Android “open” Market really making Apple’s garden bloom

TweetDeck official Twitter account:

Someone has uploaded a “TweetDeck” app to the Android Market and is charging for it. THIS IS NOT THE OFFICIAL APP. Do NOT download.

Remember kids, curation is a bad thing.

UPDATE Click here to view the listing on DoubleTwist website  (via DaringFireball)

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Andriod, Apple vs ?, iPhone apps

Hope you updated to iOS 4.0.2, jailbreakme.com exploit released to public (Updated)

Dev-Team member @comdex:

Source now available for anyone interested:http://github.com/comex/star

What sucks is, for it seems Apple has dropped all support for first gen iPhones and iPod touches. So they are left vulnerable unless they jailbreak and install the community created fix.

UPDATE Here is the security fix for first gen iPhone and iPod jailbreak community.

(via modmyi)

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iOS 4, iPhone, iPod, Security, Tips

Camera+ finally gets the boot from app store

It was revealed a couple days ago that you could enable VolumeSnap on the Camera+ app through an easter egg, a direct violation of the app store rules. So I’ve been checking a few times a day, wondering how long it would take for Apple to remove it.  Gave it a check again this morning and it’s no longer listed. Usually trying to circumvent the Apple store rules would not only get the app pulled, but earn the developer a complete ban or suspension. With TapTapTap being one of the most prominent iOS developers it will be interesting to see what happens next.

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Apple vs ?, iPhone apps

John Gruber on the Verizon iPhone: Yes.

John Gruber:

If there are going to be millions of CDMA iPhones in January, we’re going to start hearing about signs of production.

And, it seems, we are.

[...]

But I do know that engineering-wise, the wheels are turning on N92, the CDMA variant of the iPhone 4. It’s certainly not in production yet, and hasn’t reached DVT status (device verification test — like Gray Powell’s infamous stolen unit), but it is, a few little birdies claim, at EVT (engineering verification test). That’s one step below DVT, which is one step below production. So it’s right about where you’d think it would be if it were scheduled to go on sale in January. The CDMA iPhone is no longer a cold storage, keep-it-alive-just-in-case-we-need-it project.

Gruber takes the CDMA chip orders, mixes that in with a few of his little birdies, and he has himself a solid argument. I’ve been on the side saying it won’t happen, at least not until LTE. I argued Apple would stick to making one phone per year, to keep cost down, in my post Economy of Scale. I thought, why would they go to all the trouble to make a special phone just to support Verizon? Maybe, as Gruber suggest, they’re not just making it for Verizon, but Sprint and lots of other CDMA markets throughout the world. Also, not sure if it’s technically feasible, but what about a single iPhone that supports CDMA and GSM networks. If either of these is true, this argument holds no water.

What about other issues, like a CDMA iPhone owner wondering why they can’t talk on the phone and look up movie times like they just saw in that commercial? With this one iPhone per year model so entrenched in everyone’s mind, it will be hard for people to understand why the Verizon iPhone works differently than the AT&T iPhone. I’m not sure of other noticeable GSM/CDMA differences, so this could be a non-issue.

I offer a third argument, Verizon and Apple themselves. I ignored this before because I was so caught up with technical side of it, but I think this is the strongest reason for no Verizon iPhone. We know how stubborn Apple has been with the iPhone control already, letting AT&T know who is running the show. The issue here is Verizon is just as stubborn and powerful. Great example of this is Verizon, not the handset manufactures, owns the Droid name. Gruber joked today on The Talk Show: Episode 3, that a Verizon iPhone deal could fall apart because Apple says no to the Verizon logo on the back of the iPhone…it’s funny because it could be true. Also, don’t forget that Verizon has publicly bashed the iPhone with their Droid Does campaign and have very strong ties to Google (net neutrality anyone?). Remember this is the “the summer of Droid”.

Gruber goes on to point out:

The key bit: “At the critical juncture […], when they should have gone for market share, they went for profits.” I think this encapsulates Jobs’s philosophy since taking over Apple in 1997. Take the high end of the market first, establish a brand and presence, then steadily start to expand.

If they’re at that juncture with the iPhone now, expansion means CDMA. And in the U.S., it means Verizon.

I agree that Apple wants to expand the iPhone to more markets and now is a great time. The iPhone has a well established name and filled out most of the must have features (still waiting on a better notification system). The timing, CDMA chip orders, and especially Gruber’s little birdies have now convinced me that the N92 CDMA compatible iPhone is just around the corner. To be clear, I would love nothing more than a Verizon iPhone to help spread the load to more towers, but ask me whether I think we’re going to see it happen and I still have to say no.

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iPhone, iPhone 4, Speculation, Verizon

White iPhone delayed until the very end of the year?

TiPb got there hands on a letter from Orange in the UK on the white iPhone:

We wanted to let you know that there won’t be any white iPhone 4’s in the UK until the end of the year.

If you’re happy to wait another few months we’ll let you know as soon as they’re back in stock. want an iPhone 4 now?

Alternatively, if you want it now, click here or visit your local Orange shop to get the iPhone 4 Black 16GB or 32GB today. Best wishes

Orange

It’s possible the US will get it first and earlier, but doesn’t look good if you are still waiting.

Related Poll: when will white iPhone 4 be released?

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iPhone, Speculation, White iPhone 4

How to enable VolumeSnap for Camera+ now, no jailbreak required

I tweeted yesterday how Apple rejected TapTapTap’s latest update for Camera+ which would allow you to use the volume button to snap a picture instead of trying to find the spot on the LCD.

TapTapTap posted Apple’s reason, which is just going by the rules Apple clearly put in their terms:

Your application cannot be added to the App Store because it uses iPhone volume buttons in a non-standard way, potentially resulting in user confusion. Changing the behavior of iPhone external hardware buttons is a violation of the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement. Applications must adhere to the iPhone Human Interface Guidelines as outlined in the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement section 3.3.7

TapTapTap put in a request to have this as a valid feature, but who knows how long that would take (if ever) to actually get approved.

TiPb was alerted to an easy, non-jailbreak work around:

Flo from shimanke.com just let us know that there is way to enable VolumeSnap on the current version of Camera+. Just visit camplus://enablevolumesnap in mobile Safari. Doing so will launch Camera+ and VolumeSnap just works. There is a possibility that doing this will disable the volume control to your iPhone, but closing Camera+ from the multitasking dock quickly fixes it. To disable VolumeSnap, visit camplus://disablevolumesnap in mobile Safari.

Leanna Lofte from TiPb gave it a try and she said it worked great. I gave it a try as well and had the same results. Also, I did not encounter the issue with my volume control being disabled on my iPhone 4. I do get a bit of a weird feeling because the camera lens is on the bottom right, when you put the volume buttons in the standard top right orientation, but it’s just a feeling and works great.

Thanks to Tills for finding this and posting it as a comment on an iphone-ticker.de post.

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iPhone, iPhone apps