Tag: appstore

iPhone’s pirate problem

Posted on by Lab Team

Pirate Dog Arr matey, there be a danger on the wireless waves.

A tool was recently released for the iPhone that breaks the copy protection on the AppStore apps, enabling redistribution of any application.  And it is designed to do this with a single button push.  The cracking tool is only available to jailbroken phones, as would any redistributed applications, but it poses a potentially troubling scenario.

The iPhone jailbreaking community has played a large part in the development of the wireless world.  Back when the iPhone was released, Apple’s stance was a staunch “no native apps.”  They felt it was enough to provide tools for iPhone customized web development.

It was a ragtag grouping of a few very clever individuals who found ways to build, install, and run applications on the iPhone without Apple’s permission. Continue reading “iPhone’s pirate problem”

iTunes app store shakeout

Posted on by Lab Team

iamrichThe biggest news about the iPhone 3G release this past July 11, as far as the broader mobile industry is concerned, was easily the launch of the iTunes App Store. The effect this is poised to have on third-party mobile application development—outside of the iPhone and iTunes ecosystem—could be tremendous.

Of course, downloading apps to the phone has been around for years; but the familiarity of the experience on the iPhone will spur handset makers, carriers, and developers to work together to create a more seamless experience on other handsets. Out of this, we’re also likely to see a couple of other marketplaces begin to challenge iTunes: probably standing a better chance than competitive music portals, which by and large have languished or stumbled over business models as iTunes has quietly become the biggest music retailer in the country. Continue reading “iTunes app store shakeout”