Editorial

Can iPhone Developers Make a Living on the App Store's "Long Tail"? - TiPb of the Iceberg

By Dieter Bohn, Monday, Oct 20, 2008 a 11:55 am

("Unique" by Hamed Masoumi, licensed under Creative Commons)

[Introducing TiPb of the Iceberg, our new, bi-weekly column from TiPb Senior Editor, and all-around Smartphone Expert, Dieter Bohn.]

The recent news that development house Tap Tap Tap is breaking up has me thinking about the App Store and developers again. Partially it's because Tap Tap Tap has previously been mentioned here at TiPb as an example of developers raking in the cash and as an example of developers being open about how much they're making and what they think of the industry. The break-up is interesting for a few reasons in this context.

After the break, some ruminations and thoughts on the State of the Apps from this layman's point of view. Warning: as you can see from the title, this post includes hackneyed references to the Long Tail

A Really Big iPod Touch Advertisement Invades ESPN.com

By Casey Chan, Sunday, Oct 19, 2008 a 10:00 am

If anyone checked out ESPN.com late last night they would have been smacked right in the eye with quite possibly the biggest iPod Touch Banner Ad Ever. After releasing the new iPhone "game changer" commercial during the baseball playoffs, it looks like Apple is focusing on expanding the iPhone/iPod Touch product line by reaching sports fans. Good idea? I don't know maybe Apple is thinking they can turn sports fans into Apple fanboys..

Android vs. iPhone: Which Does a Better Job Syncing to the Cloud?

By Dieter Bohn, Friday, Oct 17, 2008 a 11:55 am

The Reviews of the Android G1 Phone on T-Mobile are out and the verdicts are generally as follows: Partly Cloudy¹, but forecasting big things to come. We're not going to try to hit every point just yet, but there's one point where this "Sidekick for Grownups" has what appears to be a real advantage over everybody else: dead-simple cloud setup.

So compared to the iPhone, just how good is the setup on the G1? The answer is: Depends on whether or not you're a Gmail type of person.

Yeah, "depends" isn't exactly a clear answer, so follow us after the break for a bit more on whether the G1 is PIM Push Paradise compared to MobileMe's Mechanized Movement of information.

(¹Sorry, could help myself with that pun)

Top 5 Must-Have Jailbreak Apps

By Jeremy, Monday, Oct 13, 2008 a 10:55 am

[You're tempted. We know you are. We are too. Even with the App Store, Jailbreaking is the ultimate in iPhone forbidden fruit. So what will it take to push us over the edge? How about the top 5 killer Apps. Stuff Apple will never allow in the official store? Jeremy rounds them up for us below, and if you do decide to take the plunge, he has you covered with full tutorials on how to Jailbreak the iPhone 3G with Quickpwn for Windows PCs, Mac OS X, how to Jailbreak and Unlock the original iPhone 2G.]

Our forums have been buzzing lately with members asking "why should I jailbrake?" Well today TiPb brings you some of the very best reasons: the top 5 must have Jailbreak Apps!

What are they and what do they do? Read on after the jump!

Could Apple ship an iPhone HD in 2009?

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Oct 10, 2008 a 12:34 pm

Without fail, the moment Apple launches a great product or new revision, within moments talk quickly shifts back to "what's next?!" Last month it was the iPod and iTunes. This month it's the MacBook. But with Macworld slowly ramping up, and competitors slowly turning iClones into specced out SuperClones, the blogsphere spotlight will inevitably turn back to the iPhone, and just what device they'll dent our universe with next.

What if it's an iPhone HD?

TiPb Answers: Why No Flash Video on the iPhone?

By Rene Ritchie, Monday, Sep 29, 2008 a 2:55 pm

TiPb loves answering your emails, but we also love sharing our answers with the community in hopes that more people will benefit, and even better answers will present themselves (hey, that's why we have them forums!). For today's debut TiPb Answers, reader Michael asks:

I can't believe that my pet iPhone omission wasn't a choice in the poll of what we'd like to see in iPhone 2.2. Flash support! Maybe a system update isn't necessary to roll out Flash, but that has been my only gripe with my iPhone (other than having to deal with AT&T during purchase and setup). I can't watch Hulu, or other Flash based video on my phone without it. I've wondered if this isn't exactly Apple's intent - why permit Hulu to compete with the iTunes store? What do you think?

