An App for Crossing the Border

A new tool to assist Mexican migrant workers safely cross over the border into the United States has been developed by Ricardo Dominguez of the University of California in San Diego, reports Viceland via PSFK.

Dominguez, an activist/hacker and performance artist cobbled together a cheap mobile phone and a free GPS application to make the “Transborder Immigrant Tool”.

Read more.

Apple Concierge app for in-store appointments

According to AppleInsider, Apple plans to release a new "Concierge" application for the iPhone and iPod touch that will allow customers to schedule appointments at retail stores. Makes perfect sense.

Apple App Store Takes One Tiny Step Toward Transparency

Good new for iPhone app developers. According to Wired Gadget Lab, Apple is rolling out a brand new way for iPhone developers to track the status of apps they’ve submitted to the App Store.

... In Apple’s Dev Center website, iPhone app developers can view Apple’s progress on reviewing their apps from start to finish. When an app is in line to be reviewed, the status will read “Waiting for Review.” And when it’s actually being reviewed, the status reads “In Review.” Finally, when the app is launched, the status will read “Ready for Sale.” Each status update is accompanied with a time and date.

Read full article.

Apple rejects Bobble Rep app for objectionable caricatures

Apple has rejected another app, but hopefully they will reverse their decision.

According to MaCNN , the iPhone app, Bobble Rep, was rejected for providing "content that ridicules public figures".

The app contains caricatures of politicians. Il also provides a database with the members of Congress, enabling users to navigate through list of politicians and view contact information. Representatives can be located using a zip code or GPS information.

Each of the caricature heads are combined with a body and produce a virtual "bobblehead" effect when the user shakes the phone or flicks the head with a finger swipe. "Of course that’s just a novelty, and the real purpose of the app is the database that allows you to find out who your representatives in Washington are and how to contact them."

iPhone app business on sale on eBay

Texas-based developer Brice Milliorn is selling its company called JBMJBM on eBay to spend more time with his family. What’s interesting about it is that the company makes (successful) iPhone apps, and 87 apps are included in the offering.

Starting bid is $100,000 with no offers as of the time of this writing, but there are still 5 days to go.

The app world will be watching to see how this goes.

[via IntoMobile and press release]

Humorous video of rejected Microsoft apps

Spotted on TechCrunch, a humorous video released by Microsoft’s Windows Mobile Dev team, giving a sneak peek at some of the rejected apps from the Microsoft Apps Lab. A couple of favorites, the "Virtual Sundial" that tells time sort of, and the “Germaphobe”, a virtual handshake app.

ScrollMotion's iPhone e-book reader

Amazon may have sold over a million Kindles and millions of e-books, but there’s another e-book reader that seems to be gaining some traction: the iPhone. And of the many e-book readers on the iPhone, ScrollMotion seems to be having real success with over 2,500 titles and counting.

Read full article in Mobile Crunch.

App Star Awards to be announced at LeWeb

Appsfire, the service for sharing iPhone Apps with anyone, has announced that they are doing a contest called App Star Awards, in partnership with SFR/AppliStore and LeWeb. TechCrunch reports.

Anyone that has a legit iPhone application that doesn't require jailbreaking, can submit a 30 second video to the contest, even if the app is not totally finished.

30 clips will be preselected, 10 in each category. Those clips will be reviewed and rated by a jury (Michael Arrington, Marshall Kirkpatrick, Robert Scoble, Loic Lemeur ... Seefull list). Three winners, one in each category, will get a check of $1,500 and a free ad campaign with participating partners.

The results will be announced on stage at LeWeb in Paris on December 9th. TechCrunch Europe is organizing the startup competition in partnership with LeWeb.

Control your bath with an app

One of the projects shown at the British Invention Show held in north London last week was the Bath-O-Matic, an app to control your bath with an iPhone, reports New Scientist (written up last June by The Telegraph).

Fredy Vasilev imagines people using The Bath-O-Matic when they are about 10 minutes from home to choose the fill and temperature levels so their bath will be ready and waiting. How cool is that?.

The full list of winners will be posted on the show's website.

December GQ “Man of The Year” issue as iPhone app

In conjunction with the December GQ “Man of The Year” cover, the publisher will sell app version of the entire issue, including the same ads and articles, in the iPhone App Store, the company told paidContent.

Clearly, Condé Nast hopes that more than reproducing its magazine in digital form, it can reproduce the kinds of circulation and ad dollars that print has commanded for so long.

