This past weekend, a rumor had claimed that Google is holding talks with WhatsApp to acquire the messaging service for around $1 billion. Tonight, WhatsApp has told AllThingsD that it is not holding sales talks with Google. Meanwhile, Google is rumored to soon be launching its own “Babel” messaging service.
OpenSignal (formerly OpenSignalMaps) launched two years ago with hopes of compiling a robust database of cell phone towers, cell phone signal strength and Wi-Fi access points around the world. Instead of throwing massive headcount at this worldwide mission or investing millions to buy cooperation from carriers, OpenSignal commenced one of the most successful crowdsourcing projects ever recorded. OpenSignal gathers all its data from mobile phone users around the world who have downloaded the OpenSignal app. OpenSignal constantly retrieves data from the app and updates its coverage maps.
With a mere two years under its belt, OpenSignal now provides coverage information spanning more than 1,000 networks in over 200 countries. The app that produced and continues to produce the data has been downloaded over 2 million times. With a couple of years’ rapid success, and a new round of funding, OpenSignal is expanding its functionality with an API. The first API gives developers access to the NetworkRank product. NetworkRank “recommend[s] the best network in any location.” OpenSignal intends to expand its API offering to include a cell tower API and Wi-Fi access point API.
The NetworkRank API responds in both JSON and XML data formats. API integration pulls a map based on location (e.g. zip code) and presents network coverage from 2G, 3G, and 4G networks into a square map (size can be set anywhere from 20k x 20k to 40k x 40k). Developers need a key for authentication and can apply for access at the developer’s site.
Wireless access, both cellular and Wi-Fi, are assumed by today’s average consumer and required by today’s average business. OpenSignal delivers greater insight into a geography’s wireless capabilities and could help companies plan for the future and make strategic decisions. With access to OpenSignal’s data, developers can incorporate critical wireless information into decision making tools.
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A few developers have talked before about the App Store's "race to the bottom" problem, and Joe Cieplinski has clearly been doing some thinking about the issue as well. In his talk at 360iDev this week, Cieplinski (a former English teacher and Apple Store employee who now works as a designer for Bombing Brain Interactive, makers of an app called Teleprompt+ for iPad) pointed out that back in the early days of the App Store, some developers decided to try and price their apps at Apple's lowest option of 99 cents ("I didn't get an email," he joked, "Were you guys consulted?").
A few of those 99 cent apps made millions of dollars, and Cieplinski says that other iOS developers wrongly decided that "99 cents must be the reason" for that success. As a result, 99 cents has become the standard for most App Store apps, with many other apps moving even lower down to free. At this rate, Cieplinski joked again, developers will soon be paying people to install their apps, and indeed, he said, that's already happening.
So how can we fix this? Cieplinski says that most of the apps being sold for just 99 cents on the App Store are worth more than that, but "customers have been conditioned to think this is what your app is worth," and many developers are worried that if they move up to a higher price point, their users will revolt completely. But Cieplinski is also convinced that what's commonly called a "premium price" should instead be called a "fair price." Developers shouldn't be ashamed to charge customers what their apps (assuming the quality is high) are worth.
Apple set this tone when the iPad arrived, said Cieplinski. When the iWork apps first appeared, they were priced at $9.99 each, and not only have those sold like gangbusters for Apple, but the pricing on those apps is meant to serve as a message to developers from Cupertino: "You can charge more than 99 cents," Cieplinski said. "Start doing it."
He should know, too -- Teleprompt+ was released at a price of $9.99, and while Cieplinski calls early sales "modest," he said they actually increased over time. Most freemium and 99 cent apps see a large sales spike at release and then fall off precipitously, but Teleprompt+ saw a different curve, one that rose slowly but surely as time went on. So much so, in fact, that when Bombing Brain updated the app to version 2.0 with a significant redesign and new features, they raised the price to $14.99. And the real kicker: They saw sales increase.
Now, this likely won't work for all developers -- Cieplinski points out that if you're going to charge more for an app, it better be a really great app, and you better have the resources (or at least be willing to put in the work) to do things like market your app to the right audience, provide flawless and responsive tech support, and update your app "early and often," making sure that it provides a lot of value to its users. But if developers are able to do this, they can not only charge a premium price, but they can demand a premium customer. Customers that buy apps at higher prices, said Cieplinski, are big seekers of value, and are willing to really use and become dedicated to the apps they invest in. If someone spends $9.99 on an app, they're more likely to use it again and again, and eventually love it so much so that they recommend it to everyone they know.
