More App Store News, Spoerrle Marco

More App Store News: No Mac App Store Promo Codes, iOS/Mac App Names, Push Notification Security

posted by Eric Slivka on Wednesday December 08, 2010 04:55 PM

In addition to today's news that promo codes for applications in Apple's iOS App Store are now valid worldwide, several other items of interest related to the iOS and Mac App Stores have surfaced yesterday and today.

First, MacStories notes that the latest version of Apple's iTunes Connect Developer Guide makes clear that promo codes will not be available for Mac App Store applications. In conjunction with last week's tip that Apple will not permit "demos, trial versions, or betas" of applications in the Mac App Store, this latest bit of info suggest that Apple will be fairly restrictive in what can be offered through the Mac App Store, preferring that developers use their own sites for non-mainstream distribution for testing and review purposes.

Given that Mac OS X is much more open than iOS in terms of officially-supported application distribution mechanisms, it appears that Apple feels that limiting its role to mainstream distribution is a preferred strategy, at least for the time being.

Second, Apple yesterday announced on its developer news page that iOS developers can now submit Mac OS X versions of their applications to the Mac App Store with the same names as their corresponding iOS applications. Apple had previously required that applications in the two stores carry different names, but has apparently now opted to support the branding and consistency permitted by using the same name for a given application on each platform.

Finally, iClarified reports that Apple has informed iOS developers that it will be upgrading the security on its push notification service as of December 22nd, introducing 2048-bit certificates to ensure greater security for connections between applications' notification provider servers and Apple's servers. The change will not require modficiations to iOS applications, but will require developers to update their notification servers with the new certificate.

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Marco Spoerrle - Handheld Gamers Moving From Dedicated Devices to Smartphones

Handheld Gamers Moving From Dedicated Devices to Smartphones

posted by Eric Slivka on Wednesday December 08, 2010 04:23 PM

Industry Gamers reports on the results of a new survey from market research firm Interpret revealing that users of handheld games are increasingly moving away from dedicated devices such as the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP in favor of smartphones such as the iPhone.
The report, "The Phone Gaming Revolution: Do the DS and PSP Stand a Chance?," found that 43.8% of the phone/DS/PSP gaming market plays games on phones, which represents a significant 53.2% increase over the past year. At the same time, Interpret says that the proportion of those who play on the DS or PSP has fallen by 13%.
But while that data could indicate that the market for handheld gaming is simply expanding with the increasing capabilities of phones, other data shows that users of dedicated gaming devices are in fact abandoning those devices in favor of their phones.
The company notes, "Gamers appear to be defecting from their handheld gaming devices to phones to get their gaming kicks: a full 27.2% of consumers who indicate that they play games on their phones only (and not on the DS/PSP) actually own a DS or PSP, but do not actively use the device(s)."
With existing dedicated gaming devices being forsaken in favor of all-in-one smartphone devices, some analysts are questioning whether dedicated devices have a significant role in the future portable gaming market. Sony at least appears to be responding to the threat with a "PlayStation Phone" of its own that appears to be an Android-based device offering many of the features of a smartphone while also including hardware buttons akin to those found on traditional handheld gaming devices.

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Jobs: Software Update to Address iOS 4 Performance Issues on iPhone 3G 'Coming Soon' Marco Spoerrle

Jobs: Software Update to Address iOS 4 Performance Issues on iPhone 3G 'Coming Soon' Marco Spoerrle: http://bit.ly/a12sgW

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Marco Spoerrle - Google Adds Gmail and Calendar Push Notifications to iPhone App

Google today announced an update to its Google Mobile App for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, bringing push notifications for Gmail and Google Calendar.
Ever missed an appointment or important email because you were away from your desk? Now Google Mobile App can help with push notifications from your Google account to your iPhone -- an icon badge shows you've got new mail in Gmail, and Google Calendar event reminders appear right on your home screen.
Also included in the update is as-you-type results for searches on flight info, weather, stock quotes and currency conversions.

The update appears to just be going live now, and may not yet be appearing for all users.

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posted by Eric Slivka on Monday August 23, 2010 01:47 PM

Report of an iPhone 4 Catching Fire, Spoerrle Marco

posted by arn on Thursday July 08, 2010 05:39 PM

BoyGeniusReports posts pictures of one customer's iPhone 4 having caught fire. The photos come from an AT&T source after the customer brought the iPhone 4 in.

It's the first time our guy has seen this happen (us too), but the brand new iPhone 4 caught on fire while being hooked up to a computer using the Apple USB cable that accompanied the device. The customer wanted to exchange the iPhone -- obviously -- for a new, non-charred unit however the AT&T store in question was out of stock. An Apple Store did confirm to our AT&T connection that this did appear to be a defective USB port and not some sort of user error. Our source went onto say that the phone bezel was extremely hot (obviously), and it slightly burned the customers hand.

