Hasta La Gadget!

Tim Cook is currently on stage at Apple’s big event, but before he gets to revealing whatever today’s focus is (cough iPad Mini cough), he’s touting some of the company’s latest numbers. We already heard about things like iOS 6 and Mountain Lion, but when it comes to the App Store, Cook had some impressive numbers to share. When Cook took the stage last more, he told the audience that there were 700,000 iOS apps on the App Store, 275,000 of which were iPad apps. Today, he says that both of those numbers are still growing.

One of the biggest announcements of Cook’s presentation, however, is that the App Store has hit 35 billion downloads. Compare that to Google Play’s recent 25 billion downloads milestone, and it sounds like we’ve got a heated competition on our hands. Even better? Apple has paid out $6.5 billion to developers since the launch of the App Store, which definitely isn’t anything to stick your nose up at.

Of course, that $6.5 billion figure means that Apple is making a decent chunk of change on the side. These are some pretty big achievements for the iOS App Store, and you can bet that Apple will want to continue attracting new developers to iOS. Also something that’s certain: there are at least a few developers who are making a lot of money on the App Store. Stay tuned for more information straight from Apple’s event, and be sure to check our Apple hub for any news you may have missed!

Apple App Store hits 35 billion downloads is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple CEO Tim Cook took to a San Jose theater stage today to unveil a new version of the company’s literature-based digital storefront, iBooks. Cook says it integrates better with iCloud, allows for quote sharing on Facebook and Twitter, and has support for “over 40 languages.” Beyond the app update info, Cook touted iBook’s sales exceeding 400 million books worldwide — not too shabby! The updated iBooks app should be available today on the iOS App Store, though it’s not there just yet.

Update: It looks like iBooks Author is also getting an update today, as Cook says new templates, fonts, and user-created fonts are now supported. Additionally, mathematical equations can now be inserted directly, and multitouch widgets will also work.

For more coverage, visit our Apple Special Event hub!

Filed under: Apple

Apple unveils new version of iBooks with continuous scrolling, iBooks Author also updated originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 13:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve not seen the iOS app version of the SlashGear experience, now is a better time than ever as the whole system gets an upgrade to version 2.0 for the iPhone 5. This app is made for both the iPad and the iPhone, able to handle essentially any iOS device running version 4.3 or greater – and that does include iOS 6, as well. With the new iPhone iteration of this app, you’ll have a set of major design changes in your ability to see trending topics, load more articles in a single swing than ever before, and to comment with full Disqus integration top to bottom!

With the iPhone 5 you’ll be able to roll out with a full display of SlashGear greatness especially here in version 2.0. This version of the iPhone side of things will work on the iPad as well as the iPhone and works perfectly well on the iPod touch as well. You’ll be able to see a straight up frontpage news feed near a collection of rotating featured stories and a set of videos as well. The videos section will keep you in the know with hands-on action and in-person event sequences galore.

This newest version also has added gallery support with a simple interface that allows you to cycle through batches of images in reviews, featured pieces, and more. With each new screen comes an optimized view of each new column complete with links to our entire archive of tech and gadget news. Up to the minute updates come in at a tap of the load button and full download/save for later, text size adjustment, and share buttons are running at full steam.

The best part about this update is an update to our comments system. You can now log in with Disqus, the same system we use in the web-based version of the site. This system allows you to log in with any of several well-known systems such as Facebook and Twitter – and of course Disqus’ own user login base too. You can grab this app right this minute by [heading to Apple’s iTunes App Store] for a completely free download.

SlashGear iOS app gets 2.0 update for iPhone 5 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’re pumped up about the holidays as much as we are (it’s still October!) then you wont be surprised to see Google setting up shop in the Google Play store this early with Wishlists for apps, games, music, movies, and books. This bit if information comes from a quick scan through the next version of Google’s Google Play APK (version 3.9.16) which does indeed refer to wishlists in a big (or small, however you see the code, like the Matrix) way for consumers everywhere. This news comes right alongside Google ramping up efforts to keep their store free of malware.

The code scanning, done by Android Police, takes a look at Google’s next big wave of understanding in the app download arena. Google‘s efforts to keep their store free and open (relatively open, that is) has in some cases lead to there being less-than-pleasing apps appearing and causing havoc on users phones. This relatively rare occasion has prompted Google to set up a malware scanner for the very near future.

With a built-in malware scanner in the Google Play app store – for not just apps, but media of all sorts – we’ll be able to rest easier in the future with downloads from across the platform. This update sits on the Google Play software now, but will be activated only in the future when the software is complete and ready for action. It’s not often that code will be found in a version that’s already out that isn’t active already, but such is the situation here with Google’s most recent store.

The Google Play app store is just one part of the greater Google Play app, it being a store for your Android device that shows movies, TV shows, books, magazines, games, and apps of all kinds at once. You’re able to rent movies, buy movies and TV shows, and read ebooks and magazines from your Google-built reader apps. This new arena was made perfect over the past year by Google in their continued efforts to be self-sufficient on all smartphones and tablets, regardless of their manufacturer. Expect the updates above to take effect rather soon!

Google Play prepares for holidays with security and wishlists is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

In a move that essentially means RIM is ready for business, BlackBerry App World has begun accepting submissions of BlackBerry 10 optimized apps today. This event marks one of the more important steps that must be taken before BlackBerry 10 may be released in the real world, and RIM is projecting themselves as a group that’s ready and willing to start this engine with a bang. The announcement includes suggestions for developers to get in early so that their app may be featured in the first wave of “preferred carousel placements” at the launch of the operating system in early 2013.

Of course this event doesn’t definitely reveal the final date that BlackBerry 10 will hit the market, but it’s nearly as good when it comes to being a developer. If you plan on dedicating yourself to the BlackBerry universe, you’ll have already made plans to get in on this touch-heavy operating system update in BlackBerry 10. If you’re ready, now’s the time to jump in head-first.

Included in this update is a new set of options in the BlackBerry App World Vendor Portal, that being both a new Family called “BlackBerry 10″ and a new device called “All Touch.” You’ll want to select these both if you’re sending out the good faith in a new app for the futuristic operating system coming early next year. You’ll have also been using the Beta3 Develop SDK launched just this September 27th if you want to do this all correctly.

Also of interest for those of you not intimately familiar with the BlackBerry universe – this submission portal also once again reminds us that the BlackBerry PlayBook will likely continue to work with its own separate operating system made specifically for its unique tablet size. At this time there are no public plans for another BlackBerry tablet other than the PlayBook – though with touch-heavy excellence on the horizon, there’s always the possibility.

[via BlackBerry Devblog]

BlackBerry 10 app submissions open today is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.