BlackBerry App World more profitable than Android, says RIM

Showing that it’s not quite dead yet, Research in Motion aimed to “bust a few myths” about its BlackBerry app ecosystem at the company’s Europe BlackBerry DevCon today.

RIM VP of developer relations Alec Saunders pointed out that the company is now seeing over 6 million daily downloads from its App World store, reaching 174 million per month (and over two billion downloads in total). But most importantly, Saunders wanted to dispel the notion that … Continue Reading

What the fudge? iTunes Match bug replaces explicit songs with censored versions

Subscribers of Apple’s iTunes Match service are reporting that explicit songs in their library are getting swapped out for the censored “clean” versions.

iTunes Match, which Apple launched in November, is a music service that gives legal access to any songs currently in your iTunes music library. For $25 a year, subscribers can download their songs from Apple’s cloud to any device running the iOS 5 mobile operating system, such as iPhones and iPads. But … Continue Reading

How Camera+’s John Casasanta made millions off a $1 app

Earlier this month, Tap Tap Tap reported that its Camera+ iPhone app had raked in $5.1 million since launching in June 2010. In this exclusive interview with Tap Tap Tap founder John Casasanta, we talk about the company’s run-ins with Apple, the secrets behind its record download numbers, and developers’ hopes for the iPhone 5.

VentureBeat: Camera+ has been out since June 2010 and has had its ups and downs (volume button shutter release, anyone?). … Continue Reading

Developer shares costs and sales expectations as Whale Trail hits Android Market

The mobile game Whale Trail has been released on the Android platform this week, following steady sales of the iOS version late last year. With a refreshingly candid approach, developer UsTwo has talked about how much the game cost to develop, and whether it is likely to see a return on its investment.

UsTwo co-founder Matt Mills has expressed his disappointment with Whale Trail sales to date. There have been 140,000 paid downloads of the … Continue Reading

Apple adds ‘Season Pass’ discount for TV shows on iTunes

iTunes has always offered its customers a way to save a few bucks on digital music purchases if they buy the full album, and now Apple is extending that option to television shows.

This week Apple, added a “Season Pass” purchase option for most television series. Rather than spending $2 to $3 per episode, iTunes customers can now get a discount when they purchase all the episodes within a single season of a TV show. … Continue Reading

Microsoft’s first game for iOS is… Kinectimals?

When even Microsoft and Google start turning to the iTunes Store in hopes of finding success, you know Apple has done something right. Microsoft has released its first-ever iOS game, Kinectimals, available now for $2.99.

Replacing the titular motion controller functionality, the mobile version of Kinectimals presumably uses the touch-screen to interact with whichever feline cub you choose as your own. I can’t confirm, however, as I’m not 10-years-old and Infinity Blade II used up … Continue Reading

Instagram is Apple’s No. 1 app of 2011 in a year heavy on fun and sharing

If you made plans for your weekend, you might want to kiss them goodbye.  Apple yesterday released its iTunes Rewind 2011 list, with the 40 top  iPhone and iPad apps of the year. The iTunes store now has more than 500,000 apps in it, but  this year’s top apps list shows that fun is the dominant theme. Games and social networking tools dominated, and photo sharing tool Instagram was chosen as the No. 1  app … Continue Reading

Microsoft offers Windows 8 developers a better deal than most app stores

When Microsoft Windows 8 launches in 2012, it’s going after developers with one thing that truly matters to many of them: money.

The new operating system will feature the Windows Store to sell third-party apps. It’s a direct competitor to Apple’s App Store for OS X and iOS devices, the Android Market and numerous other app marketplaces.

Unlike most such marketplaces, which charge developers 30 percent of their sales, Microsoft will charge a lower, 20 … Continue Reading

EA continues to target freemium market – offering $60 rides on Theme Park iOS game

In an attempt to further monetize its iOS gaming portfolio, Electronic Arts is releasing a freemium version of the popular real time strategy game Theme Park on iTunes.

Although the game is initially free to play, if you want to upgrade your park quickly, you are going to have to cough up some real cash, with some single rides costing the equivalent of $60.

This move comes hot on the heels of EA’s decision to … Continue Reading

Hear that iTunes? Google Music is playing ‘Eye of the Tiger’

Apple’s iTunes might be the undisputed leader in digital music, but Google’s new Google Music service is poised to win the fight in the long run.

