AdMob giving away $1,000,000 to iPhone App Developers

AdMob Makes Mobile Ads Suck Less. Will Give Away One Million Dollars Worth of Ads To iPhone App Developers.

On the iPhone, even the ads are cool. Mobile advertising network AdMob is launching a whole new set of customized ads for iPhone apps. As CEO Omar Hamoui explains in the video above, the ads are specifically designed for iPhone apps. Rather than the static text or image ads that make up most of its mobile ad inventory today, these take advantage of specific features of the iPhone.

For instance, an ad for a song can stream the audio or launch the page on iTunes where you can buy it. A movie ad can open up YouTube so you can watch the trailer. An ad for a retailer can find nearby stores on Google maps. Others call a number through the phone, or can take you to a specific Web page. And just like on Facebook,where many of the ads on apps are simply promotions for other apps, an ad for an iPhone app will launch the App Store. (See video below).

To get iPhone app developers to sign up for his new ads, Hamoui is giving away $1 million worth of advertising to the developers with the most compelling apps who apply here. Each developer who is selected will recieve $5,000 worth of free ads for their apps.

Admob already serves up 34 million mobile ads a month on the iPhone's Safari browser. But that is a mere one percent of the total that AdMob serves across all phones. Hamoui, however, believes that the new type of ads he is launching today will quickly make up the majority of his inventory. Some of the advertisers he's already lined up include Ford, Electronic Arts, Land Rover, Jaguar, "The Mummy," Loopt, AccuWeather.com, and MovieTickets.com.

Read the whole article @ Washington Post

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Free iPhone and iPod Touch Application List

Get the latest iPhone applications on the site, such as:

iM+ for Skype enables voice and text communication with other Skype users and provides cost-effective calling to landlines and mobiles. Pure SkypeOut quality with no extra voice delays! The application is designed especially for iPhone's touch screen complements the design and interface of iPhone and iPodTouch.

Mobiscope is a complete video surveillance that allows to monitor your home/office activities in realtime. No need to purchase any expensive equipment, all you need is a webcam on your computer to record everything that goes on when you are away. Mobiscope can monitor the area for motion and transfer the video in realtime to your mobile phone. You may watch up to 4 USB or network cameras simultaneously or watch public webcams at remarkable places.

RDM+: Remote Desktop for Mobiles provides you with complete access to your remote PC from anywhere. You can use your iPhone or iPodTouch to conveniently manage your email, files, programs and network resources.

Read the whole article @ iPhone Application List

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Top 10 Best iPhone 3g Apps!

After finally getting my iPhone 3G yesterday I spent most of my time playing with the Apps and App Store.

It’s early days but there already some amazing Apps available for the iPhone. This list features a wide range including task management, social networking, file transferring, location aware fun and even games.

1. FileMagnet (£2.99)

File MagnetFileMagnet is the app that Apple forgot. I’ve no idea why Apple does not allow access to transfer files too and from the iPhone. What’s the point in carrying around a 16gb hard drive with us everyday if we can’t use it for anything but music, video and photos?

Portable Storage Device

File MagnetOnce you have installed FileMagnet on both your iPhone and your Mac you can drag and drop any files into it to sync between the devices. Making your iPhone a 16gb portable storage device.

Open & View Files Too!

It then goes one step better and not only allows you to transfer and store files but also lets you open and view them on your iPhone!! It supports PDFs, Microsoft Office documents, images, movies and even complete folders!

Rating: 10/10 (The best iPhone app so far. It has no faults and is a bargain)

2. Shazam (FREE)

This app really blew my mind when I first tried it!
File Magnet

You hold your iPhone to any source of music, be it TV, radio or whatever. Shazam ‘listens to it’ and identifies it for you in seconds!! That is it’s most obvious feature but it actually does so much more.

It works with tags and comparing the tags you make to it’s databases. You can then buy the music you hear. Imagine you are in a pub playing a track you like but don’t know. Hold up your iPhone, let Shazam identify it and then purchase it automatically! Amazing!

Additional features include viewing related videos on YouTube, personalising Tags with photos and emailing Tags to contacts.

Rating: 10/10 (Another perfect app. Technology ahead of it’s time!)

3. Vicinity (£1.79)

File MagnetVicinity is another app which takes advantage of the iPhones GPS and location awareness.

Using your current location it quickly provides lists of nearby services such as banks, pubs, restaurants, taxis and takeaways, giving their distance from you as well!

Not amazingly useful when your in your home town but could be invaluable when traveling to new places.

Another interesting feature is bringing up Flickr photographs taken in the vicinity and also Wikipedia pages of local interests.

Rating: 7/10 (Works well and a good insight into how GPS is more useful than just maps.)

4. Things (£5.99)

File MagnetThings is one of my most used programs on all of my Macs. It’s a task management system which can implement David Allen’s GTD system. I really would be lost without it. The idea of having my To-Do lists with me on my iPhone at all times is very exciting.

