Another day, another “monetize your iPhone apps” news. This time, it’s Offerpal Media — the company behind the popular monetization platform for social networks, online games, virtual worlds and mobile applications — and Tapjoy — developers of the Tapjoy SDK and such popular iPhone games as TapDefense, TapSudoku and TapWord — which announced partnership designed to provide iPhone application developers with “tools to help them monetize their applications through the sale of virtual goods.”
The new solution is already available as part of Tapjoy’s free SDK, allowing developers to integrate Offerpal’s “Managed Offer Platform” as a native part of the user experience. Moreover, and that’s I guess the main point of the joint solution, is the ability for developers to grow their apps quickly through rewarded installs of active mobile gamers across the Tapjoy network of millions of users.
Other services included with the SDK include mobile ad network optimization, full app analytics, wagered tournaments and challenges between users, and customizable rankings and leaderboards… More information is available from Tapjoy’s website.
The iPhone OS 3.0 is a bit buggy. With stories of bugs and general instability floating around, the inevitable iPhone OS 3.1 update is looking pretty nice. Thankfully, we may not have to wait too long for Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) to go public with the iPhone OS 3.0 update. Apple has today seeded an iPhone OS 3.1 beta and accompanying SDK to the iPhone dev community!
iPhone developers can get their hands on the first update to the all-new iPhone 3.0 OS, but mere mortals like ourselves will just have to wait for Apple to push the update through iTunes. Bug fixes, here we come!
The iPhone helped popularize the smartphone. The iPhone’s user-focused UI and more natural capacitance-based touchscreen has changed the mass-market’s expectation of what a smartphone should be. It’s just too bad Windows Mobile has yet to catch on - it’s still fully backing resistive touchscreens (you might know them as “squishy” touchscreens). Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) has been making excuses for not overtly supporting capacitive touchscreens by spouting higher hardware costs and lesser hand-writing recognition accuracy. Given Windows Mobile’s ancient UI and fairly disappointing user experience, a squishy touchscreen is the least of Redmond’s problems.
That doesn’t mean a capacitance touchscreen wouldn’t go a long way to making Windows Mobile work and feel more like a modern day touchscreen smartphone. In fact, Microsoft seems to be aware of “some device manufacturers” that are “considering options to ship capacitive screens” on their Windows Mobile smartphone.
A recently-posted developer article first makes a case for using capacitive touchscreens:
Capacitive technology has several advantages: zero pressure is required to make an input because nothing needs to be deformed and this leads to a much more natural interface experience; although additional material is laid onto the screen, there is no air gap so optical clarity is much improved reducing the need for backlighting making power draw lower; multiple touch points can be supported; things like touch size and pressure can be extrapolated from the capacitive data.
Microsoft then makes excuses for Windows Mobile smarpthones using resistive touchscreens:
However they do suffer in other areas: in general the cost is currently higher than the equivalent resistive screen; supporting a stylus is hard because it must be made of conducting material and must make sufficient contact to change the capacitive property of the screen; in several areas the accuracy tends to be lower than resistive e.g. around the edges of the screen, combined with the lack of a stylus and lower sample rates makes things like handwriting input very hard.
But, there’s hope yet. The article clearly states that a Windows Mobile 6.5-powered handset featuring a capacitance-based touchscreen is at least an option that’s being considered by hardware manufacturers:
Windows Mobile 6.5 has primarily been designed for resistive screens because some input areas still rely on small controls and require a high level of input accuracy that can’t be easily achieved with a finger and require a stylus; however some device manufacturers are considering options to ship capacitive screens.
HTC showed the world that Windows Mobile smartphones don’t have to suffer from small-buttons-and-awkward-UI Syndrome. HTC’s TouchFLO 3D II UI not only replaces the traditional WinMo homescreen, it also replaces many of the awkward UI elements that makes resistive touchscreens necessary. With enough customization to the WM6.5 UI, it’s possible that HTC will roll out Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphones equipped with capacitive touchscreens running HTC TouchFLO 3D II!
Last week, the Android Native Development Kit was released, allowing developers to code their apps in C or C++, rather than using the Java virtual machine apps had been running on to date. This new tool has tickled Mozilla’s fancy, and they’re now considering bringing their in-development mobile browser, Fennec, to Android as a result. Before this, Mozilla had ruled out both Android and BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) explicitly because of this roadblock, but having greater access to native code libraries could blow that complaint square out of the water. Mozilla’s VP of mobile, Jay Sullivan, had this to say:
“Developers are taking a look at the NDK to see if it provides the capabilities we need to bring Fennec to Android. If it’s possible, I think our community would be interested in doing it, because Android will be appearing on more smartphones with the capabilities to provide a good browsing experience.”
Windows Mobile has been seen dipping its toes in the Fennec beta pool, and hopefully it won’t take long for Android to get up to speed. Mozilla and Google (NSDQ: GOOG) are pretty cozy with one another (heck, they’re neighbours), to the point where Fennec has already built in Google Location Services that allow the browsing experience to be tailored to your GPS coordinates. Android’s default “Chrome Lite” browser is pretty smooth, but Fennec has lots of goodies to bring to the table, like the legendary Awesome Bar, plug-in and Flash support.
Fennec aside, programming at the C-level is great news for developers and really shows Google’s dedication to making Android the platform of choice for the people making the apps.
Palm Pre users will be happy to hear that Palm (NSDQ: PALM) has issued a point-update to the WebOS. The Palm Pre’s mobile operating system is now officially set at version 1.0.4, bringing with it a slew of security patches that should leave your Palm Pre at least a smidge more secure. Unfortunately, Palm has also closed the potentially disastrous exploit that allowed installation of homebrew applications on a non-jailbroken Palm Pre. Allowing any and all Palm Pre units to install third-party applications via email isn’t exactly a prudent security policy, after all.
