33rd Division is the second release from Craneballs Studios. Their first release, Blimp, was a very interesting and beautifully created pseudo-platformer, this new release delves into the hugely popular path drawing genre.

Garters & Ghouls Preview

I’ve had a few days now to play through a preview version of Garters & Ghouls, the first original IP that Namco have created for the iPhone. It’s great to see one the the giants of the video game industry developing new games on such a new platform as the iPhone.

The story of Garters & Ghouls is very fitting for the Halloween season. You have been brought back from the dead to fight the Thrum (think multi-species zombies). The game is a dual stick shooter with various weapons and enemies to hunt down. Your goal is to clear each level by destroying the portals and the evil creatures that come from them. You do this through 25 different levels set in many different scenes including graveyards, churches, and various carnival-like areas. There are of course power-ups that can be bought with gold collected from the dead Thurm.

The game itself, while a little rough around the edges still, has done something that most games of this genre haven’t, it’s held my attention. I’m not sure what that says about the game or me, but it has interested me. Could be the garter belts.

Garters & Ghouls is expected to launch right around Halloween. We’ll let you know as soon as it has launched.

Hit the jump for more screen shots.

Continue reading Garters & Ghouls Preview »

VW Partner with Firemint for VW GTI Advergame

Firemint have developed a special version of their racing game, Real Racing, to help promote the 2010 VW GTI. You could even win a GTI by playing the game. Details on the contest will be posted soon.

VW tapped Firemint to create a special version of their Real Racing, sort of a lite version, with tie-ins to the marketing campaign promoting the 2010 GTI. The app was released late last night at the conclusion of a special premier event in New York hosted by G4’s Olivia Munn. Sorry to say, I couldn’t be there.

Real Racing GTI

Category: Games / Racing
Released: 2009-10-22
Price: FREE

The game itself is a slimmed down one based on the engine of the five star racing game we love so much. The main focus of the game, of course, is to push the new 2010 GTI. So, that’s the only car you have to drive in the game and you only have 1 course to drive. What this will give you is a good sense of the realism and amazing console-level quality of the full game, Real Racing.

Try out the 2010 GTI version of the game and if you like it, I highly recommend that you pick up the full version, Real Racing. I really can’t say enough good things about it.

Real Racing

Our Rating: :: Best Racer Ever

Category: Games / Racing
Released: 2009-06-08
Price: $6.99 ON SALE: $4.99

Thoughts on In-App-Purchasing For Free Apps

With the announcement last week that Apple would allow In-App Purchasing (IAP) for free apps, we wondered what will really change in the App Store. Obviously right now this is a theoretical exercise as, so far, very little has changed. We’ve seen a couple apps that were previously paid switch to free, and at least one high profile app released as free with IAP.

We talked to a few users and a few developers to get their take on what this could mean for the future of the iPhone App Store.

This new app type, free but with In-App Purchasing has quickly been nicknamed free+. There are some really great things about it, and some really bad things about it. Let’s break this down into what’s good and what’s bad for developers and consumers.

Good for Developers

There are lots of really good things to like about this decision for developers and they are almost uniformly happy with the decision. We asked Kyu Lee of Gamevil for his thoughts, “In-app purchasing for free apps is a huge step for Apple, and it really shows how much they are willing to adjust to the developers/publishers needs. Apple was first to adopt in-app purchases, and now first to adopt in-app purchases for free games. We strongly believe the next steps would be introducing microtransactions that are lower than 99c or the ability to use an intermediate currency within the game. We believe that Apple should provide as many options available to the developer/publisher as possible as long as it enhances the customer’s experience, and we’re very excited about what the tracks they’ve been following so far.”

For some types of apps it makes the developers job a lot easier and potentially more profitable. Then there’s the added bonus of making piracy much harder with apps that include in-app purchasing.

More Income Options

With in-app purchasing there are many more income possibilities for developers. Not only can they sell expansions to their app from within the app, but they can also sell subscriptions, upgrades, and virtual goods (think MMO apps). Doing in-app purchasing allows for the impulse buy. For example, the recently detailed Eliminate from ngmoco:) will feature a certain amount of time you can play per day while advancing your stats. If you are really getting into the game and you run out of time you are pretty likely to drop a buck and buy more time. Maybe just once, maybe a few times. Depends on how compelling the app is. Think of this as the candy racks at the grocery store checkout. You are standing there looking at it, a certain number of people will decide to buy.

In addition to more options, income opportunity is spread out for a much longer time. The way it is now most apps that make it to the top 100 do so quickly, then fall off quickly. This little spike represents a very high percentage of their sales. Sales after that are usually tied to an upgrade, press, or other such promotion. IAP allows for longer term income opportunities for developers as they can add content to the app and charge for it over a longer period of time. In addition, you can continue to get money from the dedicated users more than just once like most current apps.

