Apple App Store Has Google Voice Again
For some time there was a row between Google, Inc and Apple, Inc over the Google Voice service. Apple did not want to allow the use of Google Voice over the iPhone and had banned all apps related to Google Voice from appearing in the official App Store. It appears that things are now changing and, according to a recent report, the $3 app will be receiving approval to be sold via the App Store. The trouble first began one year and two months ago when Apple made a the sweeping decision to pull all apps that offered Google Voice functionality ranging from GV Mobile to Black Swan Voice Central. Then, Apple went a step further and disallowed even the official Google app. That move alone triggered an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission of the United States where both companies are based. Apple then decided to release an HTML 5 app that would be for iPhone users and allow them to use Google through that app. Experts believe that a combination of competition from Google’s Android smart phone and demand from iPhone users changed this ban.
The new Google Voice connectivity will be different from the way the service is offered on non iPhone platforms, however, because users will not be able to make use of push notification or the feature to mask their calls. This may put some customers off and lead to further problems for the iPhone maker. Users of iPhone and Google services alike have historically been fickle about embracing radical changes to services they favor and this could lead to a shift to Android for those hard core Google Voice fans if Apple is not careful, warn industry observers.
Man Uses iPhone to Protect Home From Robbers
The Apple iPhone has been growing in popularity quite rapidly and is already the dominant smart phone on the market today due to its huge range of uses for daily life situations, but a new report from Texas has shown that the smart phone has an unexpected utility that many might not have thought about. It turns out that a Dallas, Texas man named Vince Hunter had his iPhone on him while visiting his family in the state of Connecticut, more than 1,500 miles from his Texas house. As he was refueling his car, he received a text message that alerted him to the fact that his home’s motion detectors had been activated. Having experienced previous home break ins, Hunter had purchased a complex security system for the house that included 3 live surveillance cameras capable of streaming their video to any computer or digital device capable of playing video. Using an app known as iCam, Hunter watched the video from his iPhone as the robbery took place. Hunter’s wife also received the message and contacted her husband who asked her to call the security company.
As the break in was attempted, Hunter was able to observe it via his iPhone and even see the police when they arrived. The thieves threw 3 bricks at the tempered glass of the home, but were unable to break it until the 4th made it into the Hunter family’s living room. The alarm did scare the thieves off, but Hunter’s iPhone-less neighbor was not as fortunate. His home was cleared out by the robbers only minutes before they tried Hunter’s. Police will now make use of the security camera footage to track down the criminals.
iPhone 4 Jailbreak Just Released
A recent court battle in the home nation for Apple Inc. has insured that more iPhone users than ever will be able to jail break their phones and do so legally. The latest version of the smart phone, the iPhone 4, now has new software from 3rd party sources that will allow users of the device to over ride iOS 4 and be able to install apps which may not be approved by the phone’s maker. Only days after the US copyright law upheld the rights of iPhone users to use the jail break software, JailbreakMe 2.0 came out and is now being offered via a sit that will allow users to install it directly to their phone via the built in Safari web browser that comes with their Apple smart phone. Problems were to be expected as a normal course of bug testing with the public at large and the 2.0 version of the app was no exception. Developer Comex commented that initial issues were solved that revolved around the Multimedia Messaging Service and also the Face Time video chat features. In prior years, the process of performing a jail break on a user’s own phone was deemed to be a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in the US because the law was seen as being designed to stop users from going around any mechanism designed to safe guard a software maker’s copyright.
However, just a week ago the Librarian of Congress in the US ruled that the legally acquired jail break software could be used and in order to cement the ruling, issues a number of exemptions to US citizens so that they could perform the function without violating any federal laws.
Bookmarklet Offers to Improve iPhone Browsing Experience with Safari
Consumers have long wanted to be able to make more of their browsing experience on the iPhone outside of the App Store and its range of ways to interact with the web itself. For many, being able to browse standard websites is a must and those that go this way often find that there can be quite a lot of scrolling needed to be able to actually take in a full view of the pages they want to navigate. This makes for a troubled browsing experience that can waste a significant amount of time and energy when one of the web’s core principles is that it makes information both faster and easier to find. Those that were hoping for a boost to Safari can now take advantage of the Mobile Safari browser solution that comes from developer Vais Salikhov which acts as a bookmarklet that greatly increases the interface of the standard mobile browser that comes with iPhone.
Although not a marvel of technical prowess, users have been expressing a lot of gratitude to the developer for his contribution in making their web browsing much simpler with a minimum of effort. This is one way in which the Apple crowd has come to favor those who innovate. The app itself is available for download from the App Store for only 99 cents and offers all of the features that users have felt were missing in the current edition of Mobile Safari and greatly expanded its speed in finding text on pages by search. Since the app is a bookmarklet it does not actually need to be installed on the machine itself.
iPhone App for Oscars Arrives
Experts have long linked the flag ship Apple mobile device, the iPhone, to the entertainment industry and found parallels extremely easy to draw between the device and the type of content that draws in mass audiences looking for entertainment related products. Thus, it comes as no surprise the the biggest awards show in the world, the Academy Awards, would be looking to leverage the device’s power to deliver an official Oscars app that will go hand in hand with the 82nd annual awards show that recognizes the writers, actors, directors and other film industry professionals associated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The awards show takes place in the Kodak Theater, located in Hollywood, California and is one of the biggest events of the year for TV audiences not only in the United States, but in many countries around the globe.
The app itself will allow users to peruse a variety of information such as a list of the Oscar Nominees for 2010, each organized by category. The app connects with Facebook and Twitter social media services to allow viewers to watch trailers for the films nominated at the awards show and they will also be able to share pictures with friends in their personal networks. The app is intended as an interactive way to get involved with the on screen action and through their social networks, users will be able to give their picks for the winners in each category as they unfold on live TV, the results will then be shared with the app audience to see how close they conform to reality.