Coming Soon…

Unfortunately there is one major downside at the moment. The App does not yet support syncing which makes it almost useless as I won’t write my lists out twice. However, the creators insist that it’s their top priority and it will be implemented soon. The introductory price of just $9.99/£5.99 makes it worth an early investment.

Rating: 8/10 (Rating assumes syncing is implemented. A stunning app and a bargain too)

5. OmniFocus (£11.99)

Before Things came along OmniFocus was my task management app of choice. I’m still not 100% converted to Things and there are bits of OmniFocus which appeals to me also.

Amazing Location Awareness

The iPhone App of OmniFocus is streets ahead at the moment with one amazing feature. The location awareness of the iPhone is implemented so well in this app.

For example using your location OmniFocus can create custom lists to show you tasks you need to complete nearby. Maybe you have a separate list for at the office? Or a shopping list which can be shows as you approach the store!

It’s not cheap though, it’s twice the price of Things and the OSX desktop app is also expensive.

Rating: 9/10 (I prefer Things to OmniFocus overall but the location awareness features really give it the edge)

6. Twitterific (FREE)

File MagnetTwitter is the marmite of social networking. You either love it or hate it. Personally I love it.

I also love Twitterific for OSX, the iPhone version is every bit as good! If you use OSX and Twitter you probably already use Twitterific. If you use Windows now is your chance to see what you’ve been missing!

Rating: 7/10 (If you Twitter you will love it.)

7. NetNewsWire (FREE)

File MagnetNetNewsWire is my RSS reader of choice for the Mac. I like Google Reader NNW is just so much more polished and has some nice features such as posting to del.icio.us.

I use quite a few different Macs and read my RSS feeds on all of them. NNWs built in syncing works great and i’m so happy that I can read the same feeds on my iPhone now and keep them all in sync.

Rating: 8/10 (Every bit as good as the desktop app)

8. Remote (FREE)

Remote is a very simple but quite useful app. It allows you to control the music on your computer or Apple TV with your iPhone over a Wi-Fi network.

You can play, pause, skip, shuffle music from your whole iTunes library as well as viewing album artwork and searching.

Rating: 6/10 (Not as exciting as most of the other apps but it’s free and useful)

9. Super Monkeyball (£5.99)

Super Monkey BallApparnatly Super Monkeyball is quite a famous game. Personally I have never played it before though. It’s by SEGA and is obviously a quality game.

The object of the game is to navigate through a variety of obstacle courses against the clock. Of course they get progressively harder and there are 5 worlds and 110 stages!

PSP Rival?

I was very impressed by how good it looked and sounded. It really does give the iPhone the potential to be a rival for the PSP and NintendoDS if more game manufactures take it seriously.

Of course the iPhone would be limited by it’s lack of buttons but DS style games would work well with the touch screen and others including Super MonkeyBall utilise the accelerometer amazingly effectively. (You tilt and turn the iPhone and the ball on the screen moves accordingly)

Rating Me: 8/10 (A seriously impressive game, wouldn’t be out of place on a PSP)

10. Cube Runner (FREE)

Cube Runner is another game which using the iPhones built-in accelerometer. It’s not as pollished and professional as Super MonkeyBall but it is every bit as addictive and it’s also free!

You basically tilt the iPhone to control a spaceship which you fly across Star Wars type landscapes avoiding cubes which get in your way.

Rating: 7/10 (Less impressive than Super MonkeyBall but is addictive, fun and free!)

Anything to add?

So there we have it. Obviously the app store has only been open for 2 days so things are very likely to change as this post gets older.

Feel free to add your own suggestions to the comments, i’d love to try out some more recommendations.

Read the whole article @ Fluffy Pig

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Five Free iPhone Music Apps

iPhones are great for listening to music - you can rip and copy over your CDs, you can get music off of iTunes and you can subscribe to one of the many free music podcasts.

But iPhones aren’t just for listening to music. There’s a growing number of applications for jailbroken iPhones that let you create music.

Five Free iPhone Music Applications

MooCowMusic Drummer is a virtual drum pad for the iPhone:

Drummer can also be used with a custom sample set:

MooCowMusic’s Piano, formerly called iAno, can be used as a virtual piano or synth:

If you’re a guitarist, you might want to check out PocketGuitar for iPhone.

For something a little different, you can check out Gangsa a virtual Balinese gamelan for your iPhone:

If you’d rather do something a little more cutting-edge and experimental with your iPhone, you’ll want to check out Masayuki Akamatsu’s Chaotic Audio Oscillator for iPhone. Not only does it let you create “beautiful noise” - like the sound of a broken audio oscillator - but it is buggy and freezes your iPhone:

If you’re interested in what musicians are doing with iPhones, you’ll also want to check out iBand - a group that makes music solely on iPhones and iPod touch.