Continue reading Thoughts on In-App-Purchasing For Free Apps »

Waiting for a Verizon iPhone? Don’t.

While I don’t think any of the US users if the iPhone are too happy with AT&T, there haven’t been any other options if you wanted to stick with an iPhone. And while I think many of us had placed our hopes on a Verizon iPhone in 2010 when the AT&T exclusivity runs out, I think the latest advertising campaign by Verizon signals that we won’t see an iPhone on their network anytime soon.

The iDon’t ad campaign we’re talking about is for Verizon’s first Android phone, built by Motorola, called the Droid. They campaign has a web site at DroisDoes.com, the phone is to be released next month. The campaign is focused on pointing out the things that the Android phone does that the iPhone doesn’t such as multitasking, physical keyboard, 5 megapixel camera, customization, widgets, and open development. But the troubling part is how derogatory it is to the iPhone.

The concern I have is that if we were to see a Verizon iPhone in 2010, negotiations would already be underway. And if you are negotiating with a company for products that you want to carry, you don’t publicly denigrate them like Verizon has done with their iDon’t campaign. Verizon is publicly ripping into the iPhone. They wouldn’t do so if they were any chance of them selling that product anytime soon.

So when, or if, the AT&T exclusivity expires next year, what options will we have. The only other two networks in the US are Sprint and T-Mobile. And both are even worse than AT&T in most parts of the US. So that basically means, yes, we’re stuck with being treated like second class citizens with AT&T.

Frugal Tip :: How to Buy Apps for 20% Off!

In these tough economic times, finding the spare change in your couch to buy the latest $0.99 game gets tougher and tougher. So I’m going to try to make it a little easier for you. That is if you have $40 in spare change.

iTunes gift cards allow you to add a balance to your iTunes account without using a credit card. You can buy these gift cards at just about any retailer these days. And you can occasionally buy iTunes gift cards for a discount at retail stores.

In the US, Costco has iTunes gift cards for about 5% off their face value. There’s no tax on gift cards (at least here in California), so to me that equals a 5% discount on apps. Of course you have to pay a membership for Costco if you don’t already have one. If only there were another way…

Oh wait, there is! Occasionally iTunes gift cards go on sale at big box retailers. Right now, Best Buy has $50 iTunes gift cards on sale for $40. That’s a 20% discount on apps. Buy 2 and you can get TomTom and $20 worth of games for $80 total!

You can’t buy these discounted cards online though. You have to go to a BestBuy to get them. Most still have them in stock check here. Hurry, the BestBuy sale runs out on Saturday.

So now, you can get that $0.99 for $0.80. And if we all buy enough $0.99 games, our economic problems will be over. Right?

First Teaser Released for Garters & Ghouls from Namco

In a teaser trailer released tonight, Namco gives us a first look at a new game coming to the iPhone. Garters & Ghouls is the first Namco game specifically created for the iPhone. Their other releases are franchises that we all know and love. Some we’ve loved for 30 years. But Garters & Ghouls is different, it’s new, it’s well, we don’t really know yet. Take a look at the teaser below and let us know what you think it will be in the comments.

Well, it’s got zombies, how bad could it be?

Glu Games Day Wrap-Up – Glyder 2, World Series of Poker, Beat It, and More

Glu invited us into their offices again yesterday to take a look at some of their upcoming games. We saw some old favorites, some early prototypes, and a really innovative take on music games.

Glyder 2

First up, let’s get what I really came to see out of the way… I finally got my hands on Glyder 2. It’s still early for that title — just a few builds past first playable, but this exciting sequel to easily my favorite Glu game ever is already looking good. As we mentioned previously there will be customization of your character available — both in the form of the suit she wears and the wings she uses. The different wings give you slightly different skills — climbing, turning, speed, etc. Not enough to make a huge difference in the game, but enough to be noticeable.

There will be six or seven new worlds to explore. And in addition to the crystal collection aspect of the previous game, you will also have multiple point quests to go on. Glu heard from the passionate users of the game that they wanted more of everything in the first one and new things to try. And we’re going to get it.

Take a look at this hands-on video of Glyder 2 from Slide To Play:

One of the most exciting bits of news about Glyder 2 was that Glu have committed to providing multiple free updates and expansions to the game after it launches. No specific time frame was given, but if the game remains popular, it could be for a good while.

Beat It

Beat It takes a new twist on the music game genre. This game actually makes you listen to the music. It turns it from a rhythm tapping game into more of a puzzle game. The result is a very compelling game that I found very hard to put down.

