General

What Happened with eWallet 7?

November 26, 2009 by Ellen

It looks like Apple released the iTunes version of eWallet 7.0 before we were expecting it. We submitted it, hoping the release would hit around when we planned to do the desktop and other platforms’ releases - Tuesday of next week - but Apple surprised us and got the iPhone version into the App Store a little earlier than we thought they would.

We will have a new version of eWallet that will sync with the new iPhone version out first thing next week. We planned to release it Tuesday, but we’ll probably bump it up to Monday. If we don’t, we will get anyone who needs it an early copy.

If you haven’t yet upgraded your iPhone version, I’d suggest waiting until we release the desktop version. If you have you’ll be able to get the new version from our site from our site first thing next week. I promise.

Sorry about the problem!! And Happy Thanksgiving!!

Giving Thanks

November 23, 2009 by Ellen

Thanksgiving’s the one holiday I take seriously. I may complain a lot - OK, I do complain a lot - but I am always aware of how fortunate I am. And I always take time at Thanksgiving to think briefly about everything I’m thankful for. This year it includes:

• That I can still see and hear (despite needing help with both. But I’m thankful that the help exists and works).

• And that I can walk and breathe without any help.

• My fabulous and supportive boyfriend, who really hates when I do things like this.

• The internet. For all its problems, it’s still the best entertainment I’ve ever found.

• And of course, electricity, without which the internet wouldn’t be nearly so good.

• And while we’re on the basics, indoor plumbing and central heat.

• My wonderful eye doctor, who fixed my problem that no one else could even find.

• Showtunes, which make everything so much better.

• And mp3 players, which make showtunes even better (or at least more portable).

• And finally, that I’ve managed to go more than 12 years without working for anyone else. So thanks to everyone here, and everyone who’s reading this, who made that possible.

User Reviews Matter!

October 27, 2009 by Marc

There was a bunch of discussion about user reviews over at Just Another iPhone Blog the other day. Patrick was frustrated by reviews that either weren’t reviews, were wildly inaccurate, or were little more than an ad for another product. This sort of thing makes me crazy as well, but when I read the comments I was surprised by how many people don’t think this is a big deal.

In fact this is a big deal for consumers. To explain this, I wrote a new article for Just Another Mobile Monday that talks about the issue. Check it out for my views on the trouble with the way some application stores are handling user reviews and what it means to you guys!

And while you’re at it - Just Another iPhone Blog started a new series called “Desert Island Apps” where a guest explains which six apps she or he would take with them to a desert island. Guess who the first guest was! :) You can read about my desert island picks here!

In Support of Tweetie: The Case for Upgrade Charges

October 9, 2009 by Marc

As some of you know, there was quite a bit of discussion over at the Just Another blogs (Just Another Mobile Monday and Just Another iPhone Blog) over Tweetie’s decision to charge for their latest iPhone application upgrade. They did this by creating a new application and charging for it, rather than upgrading the existing one.

Despite the fact that Tweetie had to do something kind of hacky due to the limits of the App Store, the reality is that they did what they had to. Upgrades cost money - sometimes a LOT of money - and that money has to come from somewhere.

To that end, I wrote an article dealing with this issue and talking about the situation from a developer POV. If you’d like to get the full story, check out my post over here at JAMM. It’s also my first contribution as the “Developer Perspective” author for JAMM which is kind of exciting. Also, let me know how you’d like me to handle these posts in the future - do you mind visiting JAMM to read them? Or would you rather I dual post them here and over there as well? Let me know!

An Honest App Store Article

October 7, 2009 by Marc

If you’ve been reading our blog, nothing that you find in this Newsweek article will surprise you. What is refreshing is to see some honest-to-god journalism going on, and from a major news outlet no less. The article highlights just what a great thing the Apple App Store can be. At the same time, they take a very realistic approach to this, talking about what the reality of the App Store is for the majority of developers and highlighting what it is becoming.

The most interesting point in this area is the admission that the big boys have finally decided that mobile devices are worth their time and that they are forcing out a lot of those indie developers that dominated the top 10 lists early on.

You can read the full article here.

Windows Mobile Marketplace: Coming Soon

September 29, 2009 by Ken

Ellen wrote last week about how Apple changed the mobile world with the iTunes App Store. I’m looking forward to seeing the impact of the Microsoft mobile software store, Windows Marketplace for Mobile, which is scheduled for release on October 6.

First of all, I’m very hopeful that it will be a big success. Microsoft will be including it on all the new Windows Mobile 6.5 devices, as well as making it available for download on WM 6.0 and 6.1 units. I believe that’s the single most important factor in an app store’s success.

I’m very pleased to see that Microsoft is allowing developers to submit trial versions of their software to Marketplace. Letting users run demo versions of applications before they buy is not only important to them, but can also make a big difference in the quality of the apps available, and the price they sell for. I know that people don’t object to paying reasonable prices for software - we wouldn’t be here if they did. But I also know that it’s much harder for someone to pay for an application if they haven’t had the chance to try it first. Allowing trials in the Marketplace will undoubtedly help prevent the “race to the bottom” that plagues iTunes.

I know the Windows Mobile Marketplace won’t initially have the number of apps that iTunes does, but I don’t think that’s a problem, either as a developer or an end-user. As a developer, I’m frustrated by how hard it is for our apps to be seen among 75,000 apps; as a user, I’m frustrated by how hard it is to find what I’m looking for. Of course Microsoft needs enough apps to appeal to the wide variety of their users, and I hope the developer community will provide them. The ideal scenario would be that the Windows Mobile Marketplace gets the magic number that makes the store compelling without being overwhelming. I think there’s a good chance of that happening.

Like Apple, Microsoft is reviewing all apps submitted to the Windows Mobile Marketplace, and apps have to be approved before they’ll appear. And like with Apple, there have been problems in the review and approval process. The good news is that Microsoft is improving their process, and implementing changes suggested by developers. Once again, I’m optimistic. This doesn’t seem like the old Microsoft.

As Ellen wrote in her earlier post, mobile developers no longer have the problem of users not knowing they can buy software for their smartphones. Everyone knows “there’s an app for that”, and we’ve seen proof that users of every smartphone want apps for their phones. I think the Windows Mobile Marketplace button on the new Windows Mobile phones has the potential to get a lot of attention. And that will help us all.