Read the whole article @ PodCasting News

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Apple Will Not Regulate Free iPhone Apps

Boston (dbTechno) - According to reports, Apple will not regulate any free iPhone applications which will be developed with the iPhone SDK, set to be announced Thursday. They will, however, keep a tight grip of commercial iPhone applications.

It was reported last week that Apple would retain control over all applications released and developed with the iPhone SDK. Sources stated that Apple was going to pretty much regulate all content, but now stories are changing.

Electronista.com is reporting that their sources have confirmed that iPhone apps will be treated differently. IT has been noted that iPhone applications will have to go through an approval process, only if they are commercial applications, meaning only if they will carry a fee.

It is believed that free iPhone applications will pretty much be able to fly under the radar and be released almost without any hiccups.

All iPhone applications though, free or not free, will be released through iTunes, which should give Apple a significant boost in visitors to the online store.

More will be announced on Thursday during Apple’s press event for the Apple iPhone SDK.

Read the whole article @ DB Techno

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Apple Reverses on Third-Party iPhone Apps

Apple is making an abrupt about-face on its policy regarding iPhone applications, announcing yesterday that it will release a software developer's kit for the device early next year.

The SDK, which will also support the iPod Touch, will allow third-party software developers to develop and deploy their own applications for the devices.

"Let me just say it: We want native third-party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers' hands in February," Jobs said in a statement on Apple's Web site. "We are excited about creating a vibrant third-party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users."

An Apple spokesperson said that the company was sharing no further details of the plans for the SDK at this time. But even the limited news was welcomed by application developers, whose access to the iPhone platform thus far has been limited to developing browser-based applications.

Read the whole article @ Internet News

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What the iPhone SDK means for open source

In a purely technical sense, news that Apple will offer an iPhone software development kit and allow third-party applications is not an open source story.

This is still a proprietary platform.

But with this move Jobs is admitting that the iPhone is a computer platform, thus subject to computer rules, and that is an important move.

It means the absolute device control AT&T and the other U.S. carriers have exercised must give way. It means that the iPhone is not a phone, and that’s what its competitors, such as the coming GPhone, will be as well.

So what we have is a tipping point, from mobile voice to mobile data. One that will change public attitudes. While people can accept “it’s the network” as an excuse for maintaining voice reliability, they know better when it comes to data.

They have the Internet, the “network of networks,” not (supposedly) under any one carrier’s control, offering fixed monthly service pricing, a comparative gob of bandwidth, with voice as just one of many low-bandwidth applications.

Read the whole article @ ZD Net

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Security Researcher Posts iPhone Exploit Code Online

A security researcher on Tuesday published exploit code for a security vulnerability in Apple's iPhone that can allow a hacker to gain complete control over the popular mobile device.

HD Moore, creator of the open-source Metasploit vulnerability testing tool, posted the code online and said it exploits a buffer overflow flaw in libtiff, the image rendering library that's used by the MobileMail, MobileSafari, and iTunes iPhone applications.

Moore first began to outline the security shortcomings of the iPhone in late September, when he wrote that any security flaw in any iPhone application can lead to a complete system compromise. Last week, Moore noted that only iPhones that had been unlocked were susceptible to the exploit code he'd been developing.

After Apple issued the 1.1.1 iPhone firmware update the next day, which re-locked unlocked iPhones by stripping away third party packages, Moore said the process of writing exploits for the device actually became much simpler.

Read the whole article @ CRN

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Apple Near To Opening iPhone To Third-Party Apps

Apple is near release of a toolset that would allow third-party developers to develop native applications for the iPhone, according to reports on Apple blogs. However, PC and Mac users accustomed to downloading any ol' app they can find on the Internet will be in for an unpleasant surprise with their iPhones -- they'll only be able to download and run apps that are sanctioned by Apple, and only through iTunes.

Currently, the iPhone only runs the standard application set that Apple puts on it at manufacture. Hackers developed workarounds to allow users to install third-party applications. Apple doesn't like those workarounds, and has shut them down with later version of the iPhone software, resulting in the usual game of hacker-vendor leapfrog.

But Apple has been "furiously working" with partners on games and apps for the iPod and iPhone, the Apple news site 9 to 5 Mac reported. For example, EA is porting its line of iPod games to the OS X-based iPhone and new generation of OS X-based iPods. "Other big developers with strict confidentiality agreements are also working with Apple," 9 to 5 Mac said.

Read the whole article @ Information Week

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Apple May Market Third-Party Apps for the iPhone

Apple has alienated many of its customers by strictly limiting the types of third-party software that can run on the iPhone, which includes blocking the use of native applications. But, according to an unconfirmed report, the company may be putting together a system that will allow users to download approved programs to their smartphone.