The idea behind Beat It is that you listen to a short 3 instrument rhythm track and you have to re-create it on a sequencer board. You do this by tapping cells to turn on / off that instrument for that beat. You can switch from listening to your current attempt to the original anytime, which is nice to see where you are missing notes. When you have the notes for an instrument in a particular bar correct, they start to twinkle letting you know you can go on to another. The game ramps up from 3 instruments and 4 bars to I believe 7 instruments and 6 bars.

Take a look at this hands-on video from Slide To Play:

It should also be mentioned that this game has some amazing animated art. Your game is separated into multiple worlds and there is a story unfolding behind your sequencer grid in each world. Before each new level you see a little part of the story and as your music clips get more complex so does the story behind you.

In addition to the multiple instruments, there are 5 different instrument sets that are used in the game. These are also available to use in the free play mode that lets you create your own tracks. In a future update you will be able to share your tracks with others.

Read on for details on 1,000: Find Them All, World Series of Poker: Hold’em Legends, and Taxi Fight.

Continue reading Glu Games Day Wrap-Up – Glyder 2, World Series of Poker, Beat It, and More »

New Details of Need for Speed: Shift and NBA Live Released

Today we got some updates from EA on two highly anticipated franchise games coming to the iPhone. What we still don’t know yet are release dates for either. Though I think it’s safe to say they are trying to get them out in the next couple months in time for Christmas.

Need for Speed: Shift

The latest in this racing franchise from EA is Need for Speed: Shift. This iPhone translation looks like it will be a scaled down translation of the console game. While that’s a little disappointing, the previous in this franchise, Need For Speed Undercover [ our review ] was an absolutely excellent game on the iPhone.

Take a look at these screen shots for a look at the game. Note that I’m fairly sure that these are just mock-ups. They don’t look nearly as crisp as you’d expect for actual screen shots and there are other noticeable inconsistencies.

Unfortunately the specs read a lot like the previous version. 20 different customizable and upgradable cars (NFSU had 20 as well), 3 different racing environments, Tokyo, Chicago, and London (NFSU also had 3), 28 different events (NFSU had 20).

So, what is different?

The main thing is that there will finally be multiplayer. Unfortunately there’s no Internet multiplayer, only Wifi and Bluetooth. In addition I’m sure we’ll see the graphics quality upgraded a little. The previous one was very good for the time, but we expect more now. Take a look at the supplied stats below for more.

RIP IT UP AROUND THE WORLD
Rage on the roads of Chicago, London, and Tokyo in up to 28 Street and Pro racing events.

MATCH YOUR SKILLS AGAINST FRIENDS
Challenge friends to head to head races via Bluetooth multiplayer or WiFi.

MUSCLE OVER PERFORMANCE?
Get behind the wheels of 20 of the fastest, hottest, most powerful cars in the world and blow the doors off your competitors.

UPGRADE AND CUSTOMIZE
Take your ride to another level with Top Speed, Handling, Acceleration, and Nitrous upgrade features.

RACE FOR REWARDS
Earn points and trophies on the circuit for your Aggressiveness and Precision. Be a full-throttle Need For Speed superstar.

NBA Live

Considering the huge number of games in the App Store, over 15,000 at last count, there has yet to be a full 3D basketball game. NBA Live will change that. While we haven’t seen it yet, we’re hoping that it has the depth and great gameplay of EA’s last sports game for the iPhone, Madden 10. Take a look below for the stats, it’s looking good, though multiplayer is noticeably missing from the list.

NOTHING BUT NET. NBA LIVE by EA SPORTSTM delivers the most realistic 5-on-5 action available for iPhone® and iPod touch®!

Tip-off anytime, anywhere, and watch your game come to life in vivid 3D. Even replay your most awesome plays. It’s fun and intuitive enough for the casual gamer, but also delivers the authenticity to meet the demands of the most hardcore basketball fans.

AUTHENTIC TEAMS, REAL STARS, TRUE LEGENDS
With real NBA rosters, you can dominate the game as Dwight Howard and other NBA All-Stars. Or unlock legends and elevate your game with true Hall-of-Famers.

MULTIPLE MODES FOR EVERY KIND OF NBA ACTION
Match up all 30 NBA teams in the new 82-game Season Mode. Play a casual game in Exhibition Mode, or battle all the way to the Finals in the ultra-intense Playoff Mode.

PLAY WITH TOUCHSCREEN CONTROL
Control the game with a virtual analog stick. Use the accelerometer to accurately shoot free-throws. Touch the clip board to pick from a number of offensive plays or to select your defensive strategy.

