this app is destined for success is because Twitter acquired a company called We Are Hunted, who are known for their helping hands in other music sites like MySpace Music and, more recently, Spotify. So it has a good pedigree!

This means that this app was not just quickly thrown together over a couple of months, instead they have built a team of people that know exactly what they are doing and have created something quite exciting.

App’s are extremely convenient and this app is no different. By simply clicking on an artists’ profile you can easily follow them as well as be able to see exactly who they are following too, which means it has a great exploration aspect too.

Although, it may be worth knowing that as it has only recently been released, it is only available in selected countries. Thankfully, the UK, US, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand are all part of this list.

The NHS now has an App Store

The NHS has recently released their own App store of apps that are safe and trusted which aim to help people with any problems they have.

http://apps.nhs.uk/

The purpose of this App store is to make it more convenient for the general public to find health and care apps that will answer any questions they may have. The apps in this store aims to cover certain criteria in order to cater for the public and their problems.

This criteria of apps includes:

Informational – This is an app that will provide any general information about a particular topic. This will not be a personalised description though.

Monitoring – This type of app collects any information that is related to the health and care of the individual. These include things like weight, exercise and any data collected by near-patient devices.

Decision Support – This app provides personal information and guidance that has been accumulated by any data entered by the individual. This app will then create an automatic calculation or decision on what data has been entered to inform you of any problems.

Transactional – This type of app includes things like booking an appointment or requesting a prescription.

Appware are also proud to announce that the NHS has included an app created by ourselves in this store. This app is one of the first apps within the store and has been created to make the mundane task of cleaning teeth a lot more entertaining.

www.brushdj.com

The main feature of this app, named Brush DJ, has an inbuilt timer that will play two minutes of music, randomly selected from the user’s device, throughout the duration of you brushing your teeth. Not only does this make brushing teeth much more fun but it also makes sure that you brush your teeth for the correct amount of time.

Other features include a reminder that can be set to make sure that the user brushes their teeth at least two times a day, how often to change their toothbrush and when to visit the dentist.

If you think that you could do with an app similar to this then you can go and check the NHS App store and download any app that you feel can benefit you and your health.

The Mobile Phone: 40 Years On

It has been forty years since some clever so and so made sure that we never lose contact or be out of touch with the people we need to speak to.

That clever inventor was Martin Cooper, who brought us the Motorola DynaTac in 1973, when the first ever call on a mobile phone was made. Although this piece of technology was extremely ahead of the times and paved the way for all of our handsets today, it is now considered a ‘brick’.

That is because the original DynaTac was in fact 10 inches in length and weighed around 2.5 pounds. If we compare that to the slim and slender models of mobile phones we have today, which weighs between four and size ounces, we can see how far our handsets have come. It definitely makes a difference to our pockets!

The DynaTac contained 30 circuit boards, boasted a talk time of up to 35 minutes and took about ten hours to charge up fully. The size, weight and limitations of this device are classed as ‘laughable’ by today’s society but we can’t deny that it made history. When the DynaTac was first introduced, there were only a few people that used it. If we compare this again to today, mobile phones are everywhere, with around 6 billion people owning a handset. As technology continues to advance, this figure is only going to increase.

A decade later and games were beginning to be added to the handsets with an influx of Nokia’s introducing the phenomenon which was called ‘Snake’. This game required the player to control the snake around the screen collecting food and if the snake touched the wall, the game was over.

Forty years after the first phone call was made, we have phones with touchscreens, Bluetooth, Internet browsing, cameras and apps with HTC, Blackberry and the iPhone being just some of the main brands of mobile technology. Mobile phones of today also boast hours and hours of talk time, take only an hour or so to charge and definitely do not have 30 circuit boards.

As we sit here and celebrate the forty years of the mobile phone, we ask you … what was your first ever handset?

Spotify And Ford Join Forces

Spotify and Ford has put their heads together to create an app which means its users can listen to all of their favourite tracks whilst they drive.

The two branded big-wigs made the announcement official at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Ford originally launched its Ford Developer Program at CES 2013 in January which meant that its users could add commands to their smartphone so they could effectively have hands-free voice control whilst driving. This has attracted over 2,500 registered users since its release.

The Ford Sync AppLink has been created to let smartphone owners integrate their apps into the software which is something that Spotify is looking to do. The Ford Sync AppLink has already been used in over one million cars throughout the United States. With this success Ford are looking to focus their visions on the European market too.

Users will be able to control their smartphone, car systems and their music with this AppLink and Spotify which makes voice activation whilst driving much safe and more convenient.

Spotify is one of the largest music streaming services and provides a vast range of music from a number of major and independent record labels which includes other big names like Sony and Universal. This service has an estimated user base of around 20 million people.

This is the very first time Spotify has worked with an automotive manufacturer though, which makes this a great combination for Ford who is likely to benefit greatly from this venture. The Spotify service, online and on your smartphone, is a paid service which normally costs its users between £5 and £10 per month.

The introduction of Spotify into the AppLink is expected to hit the United States in the upcoming weeks and is likely to be a huge success. If this reaches it is predicted success in the US then it is likely to be released throughout Europe later on this year. If you are interested further in this Ford Sync AppLink , then keep your eyes and ears peeled for any emerging information on the release of the software in Europe.