Google Music, which launched to the public today, is a free service that allows you to upload your digital music library to the cloud so that it can be played anywhere with a viable internet connection. The search engine giant also added the ability to purchase music through its … Continue Reading

Hands on: iTunes Match isn’t yet ready for prime time

Apple launched its anticipated iTunes Match music service yesterday, two weeks after the company initially said it would release it. Most likely, the debut was delayed to address bugs, but Apple should have waited longer to fix more issues because it isn’t yet ready for the spotlight treatment.

When Steve Jobs announced iTunes Match and iCloud at WWDC in July, I was excited for it. The promise of access to all of my music across … Continue Reading

Apple misses iTunes Match’s October launch deadline

Apple has missed its promised “late October” deadline for the much-anticipated iTunes Match service, which will give users access to music from their iTunes library on mobile devices running iOS 5.

The iTunes Match feature will help complete Steve Jobs’ momentous vision for iCloud, which syncs media and files with most Apple devices and Windows PCs. For $25 a year, iTunes Match will scan your library and let you download music files to other Apple … Continue Reading

iTunes Match launching soon? Apple reveals its on/off switch in iOS 5

Apple has added an iTunes Match on/off switch to iOS 5′s settings screen under the music tab, which could signal that the company is planning to launch its cloud-based music service soon.

iTunes Match is a music service that gives legal access to any songs currently in your iTunes music library. For $25 a year, subscribers can download their songs from Apple’s cloud to any device running the iOS 5 mobile operating system, such as … Continue Reading

Google Music Store coming soon and will “have a little twist”

Google is “close” to launching its own MP3 music store, Android head Andy Rubin said today. The company has been in talks to offer a music store for some time, but Rubin shed a little more light on the upcoming service today at the AsiaD conference.

Update: We’ve just learned what that “little twist” is: peer-to-peer file sharing for songs, and it’s all legal.

Google couldn’t launch a full-service music offering earlier, so it launched … Continue Reading

Apple might be launching a cloud-based movie service soon

Apple representatives have been reportedly taking meetings around Hollywood to put the finishing touches on a new cloud-based movie service.

According to sources for the Los Angeles Times, movie studios and Apple reps are close to sealing deals that will let consumers buy movies on iTunes and access them on any Apple device.

The Times points out that cloud storage could provide consumers with an easier option than managing and storing digital copies of movies … Continue Reading

Apple releases iTunes 10.5 in preparation for iOS 5 launch

Prior to the launch of its new iOS 5 mobile operating system tomorrow, Apple has released a huge update for its iTunes Mac software.

The iTunes 10.5 update adds support for Apple’s upcoming push into cloud services. While it’s not a true cloud-computing experience, iTunes will now automatically download all purchases made through iTunes and the iOS App Store, regardless of which device the purchases were made on. The update also adds Wi-Fi syncing for … Continue Reading

Next-gen Apple TV likely to have dual-core A5 processor, 1080p playback

Apple’s next iteration of its Apple TV device will likely add in a dual-core A5 processor, the same powerful CPU found inside the new iPhone 4S and the popular iPad 2, and offer 1080p HD playback for the first time.

The Apple TV device has been referred to as a “hobby” by Apple in the past, but that doesn’t mean Apple won’t continue to slowly update the device with better specs to cater to fans. … Continue Reading

Reality check: iPhone 4S find in iTunes says little about Apple’s iPhone 5 plans

A reference to an “iPhone 4S” has appeared in recent beta versions of iTunes, which has many giving up hope for an iPhone 5 unveiling from Apple next week.

“Today, rumors of a re-design can essentially be put to rest,” writes 9to5Mac, who first noticed the iPhone 4S reference in iTunes, as well as the fact Apple used an existing iPhone 4 image to describe the new model. But while it’s certainly an interesting find, … Continue Reading

Apple CEO Tim Cook promotes iTunes head Eddy Cue to SVP

New Apple CEO Tim Cook has made his first major new appointment, promoting iTunes VP Eddy Cue to senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, reports 9to5Mac.

Cue will remain in charge of iTunes and iCloud, and he’ll be managing Apple’s iAds platform as well, taking the place of Andy Miller who left the company last month. He’ll be reporting directly to Cook and will serve on Apple’s executive management team.

It’s unclear what … Continue Reading

Apple’s iTunes Match will let you stream music after all (update: sort of)

Update: An Apple representative tells All Things Digital that iTunes Match doesn’t technically stream music, instead it’s downloading and playing songs at the same time. This means that unlike an actual streaming solution, your iCloud music and video will still need to be stored on your device somehow. Original post below.
—

iTunes Match, Apple’s new service that lets you easily synchronize your music library to iCloud, will indeed let you stream music from … Continue Reading