The site 9 to 5 Mac is reporting that Apple will institute a system already used with other smartphones, most notably the Sidekick line, in which the maker of the device closely controls which third-party applications are available.

Under this system, developers will send their applications to Apple for approval. Only after the programs have been tested to ensure they won't cause problems for the iPhone will they be put up for sale on iTunes.

The same system might be used for the iPod Touch, which runs a virtually identical operating system.

Read the whole article @ Bright Hand

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AT&T Welcomes Programmers for All Phones Except the iPhone

I’m still trying to understand why Apple would go to such extremes to keep people from writing programs that run on the iPhone. I’ve been writing about Apple’s software update that seems to have deliberately disabled third-party applications that users have installed.

In particular, Apple’s explanations don’t make sense to me. This is what Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, said to Newsweek in January:

“You don’t want your phone to be an open platform,” meaning that anyone can write applications for it and potentially gum up the provider’s network, says Jobs. “You need it to work when you need it to work. Cingular doesn’t want to see their West Coast network go down because some application messed up.”

That sounds reasonable until you realize that there are many millions of phones that run operating systems from Palm, Microsoft and others for which third-party applications are created all the time, and networks don’t seem to be crashing as a result.

Read the whole article @ NY Times

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Steve Jobs Girds for the Long iPhone War

There is something futile about the way Apple appears to be fighting some of its most ardent fans, those who want to use the full capabilities of the iPhone.

Thursday afternoon, Apple released the scheduled update to the iPhone software. And the gadget blogs confirm that it does, as Apple threatened, wreak havoc on modified iPhones. Some phones have indeed been “bricked.” In others, unofficial applications have been disabled. And there are worries that hacking the updated phone will be harder.

Read the whole article @ NY Times

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Does iPhone update 1.1.1 kill off 3rd party application development?

We were all warned by Apple and those of us who SIM unlocked our iPhones knew there was the risk that they could never be updated. Apparently, lots of people (even some who should have known better) must have thought Apple’s notice was just a false warning since they tried to update their iPhones anyways and turned them into iBricks. I knew better than to take another risk since I am very happy with my iPhone in its current state running on the T-Mobile USA network and made the decision to never update it unless there was a reliable hack I could trust not to brick it. Other than all the news surrounding the SIM unlock hack and iBricks, I think the bigger story of this latest iPhone 1.1.1 update may be the complete loss of 3rd party application support.

According to various forums where you can find info on hacking the iPhone, the firmware 1.1.1 update may have made the iPhone structure more like the iPod Touch and locked it down even more with stronger encryption. While I can understand that Apple wants to keep the iPhone locked down to reduce customer service calls and create a consistent experience for all owners, many mobile enthusiasts are used to installing 3rd party applications and customizing their Windows Mobile, Palm, Linux and S60 devices to their particular needs. The web-only 3rd party applications are decent, but many applications work better for people when a connection is not required. Stand-alone 3rd party applications also are more functional than a web widget.

Read the whole article @ ZD Net

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Unauthorized iPhone Apps Market Flourishes

Software developer Dylan Schiemann used Steve Jobs' own words against him in a presentation on developing third-party software applications for Apple's iPhone.

"You can write amazing Web 2.0 and Ajax apps that look and behave exactly like apps on the iPhone," CEO Jobs said at an Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in June in San Francisco.

"It depends on your meaning of the word 'exactly,'" Schiemann said Monday at the AjaxWorld 2007 Conference & Expo in nearby Santa Clara.

Jobs says Apple will allow third-party software developers to write applications to run on an iPhone, but not be installed on it. Instead, the apps can only be delivered through the device's Safari Web browser. While an endorsement of Ajax from Steve Jobs is welcome, Schiemann and others at the Ajax conference say there are limitations on how their apps can run on Safari, and there is a vibrant community of developers writing apps to install directly on iPhone, contrary to Apple's wishes.

Read the whole article @ PC World

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What is an iPhone Application?

Kevin Hoffman's Blog

This is the first blog post in a series that I plan on writing about iPhone application development. The first thing you should know is that these blog posts will not cover anything related to taking existing content sites and making them more "iPhone-friendly". While I think that is a valuable topic, it has little interest to me as a programmer. If I was a website manager, then it might have more interest to me. There are plenty of online resources for making your web content more iPhone-friendly and the fact that the iPhone runs a full version of Safari makes this a somewhat minor task.

Secondly, while I may refer to the "iPhone" as the target device for this series of articles, keep in mind that there are now 2 devices that can be considered targets for "iPhone Applications": the iPhone and the iPod Touch. The iPhone can access potential iPhone apps using WiFi or EDGE and the iPod touch can use WiFi. Do not underestimate the potential consumer base of the iPod Touch - think of the number of public WiFi locations as well as the number of people who have WiFi in their homes... the iPod Touch users will be quite well connected, even without the backing of a cellular network.

Read the whole article @ Java.Sys-Con

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