Apple initially stated they would officially launch their iTunes Match service by the end of October. We previously heard they would be launching the service this past Saturday. Seeing as the developer beta expires today we are wondering whether or not we will see an official launch or developers will get another seed. As of this morning there was nothing new in the developer portal and nothing official has been announced or shown up as an update.

Perhaps last minute bugs or issues are causing a delay in the launch of the service. How many of you are anxiously waiting to sign up for iTunes Match? Or are you planning on using the service at all?

Apple has announced they will be holding an iOS 5 Tech Talk World Tour for 2011, giving developers an opportunity learn more about iOS 5, iPhone and iPad UI design sessions, adopting iCloud storage and more.

We’re taking iOS 5 on a world tour and we want you to come along for the ride. Learn from Apple experts as you take your apps to the next level with the exciting new technologies in iOS. Space is limited, so register today.

Apple will be holding training sessions for the Tech Talk World Tour in the following cities beginning in November and ending late January of next year.

• Berlin, Germany
• London, UK
• Rome, Italy
• Beijing, China
• Seoul, South Korea
• Sao Paolo, Brazil
• New York City, New York, U.S.
• Seattle, Washington, U.S.
• Austin, Texas, U.S.

We posted some notes and video from the 2009 Tech Tour, and it looks like this will be another great resource of information for iOS developers. Any developers out there planning to attend?

Source: Apple

Marco Arment, creator of the popular Instapaper app for the iPhone and iPad, noticed an problem related to changes made in iOS 5 tied to iCloud backups.

A common scenario: an Instapaper customer is stocking up an iPad for a long flight. She syncs a bunch of movies and podcasts, downloads some magazines, and buys a few new games, leaving very little free space. Right before boarding, she remembers to download the newest issue of The Economist. (I think highly of my customers.) This causes free space to fall below the threshold that triggers the cleaner, which — in the background, unbeknownst to her — deletes everything that was saved in Instapaper. Later in the flight, with no internet connectivity, she goes to launch Instapaper and finds it completely empty.

(Last week, almost this exact scenario happened to one of my customers.)

Apps like eBook readers, podcast clients, offline mapping programs and even Apple’s own iBooks app (as long as Apple is following its own rules) would have its cached data wiped clean if ever the device runs low on space.

Hit the link below for Arment’s detailed explanation of the problem.

Source: Marco Arment

Apple has had a number of updates pushed through the pipeline today, and the latest comes in the form of their iOS 5 SDK beta. The updated SDK (software development kit) allows developers to tap into features included in iOS 5 and future beta releases.

Developers working with the iOS 5 SDK beta have access to app integration with iCloud Storage, Newsstand Kit, Core Image, GLKit, Twitter, and new Game Center APIs. iOS Developer Program members can log in to download iOS 5 beta files and the new iOS 5 SDK beta from Apple’s iOS Dev Center.

If you notice anything specific just drop into our iOS Developer Forums and let us know!

Apple has announced that it will reset developers iTunes Match iCloud Libraries on Monday September 26.

This is a similar to lasts week’s announcement, where we saw Apple resetting developer’s iOS 5 iCloud backups.

To continue to improve the overall quality and reliability of iTunes Match, it has become necessary to delete all current iCloud libraries.

All iCloud libraries will be deleted on Monday, September 26th at 9AM PDT. To prepare, please turn off iTunes Match on all of your computers and iOS devices. On your computer, choose Store > Turn off iTunes Match. On your iOS device, tap Settings > Music, then turn off iTunes Match.

The songs on your computer should not be affected. As always, please backup regularly and do not delete the music you add to iCloud from your computer.

Apple is probably resetting iCloud data in preparation for an early October launch of iOS 5. We should hopefully find out on October, which is the rumored date for the next iPhone launch event. However Apple has still not confirmed this date or even an event as of yet. Hopefully that will happen next week.

Business Insider talked with a developer who had early access to an iPad, before it was even announced, and he revealed a intriguing tale of physically chained down devices, hidden behind frames, subject to spot checks.

Apple flew the iPads to the developers destination accompanied by at least one engineer. They had to be kept in a room with no windows. Apple changed the locks on the doors and took the names and social security numbers of the four people who were allowed access to it. The iPads were fixed to the desk with high strength security cabling, similar to the material used for cycle locks.

