Not sure if an app is appropriate for your kid to use? Now you’ll know for certain because Apple has added age ratings to descriptions to the App Store. More »
Apple has made a couple of big announcements, the most immediate of which is that in a little over a month, the company will stop accepting apps – both updates and new submissions – that access UDIDs. On the same date that change goes into effect, Apple will also stop taking in applications for apps that don’t support its latest handset, as well as a couple other requirements.
For those who don’t know, UDID stands for Unique Device IDentifiers, and is, as its name so eloquently suggests, a unique identifier for a specific Apple device, such as your iPhone or iPad. Users are able to access and view their own UDID via iTunes, but starting May 1, Apple will stop accepting and thusly fade out apps that can access the string of numbers and letters.
Instead, Apple has instructed developers to “update your apps and servers to associate users with the Vendor or Advertising identifiers introduced in iOS 6.” This is in addition to other requirements it has put in place for new app submissions, with applications that don’t meet the requirements being rejected.
Also starting on May 1, developers will need to make sure their apps support the company’s latest handset, the iPhone 5, as well as four-inch displays and iOS devices that have a Retina display. This goes for app updates as well, so developers with current apps that plan to roll out updates have a little over a month before the change goes into effect. Information about this can be found in Apple’s iOS Human Interface Guidelines, says the announcement.
[via 9to5 Mac]
Apple to stop accepting apps that access UDIDs and fail to meet other requirements is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
The BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 are getting ready for their full launch later this month, but in order to have a great mobile platform, you have to have an ample selection of apps to choose from. Luckily, BlackBerry is making strides in its BlackBerry World app store, where there are now 100,000 BlackBerry 10 apps available for download.
What’s perhaps more impressive, however, is the fact that BlackBerry World gained 30,000 apps in just seven weeks, since the company reported back in January that they were at the 70,000-app mark. Of course, this isn’t too surprising, and frankly it’s quite expected, as BlackBerry has been offering incentives for developers who create apps for BlackBerry 10.
Plenty of popular apps are available from BlackBerry World, including Facebook, Foursquare, NOVA 3, and Angry Birds. Also, BlackBerry announced that Amazon’s Kindle app just launched today, and “in the coming weeks,” BlackBerry 10 users will be treated with even more apps, such as eBay, eMusic, MLB at Bat, Rdio, Skype, and Soundhound.
The BlackBerry Z10 will hit the US starting tomorrow on AT&T, while BlackBerry’s PlayBook tablet will receive an update to BlackBerry 10 sometime in the near future. 100,000 apps may not seem like a lot compared to Google’s or Apple’s own offerings, but it’s certainly a good start for such a new platform, and we expect BlackBerry World to keep growing over the next few years.
BlackBerry World app store reaches 100,000 apps is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Android users can now, finally, get Up. A new app makes the health tracker work with phones running Ice Cream Sandwich or Jelly Bean.
Elie Bursztein, a Google developer, reported several vulnerabilities in Apple’s App Store that could lead to extreme privacy breaches and attacks on users. The reports, made back in July 2012, led Apple to enable HTTPS for its App Store. By having HTTPS on, users are protected from the various types of attacks that Bursztein pointed out. It also helped that Bursztein made the attack codes public in order to light a fire under developers to enable HTTPS for their apps.
The attacks listed by Bursztein included: Password stealing, app swapping, app fake upgrades, prevention of app installations, and privacy leaks. In order for hackers to be able to use these attacks, all they had to do was be on the same unencrypted network as the iPhone/iPad they were targeting. Locations with unencrypted Wi-Fi includes locations like airports, coffee shops, and public libraries.
Three of the most detrimental attacks would be the password stealing attack, the app swapping attack, and the app fake upgrade attack. The first is the password stealing attack. It injects a javascript prompt to the victim’s iOS device that asks the user to input their password. The prompt is initiated when the user opens up the App Store. Unsuspecting users will be deceived by the geniune looking prompt and will have their inputted password sent straight to the hacker’s system.
The second is the app swapping attack. The hacker is able to swap the app the user is trying to download or purchase with an app of their own. While it looks like the app being downloaded is the one the user chose, once the download is finished, they will be greeted by the swapped app. The hacker could abuse this attack to generate money for themselves, or by causing the user to pay a lot of money on a very expensive app.
The final attack would be the fake app upgrade, which works similarly with the app swapping attack. The hacker will insert a fake upgrade into the user’s App Store that causes the user to install the app instead. Bursztein’s report provides a wake-up call to Apple and developers alike in the importance of security. It also helps raise user awareness to any potential cyber attacks to their devices. Having your password stolen, paying a fortune on a swapped app, or having your privacy leaked to a stalker is a nightmare for anyone.
[via Elie Bursztein]
Apple finally enables HTTPS for App Store is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
It was only a few days ago when Apple settled a lawsuit involving in-app purchases made by children. The lawsuit offered affected users a $5+ iTunes gift card, and those who’s children purchased more than $30 worth of in-app purchases will receive a full cash refund. The lawsuit is said to cost Apple around $100 million. A family in England is an example of the types of things that go on when you leave your child unattended with your iOS device.
Danny Kitchen wanted to play Zombies vs. Ninja on his parents’ iPad. The parents unlocked the iPad, saw that the game was free, and allowed their son to play. What they didn’t realize was that Danny could make in-app purchases in the game, and that’s exactly what he did. Danny’s parents were busy entertaining a group of guests, so they weren’t able to keep an eye on what their son was doing. Unfortunately for them, their oversight almost cost them 1,710.43 Pounds, or around $2570.