Assuming its approved by Apple in time, the GQ app will pop up in the App Store on Nov. 18, the same day the issue hits newsstands. The GQ app will include audio and video and an e-commerce function. Condé Nast is proceeding cautiously with the e-reader app; Sarah Chubb, Condé Nast Digital’s president, told paidContent that the publisher will wait to see how users and advertisers respond before announcing a similar rollout for its other mags.

Read full article in paidContent.

App of the Day

Something we have all been waiting for and that should make our lives easier in spotting the best apps. Written up TechCrunch, the App of the Day website highlights a different application every day for iPhone or iPod Touch users looking to discover high quality applications in the App Store.

Founded by Jordan Satok, App of the Day features community-nominated applications that get featured on the home page each day. Users are then able to comment on the application, and provide feedback for potential buyers.

Apple to Allow Purchases from Within Free Apps

The feature, previously allowed only for paid apps, should be a boon to game developers and people who hate “Lite” iPhone apps.

[via PC World]

Apple to allow purchase of virtual goods from within free iPhone apps

According to VentureBeat, Apple told iPhone app developers Thursday that it will allow the purchase of virtual goods in its free apps on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

... Facebook app makers such as Zynga have generated tons of revenue using this model, where the user can start playing a game or other app for free and then pay for something only when they want to.

Read full article.

Pepsi apologises for 'sexist' iPhone app

The Guardian reports that Pepsi has apologised for releasing an iPhone app that encouraged men to brag about their sexual conquests.

The AMP UP Before You Score app also provided phone users with chat-up lines for "getting lucky" with 24 different types of women – including foreign exchange students and college girls.

The software provoked criticism and derision when news of its release broke yesterday, with many people complaining that it was sexist and denigrated the status of women.

Thousands of protests were marshalled on Twitter under the hashtag #pepsifail, prompting the soft drinks giant to issue an apology over the official Twitter feed of AMP Energy, the new drink that the app was released to promote.

The iPhone App Store Gold Rush May Be Running Low on Gold

We've heard the woes of app developers waiting for payments, but at least there were payments. Newsweek claims in a sensational trend piece that the App Store goldmine has dried out and some developers are barely getting by.

[via Gizmodo]

Vonage Mobile iPhone, BlackBerry apps arrive; free VoIP calls

VoIP company Vonage is finally bringing its service to Apple’s iPhone and RIM’s BlackBerry devices. ZNet explains how they work.

The free app for the iPhone and iPod touch has been approved for making international calls using AT&T’s cellular network in addition to Wi-Fi. The BlackBerry app works on cellular.

The apps are pay-as-you-go, and Vonage says subscribers to its $25 per month Vonage World plan will receive free global calling before the year’s end.

Skype: People want total control over mobile phone apps

Angry at being barred from some mobile 3G networks by wireless operators, Skype is pushing hard for the FCC to mandate new openness rules for handsets—and it says that public opinion is on its side.

[via ars technica]

Kevin Rose confirms Digg iPhone app in the works

According to ReadWriteWeb, Kevin Rose confirmed his company is developing a Digg application for the iPhone.

The Digg iPhone app represents the company's first major mobile offering since a revamping of the Digg mobile site in July 2008.

Media turns to mobile phone applications to raise revenue

The bandwagon that Rupert Murdoch started rolling earlier this year, when he pledged that more of his online content would be moved behind some form of paywall, has attracted a lot of passengers with the survey showing that nearly 70% of respondents plan to charge for content in the next 12 months, reports The Guardian.

A large chunk of that charging is likely to take place in the mobile sphere ,with 56% saying they expect to develop "paid for" apps in the next 12 months. These will not just be aimed at iPhone users, but BlackBerry, Nokia and handsets running Google's new Android platform too.

... A new generation of apps is appearing which are aimed at generating their own circulation or subscription revenues.

According to according to Tim Faircliff, the general manager of consumer media at Thomson Reuters and co-chair of the Association of Online Publishers.

"People are used to paying something for content and services on a mobile phone, whether it's a text message or a download or ringtone or wallpaper," he says. "There is a comfort factor. In that medium people are more aware of the need or requirement for some sort of payment." The media industry is increasingly hoping it stays that way.

Read full article.

iPhone cycling app: heads-up display shows map while riding

A glimpse of the future. Watch!