TAKE IT TO THE RACK WITH A SOLID SOUNDTRACK
Stay in the zone with 15 music tracks from artists like Matt and Kim, Snoop Dogg and Xzibit.

COMMENTARY FROM A BROADCAST LEGEND
Hear legendary announcer Marv Albert accent the action as you rain 3s from downtown.

Just Released :: Glyder 2 Screenshots

Just released by Glu, here are some screenshots for the upcoming Glyder 2. The original was an unassuming little title that was very easy to get drawn into. Turned out to be a fantastic game, we rated the original five stars. No official word on when we’ll see Glyder 2, but we’re hoping it’s soon!

Check after the jump for a couple more screen shots of the new Glyder 2.

Continue reading Just Released :: Glyder 2 Screenshots »

Upcoming From ngmoco:), Eliminate and Touch Pets: Dogs

We got invited, by ngmoco:) in to their San Francisco offices to take a look at the nearly final versions of Eliminate and Touch Pets: Dogs. While we were there we got to talk to CEO Neil Young a little bit about the Plus+ Network progress, what it takes to host a multiplayer game, and a little bit about what ngmoco:) has in the pipes for the rest of 2009.

Plus+ Network, ngmoco:)’s entry into the now very crowded social gaming networks for the iPhone field has had a rather slow start. Except for signing one high profile third party company, Freeverse, and the ngmoco:) titles, there are only 3 third party games that are part of Plus+. Well, that’s about to change. Neil Young commented that there will be over 50 Plus+ enabled games by end of year. They’ve been getting a great response from developers wanting to integrate with the system or switch from other networks to Plus+.

It’s been a quiet summer for ngmoco:) releases. Except for the amazing release Rolando 2, we haven’t heard much from them. That too will change. They have a total of 6-7 games that will be out by the end of the year. This includes Eliminate and Touch Pets: Dogs and 4-5 others we don’t know about yet. I don’t expect sequels to be part of that though and am hoping for some new and exciting games.
Continue reading Upcoming From ngmoco:), Eliminate and Touch Pets: Dogs »

Documents To Go Updated to 2.0 – Includes Excel Editor

Documents To Go 2.0 was released today and includes the promised Excel file editor. While we haven’t taken a deep look at it, we’ve tested creating and editing Excel documents and so far are really impressed with the number of features and how quickly it works.

The Excel spreadsheet editor on Documents to Go 2.0 includes the ability to create and edit Microsoft Excel files. This joins the already excellent Word file editor in Documents To Go. The Excel editor works quickly and seems to be fairly full featured. One huge standard feature of Excel files are the functions — the ability to enter a function and have it process other numbers in the spreadsheet in a certain way. Figuring sums, percentages, etc. A huge list of functions are included with the editor and populating the variables in the function is easily done by clicking cells as you would on the desktop. The editor also includes support for multiple pages in each spreadsheet.

Dataviz have increased the price for Documents to Go, which they have said all along they would do with the 2.0 update release. The regular version is now $9.99 (up from $6.99). We don’t know yet what the Microsoft Exchange price increase will be as it hasn’t been updated at the time of this article.

Documents To Go® (Microsoft Word & Excel editing & Desktop

Category: Productivity
Released: 2009-06-14
Price: $9.99

After the jump, take a look at some more screen shots of the new Excel file editor.

Continue reading Documents To Go Updated to 2.0 – Includes Excel Editor »

GPS Summary – Comparison of all iPhone GPS applications

Last week, I worked my way through all of the currently available iPhone on-board GPS applications. I stuck with just the applications that held all of the maps on-board — meaning that you didn’t need to have a network connection to use the maps or routing. CoPilot came out as our winner as it has the best features, though some very confusing, for it’s price.

But we thought it would be a good idea to do a re-cap and compare all 5 of the GPS I looked at last week and include the first iPhone GPS application, G-Map.

Continue reading GPS Summary – Comparison of all iPhone GPS applications »

iPhone MMS Finally Live in the US

AT&T finally today turned on MMS for the iPhone in the US. Having missed their original target date of “Late Summer”, it’s finally here and so far it’s actually working. Working slowly, but it’s working.

Enabling MMS on your iPhone requires a little work. First, you have to connect to iTunes and be running OS 3.1 if you aren’t already. Next, you need to click the Check for Updates button in iTunes. iTunes should then tell you that a carrier file update is available and ask you if you want to install it. Go ahead and do it, it’s really quick. It will look like nothing has happened, but the key is that you need to restart your iPhone.