They had these custom frames built around them so we couldn’t even tell what the iPads looked like. We could plug into them so we could code to them and we could touch the screen and play with that, but we couldn’t see the form factor. Then they took pictures of the wood grain. If any pictures leaked out, they could trace it back to which desk they came from.

Not really all that surprising to me; you don’t keep a product like an iPad under wraps with very little leaked information, without taking some major precautions. Apple are extremely successful with minimizing product information leaks. We still have no idea what the iPhone 5 will feature, so the system certainly seems to work.

(Now all it needs is a way to lock down all the bars in San Francisco…)

[Business Insider, Image via Creation Security]

Here is a tip for developers on how to install a beta for iOS using XCode or iTunes. One of the coolest things about being an iOS developer is being able to check out new versions of iOS before they’re publicly released. With WWDC 2011 upon us, we should see a beta of iOS 5 soon. If you’re a new developer, or you’re testing for a current developer, you’ll want to make sure you install beta firmware correctly. If you don’t, this can lead to problems when upgrading to official or later versions of iOS.

As a forewarning, betas are only intended for developers and testers. Don’t expect a beta to be flawless, expect the opposite. I also recommend installing betas on a test device when you can in case something goes wrong.

So if you’re new to this process, hit the jump for a walkthrough of how to provision your device and install a beta version of iOS. And obviously, betas are Mac only.

Download the SDK, XCode, iTunes beta, and iOS firmware

1. Log in to your developer account on Apple’s Developer Site.
2. Next you’ll need to go into the dev center for iOS.



3. Under downloads, you’ll see a link for the SDK, iTunes, and beta firmware IPSWs.
4. Download everything you need and then move on to the next step. (Note: If you’re installing via iTunes beta, you don’t “have” to install the SDK if you don’t want to.

Provision your device’s UDID within the the Apple Developer Portal

There’s a couple ways to add your UDID to the provisioning portal. The easiest is with XCode (which is what you should be using anytime you are installing beta firmware).

1. Simply open XCode with your device plugged in. It should bring up your device in the side bar. Right click and choose to add it to the provisioning portal. XCode should ask for your developer login.



2. Alternately, you can also log into the developer portal and add a UDID via the provisioning portal as well. The XCode option is just a lot easier as it does it for you. You can pull your UDID from XCode or from iTunes (simply click your serial number until it changes to the longer 40 digit number, that is your UDID and what you need to enter into the provisioning portal.

Install the beta version of iOS via XCode

If you’re installing via a beta version of iTunes, skip this section and jump down to the iTunes install instructions below.

Once you’ve provisioned your device with the developer portal and downloaded the newest beta of iOS, you’re ready to install it via XCode. It is always a good idea to back up your iPhone and restore it clean before installing a beta as well. Not required but I recommend it. If you are jailbroken, it is especially a good idea to restore stock before attempting this.

1. In XCode, under software version, you’ll need to choose Other version…
2. Then you will need to navigate to the .ipsw file that you earlier downloaded (the beta firmware file). I typically save them on my desktop or somewhere in a folder that I can easily find.
3. Select it and click Restore iPhone
4. A warning will pop up telling you all data will be erased. Agree and your device will be restored to the beta version. You can then restore from a backup in iTunes like normal.

Install using a beta version of iTunes

If you’ve already installed using XCode, no need to go any further, you’re done!

Almost all betas will need to be installed using a beta version of iTunes. In the case of iOS 5, you’ll need iTunes beta 10.5.

1. Open iTunes and click on your device. (Always back up before installing ANY new firmware, beta or not.)

2. Under the main Summary tab, you’ll see the normal restore button. Simply hold down the alt+option key on your keyboard and click restore.
3. A window will pop up that will let you navigate to the saved beta firmware. Simply select it and click Open.
4. Let iTunes do it’s thing. Once it’s done, it will prompt you to Set up as new iPhone or Restore from a backup. You’ll probably want to restore from your backup. But you can choose which one you’d prefer.
5. Let your stuff sync back over and you’re done!

