app store

Is iOS starting to feel a bit stale for your taste? It's something I'm hearing more and more as I talk to iOS users, or former iOS users. With some amazing Android phones hitting the market, it's tough not to get caught checking out the competition -- or even feeling a bit compelled to make the jump to Android.

But before you make the change, there are some kinks that need to be worked out to make the process go as smoothly as possible. You likely have contacts, a calendar, photos, and music that you'll want … Read more

Apple is again in the crosshairs of the Chinese government.

The iPhone maker has turned up on a list of companies being investigated in China over allegedly offering pornographic material through their Web sites or app stores, The Wall Street Journal said today.

Apple isn't highlighted in the story from the People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's Communist Party. Rather, it's just one of many companies named in the probe. In total, the investigation is looking at 198 Web sites and several app stores beyond Apple's.

Based solely on a rough Google-translated version of the People's Daily piece, … Read more

Facing what appears to be an indefinite ban of its software from Apple's App Store, French app discovery service AppGratis is trying to make a case for itself with an Internet petition.

A new page that went up over the weekend gives users a special e-mail address to send their pleas to if they want to "save" the company. So far, the initiative has accumulated more than 608,000 such messages, according to the page's official tally.

AppGratis was removed from Apple's App Store earlier this month. The software would alert users to a daily … Read more

The ban on the latest issue of the digital comic "Saga" was apparently due to confusion over Apple's policies and not its images portraying gay sex. At least, that's the word … Read more

It looks like AppGratis might not be the last app-discovery application to be removed from Apple's App Store.

Apple is planning to remove several app-discovery programs currently available in its App Store on the same grounds that it removed AppGratis, All Things Digital is reporting, citing people who claim to have knowledge of Apple's plans. The site's sources say that Apple is worried that app-discovery applications that help promote programs from other developers threaten the App Store's rankings.

AppGratis was removed from the App Store last week in a move that shocked Simon Dalwat, chief executive at AppGratis. … Read more

AppGratis, an app-giveaway service that Apple removed from its stores last week, posted its side of the story this morning, noting that it has tried vehemently to make its app available again.

"I'm still in absolute shock as to what is happening to us," Simon Dawlat, the company's CEO, wrote in a blog post.

In a missive that breaks down the company's storied communication with Apple, Dawlat noted that AppGratis had dealt with rejections of its app before but was able to make changes to get them approved.

The company's version of the service … Read more

Google released an AdMob SDK for iOS developers today that completes its transition away from allowing apps access to Unique Device Identifiers, weeks before Apple's official deadline for retiring the system.

UDIDs are the unique string of numbers that individually identifies each cellular device. Typically, they have been used by developers to track app installations across Apple's user base. Tracking users lets companies tailor advertising to each individual, but it also raises a host of privacy concerns.

In response to those concerns, Apple announced last month that, as of May 1, it would no longer accept new apps or app updates … Read more

As people around the world become increasingly more reliant on their mobile devices, the app market continues to grow. New research from market analyst firm Canalys shows that the top four app stores hit 13.4 billion downloads worldwide in the first quarter of 2013. This is an 11 percent increase over all of 2012 combined.

"Apps have had a huge impact on the way consumers use mobile devices, what they value, and what they expect from smart phones and tablets," Canalys chief analyst for analytics Adam Daum said in a statement. "They are now central to … Read more

AppGratis, a service with 10 million users that offers a free or discounted app once a day on Apple's App Store, has been mysteriously removed.

The software disappeared from the App Store late last week, Pocket Gamer reports. That's despite being approved, and on Apple's platform, since last December.

AppGratis began as "an email newsletter shared among friends," before evolving into a business. The company brokers deals with developers to make their software free for 24 hours, something that can help get unknown apps discovered, and potentially even boost their profile in the paid section … Read more