Next you’ll need to restart your iPhone. Shut it down by holding the power until you see the Slide to Power Off screen. Slide the button and then power up your phone once it has shut down.

Once you have done that, launch the Messages app and look for the new little camera icon in the message entry dialog. Congrats, only 3 months after every other iPhone provider, AT&T have finally turned on MMS capability for your iPhone.

Want to know how to use MMS? The main thing you need to know is that you can include images, videos (if you have a 3GS), map locations, and contact details. You can include the images/videos from within the Messages app or you can copy / paste them from the other apps. Contacts you can click the share contact button from a contact details screen and select MMS. For maps, click and hold on a pin and select the blue chevron and choose the share location button.

If you want more details on how to use MMS, head on over to The iPhone Blog, they have a nice MMS walkthrough posted.

Don’t expect it to be speedy. In our first tests it’s taken about 30 seconds to send an image. Much longer to send a video. Receiving images seems to be fairly quick, but getting slower as our tests go on.

The question now is, will this overload AT&Ts network. They seem to be a bit worried. And if it does, will it just delay MMS delivery or will it bring the whole network down?

CoPilot Live North America was, to me, an unknown GPS app. Perhaps that’s why I was so pleasantly surprised. I think I found a new favorite GPS App.

While I can’t say that Sygic is the best GPS app available for the iPhone, it does have promise. It’s just not ready to hit the road yet.

iGo My Way 2009 is yet another contender in the search for the best on-device GPS application for the iPhone. Features a very non-iPhone interface that while lacking in extra features is quick and has a solid base. It’s just not iPhone ready yet.

TomTom first announced their GPS app at the 2009 WWDC in June. Hotly anticipated, it’s finally here. But, it came in at the most expensive option available. $100 seems to be a lot for an app these days. Is it worth it?

Navigon is considered by many to be the current king of on-device GPS applications for the iPhone. While it’s not without it’s faults, it turns out to be a really good GPS app.

Apple Special Event Re-Cap – New iTunes, OS 3.1 Released, More

If you missed our tweets from earlier today and you live under a rock, you may not know that Apple held a special press event today titled It’s only rock and roll, but we like it. The event, which in some form or another Apple has held every September for the past few years, usually premieres new iPods and other special announcements. The event also saw the return of Steve Jobs to leading most of the special event. It’s great to see Steve back!

The announcement today was no different previous September events, we got updated iPod Touch, Shuffle, Classic, and most significantly Nano models. In addition, we got a new version of iTunes with some good new features (and bugs) and a partially updated App Store.

Let’s start off with the iPod updates. Most of the changes were minor updates including larger sizes, more colors, lower prices. The significant changes had to do with the iPod Touch and the Nano. Touch devices have lower prices (8GB $199, 32 GB $299, 64 GB $399) and the 32GB and 64GB models have what seems to be the same processors as the iPhone 3GS as they were advertised as twice as fast and OpenGL ES 2.0 compatible. No cameras were announced for the iPod Touch though it’s expected that they will be added fairly soon. Steve Jobs was interviewed by the New York Times and stated the reason for no camera in the Touch had to do with cost.

The Nano got the biggest boost in hotness. Adding a video camera and microphone to allow it to capture VGA quality video (640×480) at 30 frames per second. Also added to the Nano are a pedometer, voice recorder, and FM radio. The FM radio has some great features including 15 minute pause/rewind. Also included is the ability to tag songs currently playing for later download on iTunes.

Steve Jobs Returns To The Apple Stage

Now, lets get to the interesting stuff, iTunes and the updates for iPhone OS users.

First, iPhone OS 3.1 was released today. It’s a minor update, but due to security updates, a highly recommended one. No major new features, just a few things that make things a little better. It’s a free upgrade to iPhone users and iPod Touch users who bought 3.0. Interestingly, the update to OS 3.1 for iPod Touch users who haven’t upgraded yet to 3.0 has dropped in price for $4.95 from the original $9.95.

iTunes 9.0 was released today. And while it’s a bit buggy (crashed on me 4 times already today), it’s a pretty good improvement in most areas. Some of the new music features such as iTunes LP, and Genius Mixes are fantastic for music fans. Genius mixes are also available in iTunes on the device with OS 3.1.

Some of the improvements for iPhone OS users include the often requested update in the method of managing apps in iTunes. The new features, while stopping short of a perfect solution, are at least a step in the right direction. You can, from iTunes on the desktop, change the location of your apps on your phone moving them to different positions or pages. You can also rearrange full pages. There are also extra functionality included for syncing movies and audio in iTunes.

The new App Store

It’s obvious that this App Store changes are not yet complete as only the front page has been updated. In addition, missing are the sub-categories in the games category. If anything we’d expect more sub-categories to help tame the large number of apps, not fewer.

