app store

Apple has rejected an iPhone app designed to keep track of fatalities caused by U.S. drone strikes for its "objectionable" content.

The company withheld App Store approval for Drones+, an app that sends text messages to iPhones whenever the media reports casualties resulting from a drone strike and shows users the locations of drone strikes on a Google map. (See brief video demonstration below.) Apple has rejected the app three times this summer, the most recent of which cited App Store guidelines that prohibit "objectionable" content, according to Josh Begley, the app's creator.

"… Read more

Android users in several European countries can now use Amazon's app marketplace.

The company announced today that its Appstore is now available to consumers in the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. As with the store in the U.S., users will be able to find and download Android apps to either their smartphones or tablets.

Now that Amazon has expanded to more countries, the company's marketplace is even more a competitor to its chief alternative, Google's Play.

Outside of the Android market, Apple's App Store is still going strong. Earlier this year, Apple announced … Read more

Browsing "Incognito" on Chrome for iOS may help protect users' privacy, but it was having the opposite effect on their saved passwords.

The Next Web reported earlier today that numerous iPhone and iPad users had been complaining about their saved passwords vanishing in the recently updated Chrome iOS app.

According to a thread on the Chrome development site Chromium, the problem had to do with closing an Incognito tab after browsing anonymously.

But it seems the Chrome folks heard the gripes:

"We know about the data loss and are working to recover your passwords and typed URLs (… Read more

Starting with OS X Lion, Apple's Mac App Store became the primary means for distributing OS X, but the version of OS X in the store would sometimes lag behind the latest release. With Mountain Lion, the App Store is now being used to distribute system updates in addition to the full OS installer, and along with this development Apple appears to be updating the full OS download version concurrently with the release of the latest patch.

This means that if for some reason you are looking for an older release of OS X than the most current version, … Read more

Finding streaming TV shows or movies is a mess. No service or app has a complete collection, and getting what you want often feels like rummaging at the Internet's garage sale.

Some services have risen up to try to help; the Xbox 360 offers excellent Bing-based search of Xbox media apps, while Fanhattan does the same on iOS, although you have to enter the app to begin searching.

Fanhattan lacks one important feature, though: a listing of shows on actual, live TV.

Bridging the cord-cutting and cable/antenna TV landscape is TV Guide, which tries to implement streaming-media hooks into its existing tradition TV listings service.… Read more

After rumors surfaced earlier this month, Google has officially revealed its new Google Play gift cards.

The cards bear denominations of $10, $25 and $50, and will be sold at RadioShack, Target and GameStop. Their actual release date will vary for each retail chain, according to Google.

The cards, similar to the iTunes gift cards Apple has been selling for years, can be used toward a purchase at Google's former Android app market, now dubbed, well, Google Play.

The cards can be used to buy all the bells and whistles for games -- like extra levels, add-on packs and … Read more

Looking for a gift for your favorite iTunes user, even if that's you? Here's a good deal from Wal-Mart.

The retail giant has shaved $20 off a $100 iTunes electronic gift card. For your $80 purchase, Wal-Mart sends you a PIN, which you can use on an iTunes spending spree or e-mail to someone else as a gift.

The PIN is usually delivered within a few minutes, according to the company, but could take as long as 48 hours, so be patient if you don't receive it right away.

The gift cards are not returnable or refundable, … Read more

Every Thursday Apple reveals a new free app of the week. Some apps are likely to be used a lot, such as last week's free app, 360 Panorama. Other apps, like this week's Kayak Pro, may not sound like something you're going to use today, or even in the near future, but you should download it anyway. Why? As pointed out on Reddit, and then by The Next Web -- because it's free.

If you're not going to use the app right away, delete it from your iOS device. There's no point in letting … Read more

With the presidential elections fast approaching, both Mitt Romney and President Obama are taking their campaigns mobile. The Obama for America app concentrates primarily on distributing President Obama's policy stances, as well as news and events.

Users of the Obama for America app can also find useful information about voting rules and regulations on a state-by-state basis and information on volunteering to help the Obama campaign.

Romney's app takes a different approach, largely marketed as a way for users to keep up-to-date with the Romney campaign's decision on its vice president candidate, hence the app's moniker, … Read more