Cieplinski's points are intriguing. It's hard to see the 99 cent price disappear from the store entirely -- there are definitely developers out there (and apps) that are meant to be more impulse purchases and relatively throwaway thrills. And there will always be developers ready to undercut their colleagues, in order to simply grab the largest audience possible. But Cieplinski did his best to prove that there is a market for "fair priced" apps on the App Store, and that developers willing to charge more for apps that are worth it will be able to reap higher rewards as well.
360iDev: The case for 'fair pricing' on iOS apps originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Steam - After purchasing a game from the webstore or mobile app, it allows you to remotely install the game to the computer that you are logged into Steam with.
/via Jordan
As pointed out by iMore, the Facebook iOS app added functionality allowing you to save posts to a new “Saved” folder. Others are not notified when you save posts, and posts must be unsaved to be removed from the folder. The new feature does not require an update from the App Store (it is also rolling out on Facebook.com), but Facebook will notify you in the timeline.
To access your Saved folder, you must first scroll to the bottom of the sidebar menu and tap on Edit Favorites. Next, tap the + sign and select Saved from your list of Apps. Then tap Done. Now, you should see your Saved folder in the Favorites section of your sidebar menu!
After iPhoto landed on iOS in March, people quickly discovered the app used OpenStreetMap data for the map tiles. At the time, there was no attribution given to OSM but that has changed in the latest version of iPhoto, which was released earlier this week. OpenStreetMap pointed out in a tweet that Apple now lists OpenStreetMap contributors in the long list of acknowledgements for the app.
Richard Fairhurst, OpenStreetMap Foundation board member, explains how the foundation nudged Apple to get the attribution added to iPhoto,
The OSM Foundation has made informal contact with staff at Apple and, in addition, one of our volunteer mappers who is an iOS developer spoke to people at Apple. We believe it was the latter that precipitated adding the attribution - it's great to have such an active and engaged community!
OpenStreetMap is a crowdsourced mapping platform that provides free map data in exchange for an attribution. Both FourSquare and Wikipedia use OSM data in their apps.
[Via TalkingPointsMemo Idea Lab]
OpenStreetMap gets acknowledged in iPhoto credits originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 04 May 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The Cydia store serves up apps to those with jailbroken iOS devices, but what about Mac users who don't want to use Apple's Mac App Store? Now, they have HackStore, a free app put together by Andrey Fedotov. HackStore is a collection of non-Mac App Store releases like Filezilla, GIMP, and Plex. Yes, you could just go to the various websites and download those apps for free, but why should those who don't want to play in Apple's walled garden miss out on a real App Store experience?
The drawback is that, just like Cydia, most of these apps haven't been sanctioned by Apple directly, so download and install these at your own risk. HackStore does allow those unwilling to be part of Apple's system to have a little system of their own. As Fedotov says, "This program for me is the epitome of Cydia for iOS, but on a Mac OS." Whatever doesn't fly in the official store, he'll happily put in this app. And no jailbreaking needed!
[via Engadget]
HackStore collects non-Mac App Store apps together originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Arqball Spin is a strangely-named iOS app that does something pretty magical: It will create fully spinnable 3D models from real-life objects. The app is available to download right now, so you can go and check it out for free. Engadget played with both the app and a stage (more on that in a second), and they have examples and video of how the app works. The model looks pretty great, even just viewed in a web browser.
Basically, the app uses your iPad to take a series of pictures of an object, and then assembles those pictures into a "rotatable" model, essentially faking 3D (sort of similar to those old shots from The Matrix, where a series of cameras took a sequence of rotational photos that were then stitched together). The catch is that obviously all of those photos need to line up as exactly as possible. While (presumably) you could just hold your iPad in place, you'll get a rough result that jumps around in the frame, unless you get exactly the right angle every single time.
To counteract this, Arqball is selling "stages" over on Kickstarter, which precisely holds and rotates your object. If you don't want to get involved in the Kickstarter (or just outright buy one after it's been funded, for $80 rather than $60), you can even make your own stage, as long as it rotates your object at the right speed.
At any rate, it's a great idea, and it could mean some big things for 3D modeling in the future. We've also seen the iPad used to create 3D models that can then be printed, so someday, you might take a series of pictures of an object with your iPad, and then hook that up to a 3D printer to get a copy of that object for yourself. Very cool indeed.
New iOS app allows anyone to make 3D model from real object originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
If you are an Android user, but are missing some of the features of the BlackBerry handsets, weep no longer. According to TechnoBuffalo, RIM’s popular BlackBerry Messenger service is set to launch for Android and iOS sometime later this year. Buffalo’s sources were able to provide a shot of the app running in an Android code debugger. Looks cool, huh? Check out another shot of BBM running after the jump.