The addition of the Top Grossing list is interesting and something that Apple recently hinted about. It’s a list of the apps that have generated the most revenue over a certain unknown timeframe. While this is a small start to the problem of falling prices in the App Store, it’s hopefully just the start of changes.

We’ll keep an eye on it and keep you informed.

Are you ready for some football? Madden 10, the latest in the biggest selling sports game franchise is here, and it’s here for the iPhone.

This week’s RSS feed sponsor is Square Trade. SquareTrade is a well respected extended warranty provider that has some great services at very reasonable prices for iPhone owners.
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Ramp Champ, a reimagined skee ball game from DS Media Labs and Iconfactory finally showed up in the App Store today. Rarely have we seen such anticipation for a game from indie developers. Unfortunatly to me, the build up doesn’t match the pay off.

FCC Responses From Apple, AT&T, and Google Released

TechCrunch has gotten ahold of the responses from Apple, AT&T, and Google to the FCC request for information on why the Google Voice application was rejected. The summary from Apple is that the app hasn’t been rejected and they are still studying it.

Quote from Apple response:

Contrary to published reports, Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application, and continues to study it. The application has not been approved because, as submitted for review, it appears to alter the iPhone’s distinctive user experience by replacing the iPhone’s core mobile telephone functionality and Apple user interface with its own user interface for telephone calls, text messaging and voicemail. Apple spent a lot of time and effort developing this distinct and innovative way to seamlessly deliver core functionality of the iPhone. For example, on an iPhone, the “Phone” icon that is always shown at the bottom of the Home Screen launches Apple’s mobile telephone application, providing access to Favorites, Recents, Contacts, a Keypad, and Visual Voicemail. The Google Voice application replaces Apple’s Visual Voicemail by routing calls through a separate Google Voice telephone number that stores any voicemail, preventing voicemail from being stored on the iPhone, i.e., disabling Apple’s Visual Voicemail. Similarly, SMS text messages are managed through the Google hub—replacing the iPhone’s text messaging feature. In addition, the iPhone user’s entire Contacts database is transferred to Google’s servers, and we have yet to obtain any assurances from Google that this data will only be used in appropriate ways. These factors present several new issues and questions to us that we are still pondering at this time.

Regarding Apple’s agreement with AT&T and what role AT&T has in the approval of applications, Apple says that they alone make the final decision to approve or reject an application. But Apple goes on to say that their agreement with AT&T keeps them from approving VoIP apps and apps that violate the AT&T terms of service.

There is a provision in Apple’s agreement with AT&T that obligates Apple not to include functionality in any Apple phone that enables a customer to use AT&T’s cellular network service to originate or terminate a VoIP session without obtaining AT&T’s permission. Apple honors this obligation, in addition to respecting AT&T’s customer Terms of Service, which, for example, prohibit an AT&T customer from using AT&T’s cellular service to redirect a TV signal to an iPhone. From time to time, AT&T has expressed concerns regarding network efficiency and potential network congestion associated with certain applications, and Apple takes such concerns into consideration.

Some other gems from Apple’s response:

• Apple employs over 40 full-time app reviewers
• At least 2 reviewers study each app before it’s approved
• There’s a senior review board that meets weekly to review applications that raise new questions. Most likely this is where apps go when the developer gets the “unexpected extra time to review” notice.
• 95% of applications are approved within 14 days of being submitted.
• Apple receives 8,500 new and updated app submissions every week, roughly 20% are not approved

Those last 2 points don’t really add up. If 20% of submissions are rejected every week, now do 95% get approved within 2 weeks. Perhaps Apple is saying that of the 80% that get approved, 95% of those get approved within 14 days?

AT&T’s response on the other hand pretty much completely sidesteps the question of rejection of VoIP and video applications (like SlingPlayer). They don’t explain why those applications are available on most of the other platforms in use on the AT&T network.

FCC Question: Do any devices that operate on AT&T’s network allow use of other
applications that have been rejected for the iPhone?

As discussed above, AT&T does not participate in Apple’s day-to-day consideration of
whether particular iPhone applications should or should not be rejected for use on the
iPhone, and Apple does not typically notify AT&T when particular iPhone applications
are accepted or rejected. Consequently, AT&T cannot identify all applications that have been rejected for the iPhone. As discussed above and on the AT&T Choice website,
however, AT&T customers are able to use a broad range of applications on their AT&T
devices in a manner consistent with AT&T’s terms of use. In particular, AT&T
customers can use Google Voice on any AT&T phone, including the iPhone, by
accessing it through their web browser. Customers can also download compatible
applications for music, social networking, photography, weather, navigation, travel,

In Google’s response to the FCC, the really interesting part, the conversation between Apple and Google about the Google Voice application is, unfortunately redacted. I’m hoping that the Freedom of Information Act will allow the release of that text at some point in the future.