And again, I can’t say this enough times – beta software is just that, beta. It is meant for developers and testers only. Please do not attempt to install beta firmware without a developer license or permission. And I strongly urge developers to not “sell” UDID spots under their account to people who just want early access to the beta. The purpose is for Apple to get legitimate feedback from developers before a final release. If you do not intend on submitting crash logs and bug reports, please wait for an official release.

Just heard about Apple’s shiny new iOS 5 beta and curious how you can test it out early? Unfortunately, a bunch of shady characters will no doubt pop up offering to sell early access to unsuspecting users, often leaving them high and dry when betas expire. Luckily, Apple provides the betas directly to anyone signed up for their paid iOS developers program (not the free ones, sorry). Sure it costs $99 a year, but it gives you a year of beta access for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Apple TV, iTunes, Xcode, etc. and leaves you in control of your own destiny when it comes to updating.

If you’re thinking about developing for iOS 5 and want to test it out, follow on after the break and we’ll tell you how!

WARNING 1: There are a couple giant red flags you need to be aware of before you begin. First, betas are not meant for your main, day-to-day iPhone. They’re called betas for a reason and there can be any number of bugs, glitches, and gotchas that will make your life miserable. Use a secondary device, like an old iPhone or iPad, or an iPod touch to test with.

WARNING 2: Once you go beta, it’s difficult to impossible to go back to a previous version. One. Way. Trip. So if you put iOS 5 on your main iPhone and hate it, tough luck. If you miss your Jailbreak, too bad. What’s done is done. So again, a secondary device is your friend.

WARNING 3: Apple warranties and AppleCare don’t cover devices with beta firmware. If you have a problem with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and it’s running iOS 5 beta, the local Apple Store geniuses can’t help you. You’ll have to contact a special developer support center for assistance, and that’s usually nowhere near as convenient.

WARNING 4: Once you sign up, download, and install beta firmware, you’ve agreed to Apple’s pre-release NDA (non-disclosure agreement). That means, like Fightclub, you can’t talk about iOS 5 in public. Sure, people break NDAs and send blogs like TiPb and others tons of images and descriptions, but they can be held accountable by Apple, have their developer accounts revoked, and otherwise suffer penalties in accordance to the NDA. So once you’re through the looking glass, mum’s the word.

Now that you’ve been warned, let’s get on with it!

Signing up for the iOS developer program

1. Point your browser to http://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/
2. Click on Enroll now
3. Review the steps if you want to, then click Next
4. If you’re already a developer (for example, Safari or Mac), you can sign in with your existing Apple Developer ID and skip ahead to step number 10. Otherwise, you need to create an account or tie it to your existing Apple ID (iTunes, MobileMe, etc.)
5. Choose whether you want to enroll as an individual or a company. If you’re just one person and don’t have team who’ll be working with you, choose individual.
6. Sign in with your Apple ID.
7. Apple will email you a verification code. Enter it and click Continue.
8. Soak in your welcome, then click Continue.
9. Now here’s where it gets a little confusing. You’re registered but you’re not paid yet, which means SDK access but no beta firmware. So next you have to pay up. Go back to step number 4, but this time choose “Existing Apple developer” and enroll.
10. Choose Individual or Company, as above, and sign in with your Apple ID, also as above.
11. Enter your billing information, follow the instructions, and the Apple Online Store will take care of the rest.

That’s it, you’re now a registered and paid Apple iOS developer and ready to download your beta firmware and get with your testing. Good luck!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to news@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

Apple has just released a second GM build of iOS 4.2 for iPad to developers. There’s been several reports of wi-fi issues on the iPad under iOS 4.2 and it looks like this should address them. There were also rumors of iOS 4.2 being delayed due to the iPad issues.

As you can see from the screen above, the build number for the iPad has now been appended, meaning there’s a new build. The original GM build was 8C134. The new iPad build is 8C134b. Hopefully this will resolve issues quickly and iOS 4.2 will drop sometime next week. If any developers see any changes other than the some general bug fixes for the iPad wi-fi issue, let us know! I only looked briefly but don’t see anything other than iPad bug fixes.

