Top AppAdvice News & Apps Of The Past Week

What a week. One keynote address later and the tech world already feels different. Not only has Apple sprung iCloud onto us, but it already works for many people all across the globe. Meanwhile, iOS 5 is finally available in beta (and includes lots of new goodies) and OS X Lion gets closer to coming via the Mac App Store in July. Here are just a few of the stories that made news during the past week. Enjoy! The WWDC Keynote Address – A Recap, Timeline, And Links Apple held its annual Worldwide Developer Conference Keynote address today and with it the company ushered in the Age of iCloud, iOS 5, and OS X Lion. And while Apple didn’t announce any new hardware products, there was plenty for iDevice owners to be happy about and for Apple’s competitors to have cause for concern. Here we look at the top highlights of the keynote and when to expect each of those items. OS X Lion The next Mac OS version will be available in the Mac App Store (exclusively) in July for just $29.99. Until then, a free beta version is available for developers. Mac OS X Lion - All You Need To Know Schiller Announces Mac App Store Enhancements With OS X Lion Apple Talks Mac OS X Lion: Will Be Available In The Mac App Store Only For $29.99 iOS 5 Unfortunately, there was no new iPhone announced today. However, the next generation iOS was demoed today. The new version, iOS 5 is available now for developers as a beta. The general public will get this in the fall. All You Need To Know About iOS 5's WWDC Preview BBM for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch: iMessage Apple To Make Game Center Even Better Breaking News: iOS 5 Will Be PC-Free Apple Gives Mail App A Makeover In iOS 5 The New iOS 5: Camera App Changes iOS 5 Reimagines Safari & Kills Need For Instapaper The New iOS 5: The Newsstand iCloud Not only will iCloud be free, but some of its parts are already available. Existing iPhone/iPod touch and iPhone users should have already been alerted via their iDevices to turn on Automatic Downloads. Later today, we expect iTunes 10.3 to become available. This will be the tool that lets iTunes in the Cloud work with our Mac or PC iTunes application. Here is the timeline for each part of iCloud Apps - available now, beta
iBooks - available now, beta
Document syncing - not yet available
Backup - not yet available
iTunes in the Cloud - available now, beta
Photo Stream - not yet available
iTunes 10.3 - coming soon at http://www.apple.com/itunes/ Mail, Contacts, and Calendar - Available now once you login to iCloud for first time; current MobileMe customers have these apps now. Apple Pushes Out iCloud Worldwide Apple Has Posted New iTunes, Rolling Out Soon The iCloud Service: All About The Music Apple's iWork Apps Will Integrate With iCloud Apple Brings Photos To The Cloud, Unveils "Photo Stream" One More Thing...iTunes Match Apple's "One More Thing" is iTunes Match, which lets users sync songs that weren't purchased in iTunes. The service, which retails for $24.99 will be available later this year. What do you think about the keynote? Were you happy, sad, or indifferent? Which new features do you like the best? Leav your comments below. Apple Posts WWDC 2011 Keynote Video If you were around earlier today, you likely got involved as we shared the tasty morsels of Apple's 2011 WWDC keynote via our live event coverage. However, big Apple fans find it so much different to experience the news from Steve himself. If that's the case, you're in luck because Apple posted the recorded keynote video for all to watch. The nearly two hour address can be viewed at Apple's web site right now in all of its geeky glory. Watch as Jobs and company excitedly introduce, discuss, and demonstrate iOS 5, OS X Lion, iCloud, and more. First Look At iOS 5 For iPhone [Video] Developers have gotten their first taste of iOS 5 by way of Apple’s first public beta of the next generation OS. Here are some early assessments, according to our anonymous developer sources. Apple delayed the launch of its next iPhone and now we know the reason.The next-generation iOS is a revolutionary product. And like a fine wine, it needs lots of time (and love) to develop.   Other News More Evidence Hits The Web Suggesting Global "iPhone 4S" Could Be Released While many of us are expecting the fifth generation iPhone to feature a dual-core Apple A5 chip and possibly an improved camera, a report has recently hit the Web affirming that the "iPhone 4S" will be a GSM-CDMA hybrid, which will be based on the CDMA iPhone 4. The news comes from MacOtakara, who claims that the fifth generation iPhone will have GSM and CDMA functionality, and a SIM card slot "for countries except United States." The report also claims that the handset will feature a smaller FaceTime camera hole and a "more narrow front receiver slit." Why Did Apple Give In On Controversial In-App Subscription Policy, Anyway? By now, we all know Apple has famously revised its infamous in-app subscription model. As our Joe White already explained, the old policy, discussed in section 11.13 of the iOS Developer Agreement, runs as follows: Apps can read or play approved content (magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, video) that is sold outside of the app, for which Apple will not receive any portion of the revenues, provided that the same content is also offered in the app using IAP at the same price or less than it is offered outside the app. This applies to both purchased content and subscriptions. The new policy, however, removes the clause that called for identical content to be made available via in-app purchases "for the same price or less" than any externally-sourced data. Instead, such apps are simply disallowed to link to that paid information. Section 11.14 reads thus:

Apps can read or play approved content (specifically magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, and video) that is subscribed to or purchased outside of the app, as long as there is no button or external link in the app to purchase the approved content. Apple will not receive any portion of the revenues for approved content that is subscribed to or purchased outside of the app.

Verizon 3G Has Connectivity Issues, Small Number Of iPad 2s Affected, Elvis'd Remember that news about a small number of Verizon iPad customers having cellular connectivity issues? Well, the problem never went away, and Apple has finally identified the cause, issuing a recall on select iPads (even those en route via FedEx). Mac Rumors has the story:

Apple is recalling some Verizon/CDMA models of the iPad 2 because of a manufacturing glitch that caused some of the devices to carry a duplicate identification number, causing issues with 3G service. Apple told the Wall Street Journal that the number of iPads affected was "extremely small".

The problem, it seems, is that some Verizon iPads contain Mobile Equipment Identifiers that were duplicated from previously activated CDMA units. As Mac Rumors explains, this means that,

[w]hen users with iPads carrying duplicate MEIDs attempt to set up cellular data accounts, the system sees their devices as having already been set up.

iPad retailers are being given a list of serial numbers to search for affected products, but it's unclear at this point how Apple intends on replacing older faulty iPads already purchased. Bad News For Our UK Readers: No iTunes Match Until ‘12 Our UK readers will find this one difficult to swallow. Apple’s new iCloud service, first unveiled at this week’s WWDC, won’t launch there until 2012, at least not the service's iTunes Match component. This news comes from The Telegraph, who heard the news first hand from a Performing Right Society (PRS) spokesman. While Apple was securing music deals with U.S. labels and publishers ahead of this week’s WWDC, it had yet to seek similar deals with those in the UK. As such, the most far-reaching (and significant) feature of iCloud, music storage, will not debut until at least the first quarter of 2012. Thankfully, those talks have now begun. Apple Buys 50 New Domain Names Since WWDC Began [Updated] We already know Apple likely spent $4.5 million to acquire the iCloud.com domain. Now comes word the company bought many more domains on the first day of this year’s WWDC conference. Apple purchased 50 new domains, according to news first reported by TechCrunch. While price tags weren't announced for these domains, it probably doesn’t equal what Apple paid for iCloud.com. As you can see, the list includes some bizarre names. Apple Backtracks On In-App Subscriptions, Makes Key Changes To The Policy Today, we're learning that Apple has altered it's controversial in-app subscription policy. Back when Apple unveiled its new policy, publishers were told that they must offer Apple's in-app subscriptions by June 30, either as the sole method of subscribing to content or alongside their own model. This upset a great many publishers and developers, as Apple's in-app subscription policy results in the Cupertino, CA company scooping 30 percent of subscription sales - companies had to offer the same content within apps, and couldn't simply sell outside. Furthermore, the price of subscriptions had to remain the same, despite Apple's 30 percent cut. Now, Apple has amended the policy. Previously, section 11.13 read:

11.13 Apps can read or play approved content (magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, video) that is sold outside of the app, for which Apple will not receive any portion of the revenues, provided that the same content is also offered in the app using IAP at the same price or less than it is offered outside the app. This applies to both purchased content and subscriptions.

And now, the section (which has is labeled 11.14) reads:

11.14 Apps can read or play approved content (specifically magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, and video) that is subscribed to or purchased outside of the app, as long as there is no button or external link in the app to purchase the approved content. Apple will not receive any portion of the revenues for approved content that is subscribed to or purchased outside of the app.