If you haven’t yet gotten a taste for homebrew applications on your Palm Pre, we’d suggest giving them a go post haste. Once the WebOS 1.0.4 update is pushed to your smartphone, you can consider homebrew application installs via email off limits.
Greystripe, the company behind the world’s largest network of free mobile apps and games, unveiled a new CPM Protection Program to “guarantee iPhone application publishers the revenue they deserve for their high quality applications.”
The problem is that there is a growing number of mobile ad networks that target iPhone applications and their respective developers. Hence, to differentiate its offering from the rest of the pack, Greystripe decided to spice things up and offer publishers the highest CPM in the industry. Apparently, they could do that because of their one of a kind rich media ad formats.
Greystripe’s new CPM Protection Program offers to beat other ad networks’ eCPM by at least 25% for 60 days. Interested publishers should sign from this page, and register by emailing publisher@greystripe.com.
If anyone of you has some numbers to report how their iPhone app is performing, we’re eager to listen. Comments form is all yours…
Chicago-based KeyLimeTie has recently unveiled iLime, the hosting service for developers who plan to adopt new push notification and in-app purchasing features of the iPhone OS 3.0.
Here’s where the problem (according to KeyLimeTie’s press release):
Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)’s gateway manages all notifications sent between application providers and individual devices. However, Apple has not expressed plans to provide hosting solutions, requiring applications developers to establish their own reliable server infrastructure to communicate with Apple’s gateway server.
By leveraging KeyLimeTie’s infrastructure and its cloud computing framework, iLime creates economies of scale that inexpensively deliver otherwise cost- and resource-intensive services to developers.
Finally you may wonder where you can get more information. iLime has a dedicated website where all the details are…
I’m still dubious about the effectiveness of mobile advertising, but Google (NSDQ: GOOG) AdSense, a heavyweight in the online advertising ring, has announced support for iPhone and Android applications. The big key to AdSense is properly targeting the audience, and since Google has pretty much your whole search history on file, odds are they can usually feed you ads that are actually interesting and relevant. Support for mobile will not only take into account keywords that you’re using with the app, but also your location pulled from integrated GPS.
My guess is ads will be even more accurate on Android since it requires your Google account credentials to work, and will be able to tap a wider array of your interests. It strikes me this is really good for free apps with a lot of users that are looking for a viable revenue model without going premium. Good news for developers, bad news for end-users who have been enjoying these apps ad-free until now. If you’re either a developer or a marketer, you can find more info at Google’s dedicated AdSense for Mobile Apps page.
Not that you’re hurting for a Samsung device running Android these days, but some clever hackers have shoehorned Google (NSDQ: GOOG)’s mobile OS into an Omnia i900. Before you get too excited, this is still very much in developement, and experiencing all sorts of touch glitches and missing hardware functionality. Still, a boot-up is progress, and if you’re willing to do a little bit of testing, you can download the latest software build here.
If you’re a developer and this sounds interesting, you can win around $450 bucks for providing a fully-functioning Android installer for the Omnia. Likewise, if this is something that you’d like to see become reality, you can pitch into the prize pot at AndroidOmnia.com.
Those Dev Team guys, they’re a genius bunch. Following on the recent release of the iPhone OS 3.0 jailbreak application, PwnageTool 3.0, the iPhone Dev Team has delivered on their promise of a simple software-unlock utility for the latest iPhone OS 3.0. The much-anticipated “ultrasn0w” utility is now live and ready to unlock any iPhone OS 3.0-powered iPhone 3G to work with any GSM network on Planet Earth.
Now, before you get all excited about unlocking your brand-new iPhone 3GS, keep in mind that ultrasn0w will only work on the original iPhone and iPhone 3G. iPhone 3GS owners, keep your fingers crossed for a future unlock solution.
Ultrasn0w essentially replaces the older “yellowsn0w” unlock utility that rose to fame as the first software-unlock solution for the iPhone 3G. The release of iPhone OS 3.0 prompted the iPhone Dev Team to release an updated unlock utility capable of hacking the latest baseband firmware that comes bundled with the iPhone 3.0 OS - the ultrasn0w utility.
The original iPhone can be easily unlocked using PwnageTool 3.0 alone. iPhone 3G users will have to jailbreak through PwnageTool and then install the new ultrasn0w utility.
The ultrasn0w software unlock utility allows the average iPhone user to hack their iPhone 3G’s baseband firmware (modem firmware). The baseband firmware is a distinct piece of code that has nothing to do with the iPhone OS. The baseband firmware controls how the iPhone’s GSM radios connect to GSM networks, and it’s the hacking of this firmware that allows any iPhone or iPhone 3G to roam free of any carrier locks.
Follow these steps (from the iPhone Dev Team) to use ultrasn0w to unlock your iPhone OS 3.0-powered iPhone:
Ensure you have upgraded to iPhone OS 3.0
Jailbreak your iPhone 3G using redsn0w or PwnageTool (this will also install Cydia/Icy)
Run Cydia or Icy
Please add the repo repo666.ultrasn0w.com to Cydia or Icy. That’s “ultrasn0w” with a ZERO, there is no “o” un ultrasn0w
Search for ‘ultrasn0w’ in cydia or icy and install ultrasn0w
Reboot your iPhone 3G
Once rebooted, your iPhone 3G should work with a SIM from just about any GSM carrier in the world. T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) USA users will want to disable 3G (Settings>General>Network) before installing ultrasn0w.
The iPhone OS 3.0 is a 
Last week, the 
Those Dev Team guys, they’re a genius bunch. Following on the recent release of the iPhone OS 3.0 jailbreak application,