iOS

According to a report from karthikk.net, developers who have sold UDID slots to other developers who are not officially enrolled in Apple's iOS Developer Program are finding their accounts on the brink of being banned.

When developers sign up for Apple's iOS Developer Program, they receive a limited number of UDID slots (the unique identifying number specific to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch). A subculture has formed where developers will sell their slots to users who would like to test the latest iOS releases without paying the larger fees of joining the official iOS Developer Program.… Read more

Here in the hot, rugged Southwest, we don't take too kindly to all y'all northern Yankee iPhone types... or at least that's the narrative the folks at mobile ad firm Jumptap discovered in data about which smartphone OS is most popular by region. It shows that the Mason-Dixon line still serves as a pretty accurate geographical divider for our nation's latest internal division--iOS fanbois vs. Android devotees.

The data (PDF) shows strong ties to Android in the South and Southwest, while those in the Midwest and Northeast lean toward iOS. Sunny California, Texas, and Florida are among the hot spots for Android use, while picturesque New England absolutely adores iOS.

Meanwhile, New Yorkers are still hanging on to their BlackBerrys, as are folks in the states surrounding the nation's capitol, but the battle lines for the new war between North and South have clearly been drawn by the top two mobile OSes.

Despite its California roots, iOS has yet to heed the advice to "Go West, Young Man," according to the data. The only state in the contiguous 48 west of Kansas City with a preference for Apple is Montana. Conversely, Android has tiptoed all the way across the Rust Belt to the Atlantic, dominating in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Not to be outdone, iOS has entrenched itself behind enemy lines in the prime vacation destination of Hawaii.… Read more

Some time ago, a friend sent me a YouTube link with no explanation. In fact, I'm pretty sure the e-mail didn't even have a subject. Once I clicked the link and started watching the video I realized why: how does one neatly describe the hilarity of a video in which a monkey forcibly rides a pig backward? Even better, the video's creator, Perry Gripp, wrote a silly song to go with the video. If you haven't seen it, the video is worth checking out for a good laugh, but be warned: the song will stick with … Read more

The Chinese government has released an official app for people (both domestic and oversees) to keep tabs on what the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is up to. There's just one catch: you'll have to jailbreak your iPhone to use it.

One of the few apps to come from a major group to not go through Apple's App Store (the U.S. Army has its own app available in the App Store), the PLA app requires its users to jailbreak their iPhones before they can download the app.

The report, from ismashphone.com, says that growth in … Read more

An analyst at Jefferies & Company has offered his take on the prospect of an Apple future that merges operating environments and taps more into Apple's in-house chip technology.

"We believe Apple is looking to merge iOS (iPhones/iPads) with OS X (Macs) into a single platform for apps and cloud services starting in 2012-13," Jefferies & Company analyst Peter Misek wrote in an August 2 research note entitled "One to Rule Them All: iOS and OS X Roadmaps to Merge."

Highlights of Misek's research note:

Apple has been slapped on the wrist by the Korea Communications Commission over the company's inadvertent collection of location data.

The commission, which is South Korea's equivalent to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, fined Apple 3 million Korean won, or about $2,829, following the revelation earlier this year that Apple's iOS-based devices collected location information on users without their specific authorization.

The fine could have been much stiffer. According to Reuters, which first reported on the story, the commission could have suspended Apple's operations in Korea or imposed a fine of up to 10 … Read more

Personal Audio, the company that was awarded $8 million in damages from Apple in patent infringement ruling last month, has had its attempt at additional damages denied by a U.S. District judge.

In a judgment filed over the weekend, and picked up by the Courthouse News Service today, U.S. District Judge Ron Clark said there will not be a second trial to cover patent infringement issues with the iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad since the previous case judgment covered both past and future use of Personal Audio's technology.

"In light of the history of this case, … Read more

Instagram is a long-time favorite photo app with users that lets you apply retro filters to your iPhone photos to turn quick mobile shots into art. It's easy to use, makes sharing photos simple and fun, and, best of all, it's free. The app has been out for quite some time and is extremely popular with users, but if you haven't had a chance to check it out, we think it's an app just about anyone can appreciate. Just beware: Instagram is addictive.

Instagram (free) requires only a couple of touches to produce great-looking images, but … Read more

Google's Android easily dominated the worldwide smartphone OS market in the second quarter, research firm Canalys has found.

During the quarter, 107.7 million smartphones shipped worldwide, growing 73 percent year over year. According to the research firm, 39.8 million smartphone units shipped in the Asia-Pacific region, and 35 million units were released in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In the Americas, 32.9 million smartphone units were shipped.

Canalys, which analyzes shipments in 56 countries around the world, said that Android led the way in 35 of them, helping it to secure 48 percent market share … Read more