If your iPad app is rejected from the iTunes App Store there’s a slim chance that, just like developer Ram Arumugam, you might get a call from Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Arumugam emailed Steve Jobs after his app was rejected but instead of getting the typical “[something curt] – Sent from my iPad” email back, he got a phone call. The Seattle Times reports:

The two talked about Arumugam’s app, called “Economy for iPad,” and why it was rejected by Apple

His app had included non-public API requests not approved by Apple, and Steve Jobs was able to reason with him enough to have Arumugam submit Economy for iPad without the undocumented API request. Since then, it has been a huge success in the App Store and has gone on to hold the No. 1 spot under the Finance category.

It’s great to see Jobs taking such a proactive approach in reaching out to the smaller developers out there — it’s something that you just don’t see a whole lot of these days.

What do you think about Steve Jobs calling instead of emailing? Let us know in the comments!

[ The Seattle Times via 9to5 Mac ]

Apple has sent out a note to developers regarding an App Store volume purchase program that allows educational institutions to make bulk purchases at a 50% discount.

We’re pleased to announce the App Store Volume Purchase Program. Education institutions in the United States now have a new way to purchase your apps in volume for distribution to their students and faculty. You can also elect to offer special education pricing on your app when purchased in volume.

Read more about the App Store Volume Purchase Program and how to get started in iTunes Connect.

This is a way for for educational institutions that want to purchase a large amount of licenses for an iPhone or iPad app without the need for countless individual iTunes accounts. The purchasing of these discounted applications is done with the use of vouchers which can be purchased via the Apple Store for Education in $100, $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 denominations. These very vouchers then can be distributed to the program facilitators to be redeemed within the App Store.

Sounds like a great idea if a fairly complicated way to go about it. For the full rundown be sure to check out the Volume Purchase Plan Frequently Asked Questions.

[Thanks anonymized developer for the tip!]

Just the other day iPhone Dev Team member, MuscleNerd, announced the release of iPhone 4.0 redsn0w 0.9.5 beta for developers and now he has announced beta number 2 0 [download link].

Since most jailbroken apps are currently busted in the iPhone OS 4 (iPhone 4.0) beta, this particular version of redsn0w is meant to be used solely by developers to fix their jailbreak apps and should not be used by anyone else.

Are you are considering to jailbreak when iPhone OS 4 is released? Tell us why or why not in the comments below!

iPhone 4 is already readily available over the internet. Somewhat less than honorable “developers” are even offering to “sell” access to the 4.0 beta. This has led to a lot of users getting, or at least thinking about getting, the 4.0 beta for their own iPhones (it’s currently not even loading on iPod touches — and forcing complete restores for recovery, so don’t even consider that at the moment!). Well before you take the jump think carefully. And think twice!

Read more after the break!

This is not finished software. This is a beta, and not in the Google/Gmail perpetual meaningless beta sense. This is a true beta in that it is not meant for production iPhones, used as primary devices, out in the real world. Who knows what kind of de-bug, trace, non-optimized, or generally not finished code is running in the current, and first iPhone 4 beta. If you’re a legitimate developer, using 4.0 on a test device to check for compatibility for your apps and report bugs back to Apple is one thing. To think you can use it for regular, day-to-day use is quite another.

First kiss iTunes backups goodbye and don’t expect working multitasking as no 3rd party apps have been updated to support it. 4.0 may be slow. Lists may disappear. Sound may cut out. Connection may time out. Battery time may worsen. 3rd party apps may crash or otherwise not work well. And you may need to reset your iPhone daily, if not several times a day, to work around the beta nature of the current build. You get the idea and that’s what happens with a real beta.

Also, these beta’s expire, and if you don’t have quick access to the next beta, you’ll be without your iPhone — and that’s assuming Apple doesn’t wait hours or days between expiry and the next beta release. And dropping back down to the previous build isn’t always easy or possible.

So, yes, iPhone 4 has lots of amazing features, and we hope very much it will be killer stable come “summer”-time when Apple releases it via iTunes for everyone.

Until then, read our iPhone 4 coverage. Watch Apple’s video. If you’re not into testing pre-release software, if you’re not patient, if you need a reliable, primary iPhone, if you want it to “just work” think twice before loading the iPhone 4 beta. Then think again. One look at our developer forum shows it isn’t a smooth ride.

