App Store
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Developer(s) | Apple Inc. |
|---|---|
| Operating system | iPhone OS |
| Type | Software update/Store |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | apple.com/iphone/appstore/ |
The App Store is a service for the iPhone and iPod Touch created by Apple Inc. which allows users to browse and download applications from the iTunes Store that were developed with the iPhone SDK and published through Apple. They are available to purchase or free of charge, depending on the application. The applications are downloaded directly to iPhone or iPod Touch. The App Store is also available within iTunes. While Apple has stated that they do not expect to profit from the store, it has been predicted by Piper Jaffray that the App Store could create a profitable marketplace with revenue exceeding US$1 billion annually for the company. Apple allows 70% of revenues from the store to instantly go to the seller of the app, and 30% go to Apple.[1] The App Store opened early in the morning on July 10, 2008 via an update to iTunes. Applications were immediately available for download at that time. However, iPhone and iPod Touch software version 2.0 was not yet available through Software Update, making the applications unusable. The iPhone OS 2.0 was released on July 11, 2008, and applications were able to be transferred onto the newly updated devices. As of June 8, 2009, there are over 50,000 third-party applications officially available for the iPhone and iPod Touch on the App Store.[2]
After the success of Apple's App Store, and the launch of similar services by its competitors, the term "app store" has appeared as a generic term referring to any similar service for mobile devices.[3][4][5]
The App Store is accessible from the iPhone and iPod Touch via an application by the same name.
Contents |
[edit] iPhone SDK
The Software Development Kit for iPhone OS was announced at the iPhone Software Roadmap event on March 6, 2008. The SDK allows developers (running Mac OS X 10.5.4 or higher on an Intel Mac) to create applications using Xcode that will natively run on the iPhone and iPod Touch. A beta version was released after the event and a final version was released in July 2008 alongside the iPhone 3G.[6] This major Roadmap event (coupled with a large distribution program for 3rd-party developers), later became known as the iPhone Developer Program, which currently offers two distribution tracks for 3rd-party developers: Standard, and Enterprise.[7]
Applications distributed through The Standard Program can be sold exclusively through the iTunes Store, on Mac and Windows, or on the App Store on the iPhone and iPod Touch[7]. Developers which publish their applications on the App Store will receive 70% of sales revenue, and will not have to pay any distribution costs for the application. However, a US$99 fee is required to use the iPhone SDK and upload applications to the store[6].
Applications developed through the Enterprise Program are exclusively for institutional use, which allows for large corporations, and government agencies, to develop more proprietary applications not for public release[7].
To run an application on the iPhone, the application needs to be signed. This signed certificate is only granted by Apple, after the developer has first developed the software through either the US$99/year Standard package, or the US$299/year Enterprise package, and the SDK[6].
[edit] Number of launched applications
On July 10, 2008, Apple CEO Steve Jobs told USA Today that the App Store contained 500 third-party applications for the iPhone and the iPod Touch, 125 of which were free downloads. These third party applications range from business to game applications, entertainment to educational applications, and many more applications available for free or for sale. As of July 11, 2008, users may buy applications from the App Store, and transfer them to an iPhone or iPod Touch with the iPhone 2.0 software update, which became available through iTunes on the same day. 10 million applications were downloaded the first weekend.[8] On January 16, 2009, Apple announced on its website that 500 million applications had been downloaded.[9]
[edit] Milestones
| Date | Available Applications | Accumulated Downloads |
|---|---|---|
| July 11, 2008[10] | 500 | 0 |
| September 9, 2008[11] | 3,000 | 100,000,000 |
| October 22, 2008[12] | 7,500 | 200,000,000 |
| December 5, 2008[13] | 10,000 | 300,000,000 |
| January 16, 2009[13] | 15,000 | 500,000,000 |
| March 17, 2009[13] | 25,000 | 800,000,000 |
| April 23, 2009[13] | 35,000 | 1,000,000,000 |
| June 8, 2009[13] | 50,000 | 1,000,000,000+ |
For comparison, by 17 March 2009 Google's Android Market had 2,300 available applications.[15]
[edit] 1 Billion App Countdown
Apple posted a countdown to 1 billion app downloads from the App Store on their website, along with a competition to celebrate the download of the billionth app. The billionth app was downloaded by 13-year-old Connor Mulcahey of Weston, Connecticut on April 23, 2009, at approximately 4:50 EST.[16] The 1 billionth app downloaded was "Bump," created by Bump Technologies.[16] Mulcahey won a MacBook Pro, a 32GB iPod touch, a Time Capsule, and a US$10,000 iTunes gift card, as promised by Apple as the contest reward.[17]
[edit] Application ratings
Apple rates applications worldwide based on their content, and determines what age group each is appropriate for. According to the iPhone OS 3.0 launch event, the iPhone will allow blocking of objectionable apps in the iPhone's Settings. The following are the ratings that Apple has detailed:
| Rating | Description |
