Blip Solitaire iPhone Review

"Hey, it's free." And so it's been said so many times in the trusty iTunes App store. Today's app falls into that category. It's the freebie, Blip Solitaire:

This fall, the App Store goes from potential to promise

Yes friends, by October, we're predicting the end of four different flashlight apps, and the beginning of something far more advanced. Think word document editing, maybe iPhoto-esque photo editing, and licensed, cool games. Need proof? From Crunchgear:

Five quick ways to make the Apple App Store better

Yes, people are still lining up for the iPhone. And yes, the App store holds wonders for them once they get home with those shiny new phones. The App Store isn't perfect though. Here's our look at five seemingly simple/quick changes Apple could make to make the experience even better:

1. Require an actual support contact. While every listed application has a support link, in doing a thorough check of all the apps, quite frequently the support link either points to "coming soon" page, a bad url, or a page that gives you no means of contacting the developers. How about a required support email on the application info page?

2. Disclose if an app requires/is a subscription. The Major League Baseball app has gotten a lot of attention. Less noticed is the fact that the app is good for this year, making it more or less, a subscription service, that needs to be re-purchased each year. Other apps that are free, are tied to subscription services, and there's no uniform way of knowing this before downloading.

3. Ability to gift/try Apps. Our hunch is app gifting will be coming to the store soon. It would be great though to make it easy for developers to give us a 7-day trial of their apps. Just because the average price of the titles is low, is no reason to buy blind.

4.Uniform handling of preferences.Some apps place preferences in the application. Some place new prefs in the system preferences screen. How about a more consistent way of dealing with this. And speaking of preferences, here's a bonus improvement for the 2.0 software: Let me select "Always allow" for the location information for the camera. I don't want to press two buttons each time to take a picture.

5. Developers describe data retention.Some of these apps allow amazing amounts of personal info on the phone. Everything from medical records, to credit card passwords and banking info. What isn't always clear is exactly where this information is stored: Are passwords on the phone, or somewhere in the internet cloud? Does the app have it's own passcode to access the info?

These simple fixes can build on the potential of the App store, and frankly make the experience more Apple-like.

Credit where it's due: Apple does the right thing with MobileMe

If it hasn't popped up in your email yet, Apple has announced a 30-day extension for .mac/MobileMe customers due to issues with the switchover. Details are also in a Knowledge Base Article. Many people voiced frustration with the transition, and on TDL Live Monday, we mentioned the whole switchover felt very "un-Apple" given they knew exactly how many people needed to be switched over.

Having said all that, considering that email, at least though the mail client was available throughout the switchover, it's surprising (and refreshing) that Apple is giving this extension. It's especially surprising considering the far louder (and more heavily covered) outcry over iPhone activation issues. With the iPhone, some people were left without any cell service for hours. You could argue that's a bigger inconvenience than not being able to upload new pictures of Aunt Lucy's birthday party.

Let's see if Apple has anything in mind to compensate for the iPhone launch hiccups.

Typhoon Touch Technologies Crashed Down Hard on Apple and Others Regarding Touch Screens

My week would not be complete if there wasn’t an Apple patent lawsuit to report on.  Two weeks ago, Typhoon Touch Technologies added Apple along with Toshiba, Palm, Nokia, LG and other big name tech companies to a lawsuit, filed last year originally against Dell, regarding touch-screen technology.  Apple was added, namely for it’s iPhone and iPod Touch devices which both use the patented technology.  The lawsuit alleges the previously named companies and several others for violating the Typhoon’s 1995 and 1997 patents, which both broadly encompass all technology related to touch-screen devices and uses.  Basically, Typhoon Technologies claims to hold the rights to any use of touch-screen technology, which means that any company currently using this technology without their permission is in violation of the patent.  It may mean that any company currently using or wanting to use this technology will have to ask for permission through licensing and pay royalties for the rights.  Seems like Typhoon could sit back and reel in payday after payday.

            As with many trends that are seen and set through jury trials, the represented public may decide that such a broadly worded patent may not have originally meant to encompass so many different types of products, considering it was developed over a decade ago.  Apple has the iPod touch and the iPhone, but let’s look at Nokia who has the N810 Internet Tablet and Palm’s Treo not to mention other notebooks and smart phones that include the revolutionary technology.  Will this mean that Typhoon Touch Technology has a hold on the entire market for touch devices?  This seems like it may be narrowing the scope on liberties that companies may take to revolutionize and keep up with the ever-changing times.  A jury may decide that to rule in favor of Typhoon would be to give a golden key to the company, and instead they may award in defendants’ favor as it may be in the public’s best interest to narrow in on what was the original patent’s use.  Otherwise, companies may be reluctant to continue to develop devices that use the touch technology if they are discouraged through the royalty payments to Typhoon.  The jury may also decide that Typhoon as originator of the technology holds an all access pass for every other company and therefore may require licensing and payment of royalties for the technology’s use. 

            No matter what the validity of the case, Typhoon’s legal department reports that they could generate steady revenue by having royalties paid from the above-mentioned companies and several others in order to produce the devices that use the touch technology. 

            Typhoon is asking for not only financial damages but an injunction against the products in the stream of commerce and the companies involved must pay a “reasonable royalty” every three months in order to use the technology on said produced devices.

Information on this blog based on an article from www.appleinsider.com