Apple App Store..More inconsistency from the approval process? – UPDATED

UPDATE: After the developer, Ingleforge talked to an App Store manager the app was resubmitted minus a couple of added features that Apple said was contravening it’s rules and the updated app is finally in the store and available for free download!!

I recently reviewed an app for the iPhone called Wurlit Apps 3D, built by a developer I know based in Cambridge, UK. Wurlit Apps 3D is a 3d front end for the Apple Apps store that allows you to see preview screens, read views and search the app store from a funky and slick 3D front end. In the newest version you can also send a link to an app to a friend which I personally think is a great idea and adds the core part of social networking for me, personal recommendation. But unfortunately this version is not allowed in the App store according to the developers, Ingleforge. It has been rejected for breaching the App Store rules even though this is not the only app to do this, although it is the only one in 3D and that the original version is still in the store! The developer is quite stunned and so am I. Does Apple’s App store submission process actually follow any logical path? Or is it, as it seems to be more and more every day, an arbitrary process? Read the developers woes here.

The iPad for Musicians, Composers and Engineers.

I have to say that for ages I was not overly convinced about the Apple iPad. I had a HP tablet PC, the tc1100 about 6 years ago, whilst I was working in an agency environment and the clients thought it was cool and it worked well for taking notes and demonstrating ideas/presentations and personally I loved the thing. I guess thats why the iPad didn’t grab me, it’s not anything new.

Wurlit Apps 3d – a new way to browse the Apple Apps store

Wurlit™ Apps 3d is a free application released today in the Apple app store, you can get it here. It is the first 3d browsing front end available for the the Apple app store. Using a patent-pending 3d engine Wurlit offers the end user “the top 25 free and paid apps in each category in glorious 3D, with seamless transitions between categories.” Designed to make shopping for apps fun the end user can quickly move around. “Simply flick the screen to spin the app cloud” and “tap on an app icon to zoom in”

mflow – the new socialmusic network with a kick back.

mflow, which is currently still in beta, aims to be a revolutionary way of finding new music based on recommendations from people you follow. Imagine a Twitter, a Last fm and an iTunes all mashed up and you get an idea of what mflow is about, but with a difference. Every time you buy a track based on someone else’s recommendation you get credit in your account!

ThickButtons – a new keyboard technology for Android and Windows 7 Mobile Devices

Saw this video over on CNET earlier so did a little further digging over on the ThickButtons web site where there is a much better video explaining what ThickButtons is about.

A tip for Firefox 3.6 in OSX and multiple tabs

I found this by accident the other day. If you have multiple tabs open in Firefox 3.6 in OS X 10.6/10.5 and they go off the page you can scroll through them with a mouse. Just hover the pointer over the tabs, scroll the mouse wheel and off you go! Just call me slow to the party…..

21.5″ Full HD VIdeo Capable Touchscreen Display by IDTI -$300!

IDTI, a Taiwanese company have announced at CeBit 2010 a 21.5″ full HD-Video capable touchscreen display that comes with HDMI/D-Sub and support for Microsoft Windows 7. The Incell Touch 215P spec includes resolution of 1920×1080/Multi Touch (2 Points)/Contrast ratio of 1000:1 and a response time of 5ms. The most amazing thing is the price though..$300!!!

You can watch a video of the screen in action over on You Tube.

Source: Akihabaranews

The Aeropress Coffee and Espreso Maker

For those of you who don’t have a spare £500 quid or so for a decent coffee machine, and love their coffee but think instant is awful well this may be the answer.

The Aeropress Coffee and Espreso Maker according to those folks over at Better Living Through Design makes “a better than average cup of coffee with less acidity and no bitterness”. According to Aerobie, the makers of the Aeropress Coffee and Espreso Maker it works like this. “Water and grounds are mixed together for ten seconds, then gentle air pressure pushes the mix through a micro-filter for 20 seconds” which “culminates in an exceptionally smooth flavour”. Yikes!! The price for this awesomeness? Well pick it up here at Thinkgeek for $25.99 or if you are in the UK at Amazon for a mere £19.99!

Design by Community. Do the public really know best?

Picked this story up on one of my favourite mobile sites, the superb All About Symbian. Apparently Nokia are running a campaign on their site Nokia Conversations site to let the public have their voice on what they would like to see on future phones. I really have to ask though, do the public really know what they want OR even know what makes a good product? I’m not having a go at Nokia here, this is apparently “just a bit of fun” but it seems everyone from Musicians to blue chip companies are asking YOU..what do you want? Frankly I can’t think of anything MORE STUPID. THe public have NO idea. So stop asking them, lead and they will follow. We have become a society of people/companies who hedge their bets. Better not make a decision so let the public decide, then they can blame the public when it flops, and they don’t have to stand up and justify why. The public have NO IDEA!. No product or invention HAS ever come from the public. As always lead and they will follow, just ask Apple.

AirStash™ A Wireless Flash Drive for the iPad, iPhone, Camera’s infact anything with Wi-Fi!

If you ever need storage on the go for your iPhone, iPad, Camera or any device with Wi-Fi then the AirStash™ from Wearable Inc is a must have gadget!

From the AirStash™ site:

“AirStash stores your movies, music, photos, and documents and wirelessly shares them with your phone, media player, netbook, tablet, computer, and more. Use AirStash like a USB flash drive to drag & drop the files you want to your SD card while charging the built-in lithium polymer battery, then unplug & play on all of your browser-enabled WiFi devices*.

All you need to do is insert a SD card (bought separately), which can be upto 32GB in size and there you have it a portable wireless storage server on the go! You can even stream video and music apparently. The cost? A mere $99. UNFORTUNATELY it’s US/Canada ONLY. Come on Wearable Inc sort it out!

Source: Digital Photography Review