TiPb answers, after the jump!

iPhone 3G vs T-Mobile G1: Hardware Shootout!

By Casey Chan, Friday, Sep 26, 2008 a 11:55 am

If you didn’t know, Google and T-Mobile held a small event that introduced the world to Android and the first Android device, the T-Mobile G1. And though Android impressed many (TiPb included), a lot of people scratched their heads when it came to the T-Mobile G1. Sure it packed a lot of features, controls, layouts, etc in one device but looks-wise it just didn’t blow anybody away. Is this really the device that Google is going to use to introduce the world to Android?

So we decided to take a closer look at the hardware and see how it compares to the iPhone 3G!

Read on to see how the iPhone 3G compares to the T-Mobile G1

How Does Android Compare to the iPhone? Top 5 Wins and Losses

By Rene Ritchie, Thursday, Sep 25, 2008 a 10:55 am

Sure, on the surface Google's Android seems more like a shot through the heart of Windows Mobile -- or the head of Palm's Linux-based OS 2.0 aspirations -- but while those platforms enjoy their own historical and market share, it's Apple's iPhone that has all the mind share of late. That means, despite Google's CEO being on the Apple Board of Directors, Google's Maps, Search, and other services having a prominent place on both devices, and -- let's face it -- Google's full on tech-crush for the iPhone -- no one is going to hesitate to pit the two systems head-to-head. Including us!

So, what advantages does each one have? What drawbacks? Here they are, in our opinion: the top five iPhone vs. Android Wins and Losses... after the break!

$250K iPhone Dev Says "No Thanks" to Google Android

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Sep 23, 2008 a 7:55 am

Today is "A Day", the day T-Mobile announces Google's Android mobile platform (see our brand new little sibling site, AndroidCentral, for all the details and coverage) to an anxiously anticipating world. Well... mostly anxiously anticipating.

Turns out some people aren't as interested. Is it because Google's latest forays into content, including YouTube and Wikipedia rival Knol, and platforms, including Android and Firefox rival Chrome (and gLinux OS on the horizon?), make them think "don't be evil" is just a sinister plan to catch the world -- and our privacy -- off guard and unaware? Nope. We tend to like and trust Google. What then?

NBC Comes Crawling Back to iTunes, Gets 1 Million Downloads

By Rene Ritchie, Sunday, Sep 21, 2008 a 2:55 pm

Big Media, which pretty much makes the loons in Big Music seem reasonable, witnessed NBC have the distributive equivalent of a hissy fit last year when they pulled their content from iTunes. At issue? They wanted more control over pricing. They said they wanted lower prices. Anyone ever seen media lower prices on anything established? No. Us neither.

Apple said NBC wanted to be able to charge up to $4.99 per episode of TV, much of which was 22 min. long and had already aired "for free", and that they wanted to be able to bundle content together so, for example, if you wanted Hot Show X, you had to take Dud Show Y as well. Anyone ever seen media overcharge, re-release "Special Editions" to double dip, and raise the prices of movie downloads to DVD levels (when it costs them nothing to distribute and includes none of the bonuses typically packaged with a DVD)? Yeah. All the time.

Still want to give NBC the benefit of the doubt? Remember, one of their demands for coming back was that Apple block non-commercial content from iPods and iPhones. I.e., if you can't prove you bought your show specifically for the iPhone (no content swapping from your PVR! And no home movies!), you're a de facto pirate.

After trying all sorts of disruptive alternate markets, including giving their content ("their" in that they own it, but typically did not create, direct, produce, star, or otherwise do anything but cull and cancel it), away for free on Hulu (to people in the US, at least) along with a back-door onto the iPhone, and through other online distribution models, at Apple's September "Let's Rock" event, it was announced NBC was coming back to iTunes.

The results? Check them out after the break...