For the full, responses, check out TechCrunch:

Apple’s Response
AT&T’s Response
Google’s Response

[Via TechCrunch]

Commodore 64 Emulator from Manomio Approved (maybe)

Manomio, developers of the fully licensed and super fantastic Commodore 64 emulator for the iPhone have made an announcement on their Twitter stream that they have been contacted by a senior director at Apple and have some good news coming. We can only guess that this means that they have gotten the go ahead from Apple and will be getting the C64 emulator approved!

This is exciting news and, quite honestly, somewhat unexpected. Emulation is one of the things that while explicitly against the rules for app store approval, has been approved in such cases as the classic Sega games recently released. But emulation apps by smaller developers have been rejected in the past. It’s most likely the huge grass roots effort by Commodore 64 lovers that has gotten this effort moving, and we presume now, approved.

Until it’s available, which will hopefully be soon, here’s a short video that shows all of the fantastic work they have done to give you an idea of what’s to come.

It looks fantastic, I can’t wait to grab it when it hits the app store. We’ll let you know as soon as we see it in the app store or hear more.

i.TV Fuels the TV Addict With Their 2.0 Update

i.TV 2.0 TiVo Remote

This is on top of their already impressive feature list of this all-in-one TV addicts app. Features include TV listings, show information and user ratings, Tivo recording, NetFlix queue management, iTunes and YouTube integration, movie showtimes and ticket buying.

More details on the new release:

Introducing i.TV 2.0
New look, iTunes, alerts, and remote control

Remote Control: i.TV now combines the TV guide and the remote control on an iPhone or iPod touch. Remote controls are powered by the i.TV Remote Control Framework, which allows third parties to develop remote controls for use on the i.TV platform.

TiVo remote: TiVo is the first to introduce a soft remote on i.TV. You can now change the channel, fast forward, record and most importantly play your favorite shows and movies, with just a tap on your iPhone or iPod touch.

New look: i.TV now has a simplified and streamlined user interface.

iTunes: From within i.TV, discover related TV and movie content and then tap to download from iTunes.

Push notifications: Set alerts for when your favorite TV shows air. Never miss a show again.

Here’s the into movie that shows you the new interface of i.TV 2.0.

i. TV

Category: Entertainment
Released: 2008-10-07
Price: FREE

Aha Mobile Launches Traffic Warning / Bitching App

Quick, easy to read Aha Mobile

Aha has launched a rather nice traffic monitoring app for the iPhone. Finally an app with a well thought out user interface for distracted drivers. Large, clear buttons, easy to read and understand.

Aha allows you to see at a glance the travel times for your usual routes allowing you to quickly pick the best option. In addition, if you are in need of a quick caffeine hit, you can see nearby coffee shops and gas stations as you travel.

Aha also includes some interesting voice features. You can report on traffic incidents near you and listen to reports from other users and from a robot reading all of the traffic reports. There’s also a room you can listen and publish voice messages bitching about traffic and bad drivers. A welcome vent when stuck in traffic. Bitching about bad drivers, now there’s an app for that.

Aha is available now and it’s free. It currently covers the San Francisco, LA, and San Diego areas.

Aha: Traffic, Caraoke and Destination Finder

Category: Navigation
Released: 2009-08-06
Price: FREE

App Store News Round-up for August 14th

While Apple and AT&T’s lawyers are busy dealing with multiple lawsuits for failing to deliver MMS, we’ve been rounding up the latest App Store news.

Man, that’s a lot of beer money. Ever wonder how much you’ve spent on apps? There’s some new software for Mac that reads all of your downloaded apps and ads up how much they would cost. To be truly accurate you need to edit the prices of some apps, but it’s pretty close. I hate to tell you how much I’ve spent so far. Here’s a hint — I could easily feed an NFL team for a week.

In other news, man seeks attention. Someone trying to make a point decides to try and get publicity for that point. Not a new story, it happens all the time. But this guy decided he was so upset with Apple that he was going to shoot his iPhone with a 9MM and then set it on fire. That should prove a point. Watch the video for a nice case of misguided anger.

Luxor getting the Plus+ treatment Luxor, one of the best known marble shooter games is getting Plus+ integration and will be released for the iPhone soon. One of the first specific games to be announced with the social gaming platform developed by ngmoco:) integrated.

