World of Apple

Following the release of iTunes 7.7, applications for the iPhone and iPod touch have begun appearing in the iTunes Store.

The majority of apps appear to be Free or priced at $9.99 (£5.99).

Apple has also included an application that it has built in-house called Remote (iTunes Link). Remote is available for free and is described as having the ability to control music on your computer or Apple TV from an iPhone or iPod touch.

Apple has today given developers an official deadline for the last date in which they can submit their application to the App Store for inclusion on iPhone 3G launch day.

Apple states that developers wishing to have theirs applications included in the App Store should submit them before July 7th.

To ensure your application can be considered for the exciting launch of the App Store, submit your application by 12 PM PDT, on July 7, 2008. We will continue to accept applications after this time, however your application may not be available until after the launch of the App Store.

Gizmodo has posted a brief video walking through just a few of the features that are in the iPhone 2.0 firmware update which is expected on July 11.

The update will be a free update to current iPhone owners and should come pre-installed on the iPhone 3G.

Gizmodo also posts some screenshots from iTunes 7.7 which includes preferences to look for iPod touch and iPhone remotes.

Apple has sent out a notice to developers informing them that applications are now being accepted for the App Store.

Get started by downloading the either beta version of the iPhone OS, available in the iPhone Dev Center. With this new version of iPhone OS you can conduct final testing and prepare your application for submission to the App Store.

The App Store is expected to go live on July 11.

Apple has recently seeded developers with the latest iPhone SDK Beta. Alongside Beta 8 of the SDK Apple also gave developers a new version of the iPhone 2.0 Firmware as well as a pre-release copy of iTunes 7.7.

The iPhone firmware version is 5A345, builds ending in numbers are usually of a stable nature.

In the readme for the iTunes installer, there is a hint at some kind of remote control application that can be installed on the iPhone/iPod touch:

Use iTunes 7.7 to sync music, video, and more with iPhone 3G, and download applications from the iTunes Store exclusively designed for iPhone and iPod touch with software version 2.0 or later. Also use the new Remote application for iPhone or iPod touch to control iTunes playback from anywhere in your home — a free download from the App Store.

The application will presumably allow the control of iTunes over a WiFi network from an iPhone or iPod touch.

Apple is expected to release the iPhone 2.0 firmware and App Store on July 11.

A posting on TokyoMango with an accompanying video (below) shows the Japanese keyboard functions of the upcoming iPhone 2.0 firmware.

According to the post users will be able to choose between a QWERTY-keyboard and a Japanese mobile phone style keyboard and from there can select either a multi-tap style kana keyboard or a sliding keyboard.

The post explains, “Japanese kana letters are organized in groups of five according to a beginning letter and corresponding vowels (a i u e o), so you can either put in the first letter and then hit the same key between 1-5 times to get the right sound (multi-tap), or you can put the first letter in and then tap and slide through to see all five sounds and pick the right one.”

Video after jump.

(more…)

During Adobe’s Q2 earnings call last night CEO Shantanu Narayen said that Adobe had a working version of Flash on the iPhone, albeit on an emulator:

We have a version that’s working on the emulation. This is still on the computer and you know, we have to continue to move it from a test environment onto the device and continue to make it work. So we are pleased with the internal progress that we’ve made to date.

It should be noted that Steve Jobs and Apple have been critical of Flash so Adobe doesn’t only have a technical hurdle but also a business one.

Also a good time to remind readers of Walt Mossberg’s announcement last July that Adobe would be bring Flash to the iPhone in an upcoming software update.

AppleInsider has published an article detailing information revealed to developers earlier in the week on how iPhone and iPod touch applications can be submitted to the App Store.

The article details how applications are uploaded using iTunes Connect and have a maximum file size of 2GB, Apple has reportedly not stated whether this is a technical limitation.

Certain applications can be limited to geographic regions and games are given content ratings. Apple has stated that no games with an adult rating will be allowed on the App Store.

Pricing of applications is limited to between $0.99 and $999.99. Alternatively applications can be given away for free.

Although Apple has officially stated that the App Store will launch in early-July, but those familiar with the matter suggest that the App Store will launch on July 11 the same day as the iPhone 3G release.

TomTom has announced that it already has a version of their GPS navigation software running on an iPhone.

“Our navigation system runs on the iPhone already,” the TomTom spokesman said after Apple announced a new version of the iPhone that will include global positioning (GPS) capability.

Apple has released the seventh beta of the iPhone SDK to registered developers. The iPhone Software Development Kit remains under NDA and is labelled build 9M2199, the total download size is 1.19GB.

Registered iPhone Developers can download the latest beta from the iPhone Dev centre.