|---|---|
| 4+ | Contains no objectionable material. |
| 9+ | May contain mild or infrequent occurrences of cartoon, fantasy or realistic violence, and infrequent or mild mature, suggestive, or horror-themed content which may not be suitable for children under the age of 9. |
| 12+ | May also contain infrequent mild language, frequent or intense cartoon, fantasy or realistic violence, and mild or infrequent mature or suggestive themes, and simulated gambling which may not be suitable for children under the age of 12. |
| 17+ | May also contain frequent and intense mature, horror, and suggestive themes; plus sexual content, nudity, alcohol, tobacco, and drugs which may not be suitable for children under the age of 17. Consumers must be at least 17 years old to purchase games with this rating. |
[edit] Controversies
Applications are subject to approval by Apple, as outlined in the SDK agreement, for basic reliability testing and other analysis. The rejection of applications has been subject to much discussion in the press. A particular example, documented in the agreement itself, is that applications must not duplicate the functions of the iPhone itself, for example by providing an email interface,[18] however applications have also been rejected for duplicating the functionality of iTunes.[19] Applications may be rejected if they are of only "limited utility".[20] Some reports indicate that toolbars must be placed at the bottom of the screen, and the vibration function should only be used for alerts.[21] Applications may still be distributed "ad-hoc" if they are rejected, by the author manually submitting a request to Apple to license the application to individual iPhones,[22] although Apple may withdraw the ability for authors to do this at a later date.[23] NDA restrictions have always forbidden developers from publishing the content of their rejection notices, but Apple has now started labeling their rejection letters with Non-Disclosure (NDA) warning THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MESSAGE IS UNDER NON-DISCLOSURE.[24] Apple later changed the NDA citing that "it has created too much of a burden on developers"[25] but they did not reverse the decision to forbid publication of rejection notices.[26] Some applications are not available in AppStores outside the US, because the author wishes so [27][28].
[edit] I Am Rich
In August 2008, an application known as I Am Rich was released in the store, "a work of art with no hidden function at all", with its only purpose being to show other people that they were able to afford it, as it cost US$999.99, €799,99, and £599.99.[29] The application was removed from the App Store the day following its release, on August 6, 2008.[30] Six people had allegedly bought it before it was pulled.[31]
[edit] Baby Shaker
In April 2009, a controversial game called Baby Shaker was approved for the apps store then later removed due to complaints. The game allowed the user to shake their phone until an image of a cartoon baby on the screen died.[32]
[edit] Newspapers & Eucalyptus
In May 2009, Apple rejected the first version of 'Newspapers', an iPhone app that let users read content from 50+ newspapers around the world, including the New York Times, France's Le Monde, and the UK's tabloid The Sun. The app was rejected because the topless 'Page 3' girls daily features were seen as "obscene". A second version of the app was submitted, removing access to The Sun, and adding a price tag of £0.59. The app will be made available in the summer, after the release of the iPhone 3.0 software. [33][34] Another application, of similar nature to 'Newspapers', called 'Eucalyptus' allowed users to download e-books to their iPhone, though was censored by Apple because one of the e-books that could have been downloaded was the Kama Sutra. The ban has since been lifted. [35]
[edit] Nine Inch Nails
Also in May 2009, Trent Reznor announced, via his Twitter account, that Apple had decided to reject an update to the Nine Inch Nails application due to "objectionable content." [36] The developer posted a message on the Nine Inch Nails discussion boards explaining the situation further: "v1.0 is live. v1.0.3 got rejected due to content yet the app has no content in it. this was mainly a stability release to fix the bug that crashes the app for international users. the bug was fixed 24 hours after 1.0 went live and we have been waiting for apple to approve it ever since. meanwhile the app continues to get a growing number of 1 star ratings from international users understandably frustrated by the bug. but looks like our hands are tied."[37] Apple later permitted the update. [38]
[edit] Similar services for other devices
Following the popularity of the App Store, many developers made their own software store for other mobile platforms. Palm Inc. has published an application store very similar to the App Store for Palm devices [39] and announced the App Catalog for the Palm Pre device that was released June 6, 2009. Another application, Android Market is used in conjunction with OHA's Android operating system. Microsoft has announced Windows Marketplace for Mobile, an application store for their Windows Mobile platform.[40] And Nokia has announced The "Ovi store"[41] for its S60 and S40 based mobile devices. RIM also launched its application store BlackBerry App World.[42]
[edit] References
- ^ "Analyst: There’s a great future in iPhone apps", Venture Beat, June 11, 2008.
- ^ "App Store: 25 000 apps, 800 million downloads". VentureBeat. 2009-03-17. http://venturebeat.com/2009/03/17/app-store-25000-apps-800-million-downloads/. Retrieved on 2009-03-25.