(And tech pundits who’ve told readers and listeners it’s no big deal, and to go for it, should also think twice and remember they’re often cutting edge users themselves, with many devices to fall back on — not the case for everyone.)

Got mad developer skills and a deep, enabling love for smartphones and their communities? Well, Smartphone Experts, the network behind theiphoneblog.com and many of your other favorites like CrackBerry.com, PreCentral.net, and a host of others, is looking for YOU!

For more info, check out Dieter’s post in the forums.

Not sure when this went live, or how I missed seeing it the moment it did, but the snippet of video on Trism that Apple showed off in their iPhone 3.0 Sneak Peek Event is up in full on Apple’s developer site, and it’s brought along some friends. The full list includes:

• Werner Jainek of Cultured Code (Things)
• Dr. Ge Wang of Smule (Ocarina, Leaf Trombone)
• Steve Demeter of Demiforce (Trism)
• Christina Wick of AOL (AOL Radio, AIM)

The videos show not only some great insights into the personalities behind some of our favorite apps, but the development process as well.

(Via Cocoia on Twitter)

Now that the dust has settled and we now know what to expect “this summer” from iPhone 3.0, it’s only natural to include some more iPhone 3.0 madness in the forums.

Our first thread comes to us from Casper TFG, now that landscape in all apps has been announced will you actually use it? I have tried using the landscape keyboard with email and SMS and I’ve gotten so used to portrait mode that it will take some time, for me personally, to get used to landscape. It’s almost easier to simply use portrait at this point. Nonetheless, it’s a nice feature that many of you will enjoy.

Next up we have a thread that was started by yours truly and it is pretty straight forward, what is your favorite iPhone 3.0 feature? With over a 100 new features added, some more obvious than others, you can only choose one, so choose wisely. MMS? Cut/Copy/Paste perhaps? Let us know what you think!

This next thread was started by Rene and shockingly it is not 3.0 related! You all have a chance to win 1 of 2 free promo codes for a great piece of software, Beejive IM. If you want your chance to grab one, simply reply in the thread. Tomorrow, Monday March 23rd, we’ll pick two lucky winners randomly! Good luck!

Finally, I’d like to mention our iPhone Developer Forum. This is a great place for anyone developing for the iPhone or running iPhone 3.0 software. Come in and compare notes, share interesting features you may or may not have found, share the bugs you have come across, etc… This is not the place to ask for activation codes or for the actual firmware file so please don’t ask.

If you want to get in on the conversation be sure to register first. It’s a quick and painless process so what are you waiting for!?

See you on the forums!

Accidentally fall asleep when developers went over 190832 apps during the keynote? Numb your mind and index finger by maddeningly refreshing your browser? Miss all the apps that were showcased in the iPhone? Fear not, TiPb will give you a quick nitty gritty update on the lot.

• eBay – A fairly basic eBay app that didn’t really showcase any advancements from the basic web app. Sure it was nice and integrated but really, isn’t an eBay webapp good enough? Certainly, they could have gotten someone better to demo their app.
• Loopt – A location-based social networking application. Now this is kind of cool, it displays your friend’s location on a map and works with other platforms. Basically, I imagine it to be similar to Boost Mobile’s Where You At?
• TypePad – A mobile blogging app that is pretty straightforward. The interface looked similar to the iPhone’s E-mail client and well, at least you can add photos via camera or photo roll
• Mobile News Network – Basically enables viewing videos and pictures of news stories from various sources. It also allows you to directly report the news if you have a first hand account of something
• Band – This is a fun app, basically a collection of virtual instruments: piano, drums, bass, 12-bar blues ‘instrument’. I’ve seen iterations of ‘Band’ in the jailbreaking scene and it makes for good fun
• MLB.com – This app is nice! It gives iPhone users direct access to video highlights right after they happen! It also displays a live detailed scoreboard for quick updates on baseball games.
• Modality – A medical application used to easily learn names of body parts, etc. Mildly useful for me, incredibly useful for doctors I presume
• MIMvista – Another medical application that takes advantage of the iPhone’s screen to zoom in, out, and scroll around. Basically, an interactive way to view medical imagery?