store

The mystery surrounding Apple's approval process on the App Store is legendary. What gets approved or rejected on any given day can be a source of bewilderment for developers and consumers alike. But the company still surprised everyone when it rejected Google's Voice app for the iPhone on Tuesday.

The story doesn't end there. Apple then proceeded to remove third-party apps from the App Store that it said duplicate features of the iPhone. One of those apps is called VoiceCentral, and the developer is understandably upset.

Riverturn's VoiceCentral has been available in the App Store for … Read more

Ever had trouble finding a particular app at the iPhone App Store? Who hasn't? A couple weeks ago I spent like 10 minutes trying to find a game a friend had just shown me. That may have had more to do with me being intoxicated and less about the App Store's search functionality, though.

Still, things may be improving. According to AppleInsider, Apple is now asking iPhone developers to enter 255 comma-separated characters as keywords to iTunes Connect to be used for search in the App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch.

iTunes Connect is the application … Read more

Can't find a video file you watched months ago? Not to worry, this nifty little app makes recovering video or audio files from your cache a snap. However, its save function didn't work at all in our tests.

VideoCacheView is a free app that launches a small, one-pane window with a row of icons in a toolbar. It appears unassuming for a few moments, then--quick as a wink--it automatically fills its pane with a list of video and audio files it detects in your Web browser cache. This little app performed alright in our tests: it recovered video, … Read more

Verizon Wireless is jumping on the application store bandwagon and taking on Apple and its App Store with its own Vcast application store, which it announced at its first ever developer conference in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday.

The new Vcast application store will launch in the fourth quarter of 2009. Lowell McAdam, CEO of Verizon Wireless, said it will offer application developers a quick and simple way to distribute and monetize their applications while providing wireless subscribers with an easier way to discover and buy new applications for their smartphones.

Executives from Verizon Wireless--which has been criticized in the past … Read more

The long-awaited Google Voice application for the iPhone has been officially shot down by Apple.

There were a scattering of reports on Monday, and then a Google spokesperson confirmed it: "Apple did not approve the Google Voice application we submitted six weeks ago to the Apple App Store. We will continue to work to bring our services to iPhone users--for example, by taking advantage of advances in mobile browsers."

In addition, all third-party applications that use Google Voice have been pulled by Apple, according to a report in TechCrunch. The developer of one of those apps, GV Mobile, … Read more

Microsoft plans to open two of its first retail locations in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Mission Viejo, Calif., CNET News has learned.

The software maker confirmed on Tuesday that it has signed leases in both spots as part of an effort to launch its first retail outlets this fall.

"Over a billion people use our products every day yet we don't always have a way to directly connect with them," said Microsoft spokeswoman Kim Stocks. "We see the physical stores, as well as a consistent online experience, helping that."

The Orange County, Calif., store is in … Read more

At long last, Microsoft is publicly getting its Windows Mobile application storefront under way. On Monday, Microsoft opened the door to submissions from developers in 29 countries. To sweeten the deal and to drum up excitement, Microsoft has also announced the Race to Market Challenge, a contest of superlatives that will end with Redmond doling out four touch-screen Microsoft Surface tables to four winning developers.

All applications, games, and widgets certified in the Windows Marketplace for Mobile before December 31 will be eligible to win one of four categories: most downloaded freeware, most moneymaking app (calculated by the number of … Read more

When I tried Spotify, the free on-demand music-streaming service currently available only in Europe, I was impressed by its iTunes-like user interface and how fast the songs loaded. So when I saw Monday's news that Spotify has submitted an iPhone app to Apple for consideration, I got excited.

Then I read more closely: to use the mobile version of Spotify, you'll need a premium subscription. The service isn't available in the United States yet, but a premium subscription in the United Kingdom costs 10 pounds a month, which translates to about $16.50 at today's exchange … Read more

Microsoft confirmed late on Friday that store plans posted on Gizmodo are genuine, but represent the company's early thinking and that no final decisions have been made on how the company's retail stores will look when the first ones open this fall.

The designs, which include a giant video wall, Surface computers, and an "answer bar" were leaked to the gadget site, which wrote about them earlier Friday.

"As a part of our process in briefing creative agencies, we shared some early prototypes and concepts of our retail store plans," a Microsoft representative said … Read more