app store

Back before the iPhone 5 was a known quantity, back before we even knew it was definitely going to have a larger screen, the iPhone was already a great gaming handheld. Millions of people know that. Gamers may hate to admit it, because the iPhone lacks physical buttons. It doesn't matter.

What the iPhone did to mobile gaming has reverberated across the industry, forcing the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita into catch-up mode, battling for second and third place. Free-to-play and the very concept of redownloadable gaming apps -- not to mention the rebirth of indie development -- can all be traced to Apple's App Store and this little handheld device. … Read more

Apple iOS users can once again download apps, music, and other items without being trapped in a Terms & Conditions loop.

Yesterday, people posting in Apple's Support Communities and elsewhere started complaining that they couldn't get past the new Terms & Conditions screen. Recently updated, this screen requires iOS users to agree to Apple's lengthy list of service requirements before they can download items.

Despite agreeing to the terms, users kept seeing the same screen pop up over and over again, stopping them from downloading new apps, music, books, movies, and TV shows.

But as of this … Read more

Google Play will soon have another competitor.

Russian search engine Yandex announced today that it will soon launch an "alternative" application marketplace for Android users. Dubbed Yandex.Store, the marketplace will offer nearly 40,000 applications and allow vendors to bundle another app store into their devices.

Yandex.Store is also a white-box offering, meaning vendors can place their own branding on top of it. According to Yandex, Russian carrier MegaFon has already signed on to the service.

As with other application stores, Yandex's option takes 30 percent of the revenue generated from apps. In addition, Yandex.… Read more

Having officially apologized to users over the quality of its new Maps application, Apple has now gone one step further by promoting a list of alternatives to its customers.

A new curated list in the "featured" section of Apple's App Store offers alternative mapping applications for iPhone and iPad users.

So far the list includes just over a dozen applications:

MotionX GPS Drive (99 cents) Waze Social GPS (free) MapQuest (free) GPS by TeleNav (free) Scout by Telenav (free) Garmin U.S.A. ($39.99) Gokivo GPS Navigator (99 cents) Navigon USA ($39.99) CoPilot Live Premium … Read more

Those Bad Piggies may not be so bad if they can soar to the top of the iOS charts in just a few hours.

Released from its pen earlier today for iOS and Android, the Angry Birds sequel is the most-downloaded paid app among both iPhone and iPad users.

A brand-new game rarely hits the top spot in Apple's App Store so quickly. But being the latest installment in the hot Angry Birds lineup gives Bad Piggies a strong leg (or hoof) up. Game maker Rovio has gotten a lot of mileage out of Angry Birds, but the company … Read more

Apple's App Store has always offered the most apps to users. But that could change.

Google announced yesterday that its Google Play store now offers 675,000 applications. Apple announced earlier this month that its store had 700,000 applications available.

Both Google and Apple's apps stores launched in 2008. However, as Inside Mobile Apps pointed out yesterday, Apple's option has historically been the leader by a wide margin. In 2010, for example, Apple announced it had reached 250,000 apps. Google's store -- then known as the Android Market -- didn't hit that tally … Read more

In Apple's continuing trademark battle with Amazon over its use of the "App Store" name, the Internet retailer has asked a federal judge to dismiss Apple's false-advertising claim.

The dispute stems from a lawsuit Apple filed in April 2011 that accused Amazon of misappropriating the moniker, for which Apple applied for the trademark in 2008, a week after the company launched its iPhone App Store. The lawsuit sought an injunction against Amazon's use of App Store to describe its digital download store.

Apple amended its complaint last November to include claims of false advertising. Apple … Read more

Some iPhone 5 users are seeing lines in front of their eyes, at least when they key in their passwords.

Users chiming in on MacForums and on Apple's Discussion Forums say that lines of static appear across their keyboard as they type. But the problem seems to occur only when they enter their passwords at the App Store or iTunes store.

A YouTube video posted by one user clearly shows the static lines hopping across the screen.

Some posters believe the problem made be software related, especially since Apple changed the look and layout of the App Store and … Read more

So, what's the killer feature of the iPhone 5? Arguably, its speed. Or, is it the screen? A lot of parts of Apple's latest iPhone have been tweaked top to bottom, and the first challenge you might find is picking a few apps that take advantage of the iPhone 5 fully.

I expect many more in the coming days that will really start to bring out the best in the iPhone 5, but here are a few early winners.

Tweetbot A Twitter app to show off the iPhone 5? Really? Well, displaying longer lists better is pretty much … Read more