- ^ Sinead Carew (22 April 2009). "In app store war, BlackBerry, Google hold own". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE53L5DK20090422. Retrieved on 23 June 2009.
- ^ Roy Furchgott (29 May 2009). "Nokia’s App Store Launches With a Hiccup". The New York Times. http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/nokias-app-store-launches-with-a-hiccup/. Retrieved on 23 June 2009.
- ^ Priya Ganapati (4 March 2009). "BlackBerry App Store Gets a Name". Wired. http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/03/blackberry-app/. Retrieved on 23 June 2009.
- ^ a b c Apple Announces iPhone 2.0 Software Beta
- ^ a b c iPhone Developer Program - Enterprise Distribution
- ^ "iPhone App Store Downloads Top 10 Million in First Weekend". Apple Press Release. 2008-07-14. http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/07/14appstore.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-10.
- ^ "iPhone App Store breezes past 500 million downloads". The Register. 2009-01-16. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/16/half_billion_iphone_apps/. Retrieved on 2009-01-24.
- ^ "iPhone 3G on Sale Tomorrow". Apple Press Release. 2008-07-10. http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/07/10iphone.html. Retrieved on 2009-01-17.
- ^ "App Store Downloads Top 100 Million Worldwide". Apple Press Release. 2008-09-09. http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/09/09appstore.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-10.
- ^ "Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results". Apple Press Release. 2008-10-21. http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/10/21results.html. Retrieved on 2009-01-17.
- ^ a b c d e "Apple.com". Apple Website Frontpage. 2008-12-05. http://www.apple.com/. Retrieved on 2008-12-08.
- ^ "Apple’s Revolutionary App Store Downloads Top One Billion in Just Nine Months". 24 April 2009. http://www.apple.com/ca/press/2009_04/app_store.html. Retrieved on 3 May 2009.
- ^ Stephen Lawson (17 March 2009). "Android Market Needs More Filters, T-Mobile Says". PC World. http://www.pcworld.com/article/161410/android_market_needs_more_filters_tmobile_says.html.
- ^ a b Apple – iTunes – Thanks a Billion. Retrieved April 25, 2009.
- ^ Apple – iTunes – 1 Billion App Countdown – Rules. Retrieved April 26, 2009.
- ^ http://www.tuaw.com/2008/09/22/apple-rejects-another-app-for-duplicating-functionality/
- ^ http://almerica.blogspot.com/2008/09/podcaster-rejeceted-because-it.html
- ^ http://www.macrumors.com/iphone/2008/09/04/apple-rejecting-applications-based-on-limited-utility/
- ^ http://www.tuaw.com/2008/08/08/dear-auntie-tuaw-appstore-rejection/
- ^ http://www.tuaw.com/2008/09/15/podcaster-app-distributed-via-ad-hoc-after-apple-rejection/
- ^ http://www.tuaw.com/2008/09/23/podcaster-dev-cant-provision-any-more-licenses/
- ^ http://www.macrumors.com/2008/09/23/apple-extends-non-disclosure-to-app-store-rejection-letters/
- ^ http://www.macrumors.com/2008/10/01/apple-drops-iphone-non-disclosure-agreement-nda/ NDA Drop
- ^ http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/a-slice-of-glasnost-at-apple/
- ^ http://www.eye.fi
- ^ http://forums.eye.fi/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=829
- ^ Wagenseil, Paul (August 6, 2008). "'I Am Rich' iPhone Application Retails for $1,000". Fox News (News Corporation). http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,398903,00.html.
- ^ Frommer, Dan (August 6, 2008). "Worthless, $1000 "I Am Rich" iPhone App Disappears (AAPL)". Silicon Alley Insider (Silicon Alley Media). http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/8/worthless-1000-i-am-rich-iphone-app-disappears.
- ^ Milian, Mark (August 7, 2008). "Apple removes $1,000 featureless iPhone application". Los Angeles Times (Tribune Company). http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/08/iphone-i-am-ric.html.
- ^ Baby Shaker Game Causes Outrage | BBC
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/may/06/sun-newsinternational
- ^ http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/05/05/the_sun_app_ban/
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/may/24/iphone-ban-eucalyptus
- ^ Trent Reznor (trent_reznor) on Twitter
- ^ NIN iPhone app rejection
- ^ Apple Allows NIN App Update
- ^ http://appstore.pocketgear.com/palm/
- ^ "Microsoft Reveals New Windows Phones With Marketplace and My Phone Services". Microsoft. 2009-02-16. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2009/feb09/02-16MWCPR.mspx. Retrieved on 2009-02-27.
- ^ http://store.ovi.com/
- ^ "RIM store crowned BlackBerry App World". CNet. 2009-03-04. http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10188400-1.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-08.
[edit] External links
- The App Store on iTunes
- Apple, Inc. official website
- Apple, Inc. official iPhone developer site
- TouchApps, the App Store wiki
[edit] See also
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