The ARIder Bicycle Navigation System is a helmet-mounted display that plugs into the iPhone. It consists of a mount on the helmet to attach the phone, and a small flip-out unit which displays a map in front of one of the cyclist’s eyes, like a fighter pilot’s HUD.

[The Telegraph via Wired Gadget Lab]

Guardian.co.uk Planning Paid-For iPhone App

Guardian.co.uk is preparing to launch an iPhone app and it’s likely to charge for it, paidContent.UK has learned.

Guardian News & Media confirmed an app is “in the pipeline” and digital director Emily Bell told paidContent: “It’s still in development, but we are working on an app which I can’t give you too much more detail on at the moment, although we are likely to charge.”

[via MocoNews]

There's an app (category) for that

Since the birth of the App Store, Apple has oft stated "there is an app for just about everything." Now, it seems they have come up with a great way to prove their claim. TUAW reports.

Apple has added an "Apps for Everything" section to their website, complete with a wide range of selections from Apps for Cooks, to Apps for Managing Money, to Apps for Moms and Dads. Each section is then broken down into different tasks or activities that are associated with the group, and highlighting a particular app for that item, complete with screenshots and a link to the App Store.

Investment Giant Vanguard Group readies iPhone app

Pennsylvania investment giant Vanguard Group is readying an application for Apple Inc's iPhone that will be a first in the mutual funds industry. It follows similar applications from Bank of America Corp and E*Trade Financial Corp that allow customers to check their balances, pay bills or trade shares from mobile devices.

[via Reuters]

A Retrospective of Movie Phone-Fails

A video compilation of phone failures in horror movies - on YouTube.

[ Nerdist via Gizmodo]

Starbucks Testing iPhone App That Can Pay For Coffee

Starbucks is testing an iPhone app in Seattle and the Bay Area that links to a customer’s registered account—and includes a bar code that can be used to pay for purchases instead of the plastic swipe cards. WSJ reports the chain will use feedback from the experiment to help plan the next steps.

[via MocoNews]

SK Telecom App Store Looks Disappointing

Following months of massive anticipation, SK Telecom unveiled its "T-Store'' online store last week. Unfortunately, according to The Korea Times, the initial response from mobile users and bloggers was downright harsh, with the potential buzz project turning into a public relations disaster.

The biggest complaint is that the applications listed on T-Store could not be downloaded through computers or Wi-Fi connections, but only through SK Telecom's third-generation (3G) mobile data network, which has been ignored by a larger part of users because of expensive rates.

Palm Pre App Sales Slated for September 24th

According to a company timeline unearthed by Digital Daily, the mobile phone manufacturer will make paid-for applications available on the site on 24th September. At present all 80 apps on the site are free downloads.

App sales will be split 70/30, with 70 percent going to developers and 30 percent going to Palm.

[via Top10]

iPhone Apps for Designer Collections

The Internet and advances in technology are transforming fashion, making it easier for designers to create collections and less expensive for them to show and sell their work, experts say. The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars on a runway show at New York Fashion Week, some designers presented collections for spring and summer 2010 online, while others are expanding the reach of their brand by making it easier for shoppers to buy their clothes online.

Designer Norma Kamali and Polo Ralph Lauren's Rugby brand both have applications for Apple's iPhone that allows shoppers to buy clothes from their phone.

"This is the technology that's changing our lives," said Kamali, who displayed her spring and summer 2010 collection as well as exclusive lines for eBay and Walmart.com at the Apple store in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood.

Kamali's iPhone application has a "Try Before You Buy" option, which allows clothes to be sent overnight to a customer, who provides her credit card information, so she can try them on at home before committing to buy.

Read full article.

Related:

-- net-a-porter gets an app

-- Shopping for $1,000 Shoes? There’s an App for That

New: App Store Resource Center

Apple sent an e-mail to developers of applications for the iPhone OS on Friday afternoon announcing the App Store Resource Center, a destination for details on application review and distribution, ranging from advice on preparing an app for submission to managing an app, once available on the App Store.

[News.com]

Real Networks will help developers push mobile games to 1,700 phone types

Once developers create a mobile game, it’s a royal pain to adapt it to all of the different types of cell phones in the world. Real Networks is announcing its Federation of Studios mobile publishing business today to address that problem, enabling a mobile game to get on as many 1,700 different cell phones in a matter of six weeks.

Read full article in VentureBeat