Providing publishers and developers don't include links to their own subscription models within iOS applications, they do not have to offer Apple's in-app subscription model as a means of subscribing to a service. This is particularly important for Netflix and Amazon, who now do not have to support Apple's in-app subscriptions within their iOS apps (providing they do not link to their own external subscription models). Another Day, Another 'BlackBerry Is Dead' Story Each week brings more discouraging news about Research In Motion, the Canadian-based BlackBerry owner. Today, the company is dealing with Apple’s recent introduction of its iMessage service and how it is already affecting its own BlackBerry Messenger product. The news isn’t good, according to TechRadar. RIM’s investors are so unhappy about Apple’s announcement they have pushed RIM’s stock to a four-year low. On Tuesday alone, the day after the Apple announcement, the stock tumbled 3 percent. Today it is down nearly 2 percent. Is iCloud Really Better Than Other Services? Not Entirely With Apple finally unveiling its iCloud system, it’s time to compare its features with those of the competition. In most respects, Apple’s service far and ahead beats Amazon’s Cloud Player and Google’s Music Beta. However, it isn't perfect. Apple Refunds Disgruntled MobileMe Customers Several days ago, Apple unveiled it's highly-anticipated iCloud service at the company's WWDC keynote presentation. Alongside this announcement came another - that MobileMe would cease to be in one year's time. Fortunately for MobileMe subscribers, Apple is offering a variety of different refunds. First, if you took out a new subscription or renewed within 45 days of this article's publication, you'll get a full refund. Furthermore, Apple will give you a full refund if you have an unused activation code. However, if you do not fall into this category, don't worry - because Apple will still give you a "pro-rated refund" depending on when you submit the request.   App News Apple's 2011 Design Award Winners Announced, Are Mostly Well-Deserving As part of its WWDC tradition, Apple announced its annual Design Awards winners Tuesday night at the San Francisco event. From Apple's own website, the 12 honorees were chosen for demonstrating

outstanding achievement and excellence in iPhone, iPad, and Mac app design. Each year, winning products set new standards for the developer community to follow.

Each so-decorated app falls into one of four categories: Student (for, not by), iPhone, iPad, and Mac. To be eligible, all apps had to be available in their requisite App Stores. Spotify Music Service Gets Closer To Jumping The Pond Spotify USA. On April 1, it was a joke. Now it's getting closer to becoming a reality. Spotify is getting closer to debuting in the U.S. The Swedish-based streaming music company has recently signed an American distribution deal with the world’s largest music label, Universal Music Group. This means Spotify has three of the four largest music labels onboard for a U.S. launch, according to All Things Digital. Launched in October 2008, Spotify has spent the last two years trying to secure deals to bring its service across the pond. With today’s news, its goal is getting closer to becoming reality with only Warner Music Group having yet to sign a deal. Peek At Your iPad And Learn Something New With Evernote Peek Evernote Peek (Free) by Evernote will allow you to use your iPad 2 and Smart Cover in an amazing and helpful way. Now, one of the top-rated apps for keeping track of your notes has just become a study tool. Watch how your notebook is magically transformed into a flash card style study guide. As the name suggests, you peek at your iPad by lifting the bottom section of your Smart Cover. You will see a question that is created from the notes in Evernote. When you open your cover the rest of the way the answer is revealed. "Financial Times" Is Leaving The App Store, Hopes To Save On Apple's Subscriber Fees Financial Times, London's internationally-published business newspaper, has decided not to provide continued support for its iDevice offerings after Apple's June 30 subscription policy deadline. Instead, the organization has chosen to develop an HTML 5-based web app, thereby attempting to save the 30 percent take Apple will be requiring for all iTunes-hosted periodical subscriptions. According to Jordan Golson's Mac Rumors post on the subject, Financial Times' browser-friendly effort

seems to be very similar to the current iOS App and thus may be able to provide a very similar experience without having to share revenue with Apple. The Financial Times' loyal readership is likely to follow the publication to its web app in significant numbers, meaning that the FT may not be missing out on much by bypassing iTunes.

Unfortunately, while the web app and the iTunes app are similar in appearance and presentation, there are some distinct differences. Most noticeably, the web version is extremely jumpy and refreshes sporadically when swiping through sections or stories. For many users, this graphical "glitching" may be enough of a put-off to jump ship to the newspaper's main competitor, The New York Times (which has already agreed to Apple's terms).   Top AppAdvice News & Apps Of The Past Week is published each Sunday, and is a wrap-up of some of the stories we felt were interesting during the last week.

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