Danny made 12 purchases of 333 keys at 69.99 pounds each, 7 sets of 333 ecstasy bombs at 69.99 pounds each, 5 sets of 9000 darts at 69.99 pounds each, 5 sets of 4200 darts for 5.49 pounds each (why is this so much cheaper than the 9000?), and some more ecstasy bombs at 3.22 pounds each. The following Monday, Danny’s mother, Sharon Kitchen, received 19 e-mails from iTunes confirming Danny’s purchases. She disregarded it because she thought it was a mistake. It wasn’t until she received a call from her credit card company confirming these transactions with her.
Sharon told Danny to get ready for bed, and to “run and hide before daddy got home”, and Danny’s siblings hilariously tortured him even more by saying that their parents could have purchased a house with the money he spent. Apple has graciously refunded the Kitchens their money back. The Kitchens were upset and questioned why children were so easily able to spend a fortune on these in-app purchases.
An Apple spokesperson replied with a statement saying that there are parental controls in all iOS devices that can prevent these incidents from happening. They prevent internet access, age rated content, and “also give parents and guardians the option to turn off functionality such as purchasing from iTunes and the ability to turn off in-app purchases.” So parents, take advantage of those parental controls in order to prevent a case like this from happening to you.
[via The Telegraph]
5 year old accidentally spends $2570 on iPad in-app purchases is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
One thing that Apple has going for them is their massive collection of hundreds of thousands of apps specifically catered toward the iPad, and to show off some of the more notable ones, as well as boast about the variety of apps available, the company has released two new TV ads that quickly go through a selection of cool apps.
Each of the ads, titled “Alive” and “Together”, go through various adjectives and show off an app that describes that specific adjective. Each of the adjectives are “randomly” selected from a fast randomizer of different words, similar to how you hit a question mark block in Mario Kart and it quickly cycles through items before it eventually lands on one.
It’s a slightly different vibe than what Apple has normally done in the past. We’re mostly used to cartoony piano music playing in the background while Jeff Daniels walks us through some of the cool features of a new iOS device, but this time around it’s a little more fast-paced, with a handful of neat apps being displayed.
We see quite a few apps actually, including GarageBand, iBooks, TED Talks, iMovie, Vimeo, iPhoto, and FaceTime. We’re also seeing both the iPad and iPad mini make appearances, letting users know that all of the 300,000 apps available for iPad, are compatible with both the full-size iPad and the smaller 7.9-inch iPad.
Apple releases new iPad TV ads focusing on app catalog is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Thumbs twitching, in an attempt to get on that new Spotify beta? You might have had a frustrating morning. Multiple users are reporting that when trying to purchase or download apps on their Windows Phone they are instead receiving error code 805a0193. As handy as the code is, there’s no further information about what is causing the problem. Unlike previous issues that seemed more localized, this current instance appears pretty widespread with reports coming from the US, and France amongst others. Are you affected? Let us know in the comments. In the meantime we’ve contacted Microsoft to see what’s up.
[Thanks to all who sent this in]
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft
It would seem that Samsung is attempting to get in on the underground vibe with their newest team-up with the gaming group known as Chillingo in an effort they’re calling “100% Indie.” This portal will be a means for up-and-coming developers to reach mobile gamers with a big brand umbrella that pushes games through the Samsung Apps store for Android devices. In other words, this is an effort to get games in Samsung’s own store, an effort that will also promote said games and, in turn, support the developers behind those games.
So why is the initiative called 100% Indie? It would appear that it’s because each developer that comes up to the plate here will have to be on their own – or at least not already part of the Samsung app store for Android. After that it’s all about profit sharing with Samsung while the real exchange comes in Samsung’s offering of promotional resources that these developers might otherwise never have had access to.
If you’re ready to take your game or otherwise fabulous app to the 100% Indie program, it’s worth noting that in the first 6 months the initiative runs, developers will get 100% of the revenue their software generates. That’s quite the mighty offer. Make sure you read the rules and regulations on if you’re able to put your app anywhere other than here if you’re going to do such a thing, of course.
After the first 6 months the 100% Indie promotion is up, new developers will be getting 80% revenue share, then after March of 2015 new developers will be getting a 70% profit share. At the moment it’s not entirely clear if a grandfathering effect will be taking place, so make sure you’re clear on how your profits will be shared from the very start – it never hurts to ask and ask again!
This initiative is similar to what we’ve seen coming from some notable processor creators such as NVIDIA and Qualcomm. Gaming with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Game Command hasn’t made it much further than what we saw back in January of 2012 [Pro Tip: Qualcomm has tipped a Snapdragon Game Studio as well as the ever-excellent “stay tuned” notification.] NVIDIA’s TegraZone continues to be a public force pushed with each new release of an NVIDIA Tegra-toting smartphone, tablet, or in-between. With NVIDIA the games are still hosted by the Google Play App Store while NVIDIA provides tools and resources to optimize said games for Tegra processors and make an effort to promote said games to the public – similar, but not the same.
So all ye developers – heed the call! One way or another you’re eventually going to succumb to the loving embrace of a gaming portal – resistance is futile!
Samsung and Chillingo bring “100% Indie” gaming portal to battle NVIDIA is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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