What will be keeping me busy this weekend. Worms just released an update. I’m going to try that out and hope that it fixes the major problems we had with the game. I’m testing out GPS apps. Gomi still has me hooked. Plus a couple other pre-release games I’m looking into.

What are you playing this weekend? Let us know in the comments. Have a great weekend everyone!

App Store News Round-Up for August 13th

While we all wait to see if the tablet that Gizmodo published is real (yes, please), here are some things we know are real.

iBlast Moki is a blast to play. We just got our hands on a pre-release ad-hoc build of iBlast Moki. It’s a beautifully designed puzzle game where you must place bombs to bounce characters into exit portals. So far, everything we’ve seen is amazing. There’s a level editor that allows you to create and share levels. And it appears as though there are a huge number already included. They’ve included support for one of the social gaming platforms (though we can’t say which one since the decision is still pending). The level of detail and fine tuning of this game reminds me of Rolando, truly top notch. We’ll do a full preview soon, but for now, take a look at this gameplay video for a small peak at what’s to come.

The updated Galcon is hawt. We mentioned a couple days ago that Galcon was getting a huge update. Well that update is already here! Grab it now if for some strange reason you haven’t already.

Galcon

Our Rating: :: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Category: Games / Arcade
Released: 2008-07-18
Price: $4.99

A.D.D. in limbo. A.D.D. a Wario Party type mini-game collection is still in limbo, waiting in the Apple approval queue for over 3 months now. They have received the dreaded “further review needed” email 3 times now. The real problem is that Apple haven’t communicated what the problem is thereby giving IUGO a way to address the problem. It’s just still sitting there, waiting. In the mean time, IUGO have decided to pull the lite version of A.D.D. so grab it now if you haven’t already. The free version does no good if there’s nothing for people to upgrade to. Let’s hope the approval comes soon.

A.D.D. Lite

Category: Games / Arcade
Released: 2009-06-29
Price: FREE

Routesy returns from purgatory. You may remember that was some brouhaha over Routesy and arrival time info a few weeks ago. I’ll spare you the legal ramblings for now, suffice to say that something happened that allowed Routesy to get back into the store. Routesy gives you Muni and Bart transit times in San Francisco and with the latest updates does some great mojo to give you routes closest to you. It’s a great app, and I’m glad to see it back.

Routesy Bay Area San Francisco Muni and BART

Our Rating: :: RECOMMENDED

Category: Navigation
Released: 2008-07-11
Price: $3.99

Orbital — the world’s hardest game? The last few weeks, I’ve been tearing my hair out in clumps playing this game. It’s really really hard.

The goal of the game is to shoot balls up onto a grid. Each ball has to be hit by another ball 3 times to make it disappear. Where they land, they expand until they hit something, taking up as much space as possible on the grid. If they hit another ball on the way up, they bounce off and reduce that balls counter by one. Your score is the number of balls you have removed from the grid.

The game has some fantastic graphics, well designed, but damn it’s hard. I think at the present time my high score is around 14. Yeah, that’s right, I made it well into the double digits.

ORBITAL

Our Rating: :: BRUTALLY FUN

Category: Games / Puzzle
Released: 2009-08-13
Price: $0.99

App Store Round-Up Roman Vote. So this marks 5 App Store Round-Ups I’ve posted. What do you guys think? Keep going or no. Thumbs up or Thumbs down? Let me know in the comments.

App Store news Round-up for August 12th

Phil Shiller is writing back to Steve Frank about the App Store approval process issues. While we wait for Steve Jobs to return our correspondence, here’s the latest from the app store.

More Wolfenstein! The game was originally created by Id Software, ported to the iPhone by Firemint, and now published by EA. Delayed for nearly 2 months so as to not compete with with Wolfenstein 3D, the game was released yesterday at $4.99. A low initial price for an EA release.

It’s an interesting idea for a game. Take the Wolfenstein 3D game and add an RPG element to it. Early reader reviews are great. We’ll try to have a review up in the next couple days.

Wolfenstein RPG

Category: Games / Role Playing
Released: 2009-05-15
Price: $2.99

Plushed looks lush. Plushed, a new game from Blacksmith Games has a fantastic art style. Platformer + goth + pizza = Plushed? We’ll have to wait and see if the gameplay delivers. Take a look at the YouTube video for more. Blacksmith Games is also doing a promo where the more people that follow them on Twitter, the lower the launch price of the game will be. Expected release date is September/October.

Push, bid, push, bid. Ebay have updated their app to include push notifications for outbid alerts and watched items. You still don’t have a chance against the snipers though.

eBay Mobile

Category: Lifestyle
Released: 2008-07-11
Price: FREE