Apple's iPod nano has in the past been linked to overheating and potential fires. Apple issued replacements for those iPod nanos that dated back to 2005-2006.

So far, this seems to be an isolated incident.

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Apple on iPhone 4 Reception: Signal Strength Display Issue Only, Software Update Coming

Apple on iPhone 4 Reception: Signal Strength Display Issue Only, Software Update Coming

posted by Eric Slivka on Friday July 02, 2010 09:24 AM

Apple today released a public statement regarding user complaints of reception issues on iPhone 4, noting that the issue is simply a software one relating to how the number of bars of signal strength displayed is calculated. The apparent significant drop in signal while touching the lower left corner is actually a result of the phone reporting too many bars while not being held.

We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising.

Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an area with very weak signal strength, but they don't know it because we are erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place.

To address the issue, Apple will be issuing a software update "within a few weeks" that will adjust how signal strength bars are calculated and displayed. The change will adopt a recently recommended formula from AT&T that will more accurately display actual signal strength at any given time. The update will also increase the size of the smaller bars (1, 2, and 3) to make them easier to see.

The update will also be available for the iPhone 3GS and 3G, which are also affected by the miscalculated signal strength indicators.

We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are the same - the iPhone 4's wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped. For the vast majority of users who have not been troubled by this issue, this software update will only make your bars more accurate. For those who have had concerns, we apologize for any anxiety we may have caused.

Finally, the company notes that it is allowing customers still unsatisfied with iPhone to return their device for a full refund within 30 days of purchase, provided that the phone is undamaged.

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Apple Beefing Up iPhone and iPad Antenna Engineering Staff

posted by Eric Slivka on Wednesday June 30, 2010 10:31 AM

As noted by Engadget, Apple has been busy posting job listings for engineers to work on design and testing of antennas for the company's iPhone and iPad. While Apple typically posts a number of new job listings each day, the fact that the company has posted a total of eight antenna-related positions over the past two weeks naturally leads to speculation that it is beefing up its staff to investigate and deal with signal issues being experienced by iPhone 4 users.

The eight job listings comprise three separate job titles, with the most relevant being three "Antenna Engineer - iPad/iPhone" positions. The three listings, all posted on June 23rd, are looking for individuals with a high level of qualification including 10+ years of experience in RF technology and a preference for PhD-level training.

Responsibilities: Define and implement antenna system architecture to optimize the radiation performance for wireless portable devices. The candidate should be able to design antennas suitable for wireless handheld devices with excellent radiation performance, including TRP, TIS, SAR, and EMC. Work closely with other RF and antenna design engineers, mechanical and industrial designers, and EMC engineers to integrate the antenna design in our products.

Also posted on June 23rd were two listings for "iPhone OTA Wireless Systems Engineer" to focus on validation of antenna radiation performance. And just one week earlier, the company posted three listings for " RF Systems Validation Engineer iPhone" positions also focused on testing the iPhone's RF systems, noting that "as we add more and more capabilities to the iPhone, testing the radios becomes more and more complex."

It is unclear exactly what role these new hires might play in addressing the current issues, as it typically takes some time for a hiring process to run its course and new employees to arrive and get up to speed. The job listings could suggest, however, that the company is looking to bring on additional hands to work on designs and testing for future models as some of the unit's staff is absorbed in addressing issues with the current model.

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AppleCare Training Document on iPhone 4 Signal Issues Revealed

Boy Genius Report claims to have received a copy of Apple's internal training documentation for assisting its AppleCare staff with handling customer complaints regarding iPhone 4 signal issues.

The document instructs AppleCare representatives to work with the customer to diagnose the problem, but that issues appearing when the iPhone 4 is held at the lower left corner or the iPhone 3GS is held at the bottom right side should be addressed by either holding the phone differently or using a case or bumper.

Clearly Apple is taking the position that nothing is wrong with the antenna, although that's not surprising since most companies will never willingly admit their flagship product is potentially suffering from an unfixable flaw. But does anyone else find it interesting, if not troubling, that there is no mention of an impending software fix?
Apple's guidelines also push the "positioning statements" to be used by representatives, claiming that the iPhone 4 has better overall antenna performance than the iPhone 3GS and that almost any mobile phone will experience similar issues. Finally, representatives are instructed not to promise free bumpers to customers experiencing the issue, although a number of users have already reported receiving bumpers from Apple as a means of addressing the signal issues.

posted by Eric Slivka on Tuesday June 29, 2010 05:18 PM

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