MacRumors

TechCrunch discusses a picture that is being pieced together from reports from App Store developers suggesting that Apple is looking to crack down on "cookie cutter" iPhone applications that offer little more than could be offered through a web app.

Between the developers I spoke to, the consensus was this: Apple doesn't appear to be opposed to 'app generators' and templates per se, but in the last month or so it has started cracking down on basic applications that are little more than RSS feeds or glorified business cards. In short, Apple doesn't want people using native applications for things that a basic web app could accomplish.

The report offers a lengthy quote from Medialets CEO Eric Litman, who notes that Apple is looking to ensure that iPhone applications offer high-quality experiences that set the iPhone apart from other devices.

Apple wants iPhone apps to be superior to Web experiences because they are extremely sticky and drive people specifically to buy the iPhone over competing smartphone platforms. Apps that are too simple or largely indistinguishable from the Web, other apps or particularly other apps on other platforms send the message to end users that the iPhone app ecosystem might not be particularly special.

In particular, Apple appears to be focusing on submissions from app-building services that utilize only basic templates to generate their products, many of which are little more than spammy regurgitations of Web content. Others involve partnerships with quality content providers but do not offer features that drive a compelling user experience.

According to the report, some app-building services like Appmakr have embraced the shift, working to incorporate more advanced tools such as in-app purchasing, push notifications, and offline access in order to offer the richer experience Apple is looking for. Appmakr hopes that its efforts will not go unnoticed by Apple, allowing it to become a "trusted" developer that could streamline the review process for its applications.

A few times a year, MacRumors partners with MacHeist to promote their Mac application bundle deal. Their latest bundle delivers at least eight Mac applications for $19.95 (over $280 value if all purchased separately) including:

- MacJournal ($40) - Collect, brainstorm, write, and organize your thoughts all in one place.
- RipIt ($20) - Easily rip and convert your DVDs for iTunes, iPod or AppleTV
- Clips ($27) - Expands the built-in clipboard, so you can store and recall multiple things with a keystroke.
- CoverScout ($39.95) - Easily fill in all your missing album art in iTunes, including all the ones iTunes missed.
- Flow ($25) - FTP client for Mac, with built-in text editing and streamlined interface.
- Tales of Monkey Island ($34.95) - TellTale Games' revival of LucasArts' classic pirating adventure game series.
- RapidWeaver ($79) - Easy to use web creation tool; RapidWeaver will become unlocked for all customers once 50,000 bundles have been sold.
- Tweetie ($19.95) - Popular Mac Twitter client; Tweetie will become unlocked for all customers once a certain number of bundles (to be announced at the unlocking of RapidWeaver) have been sold, and customers will also receive exclusive early access to Tweetie 2 for Mac beta later this month.

In addition, nanoBundle customers have the opportunity to receive three more free applications (for a total value of over $320 for all 11 applications) by tweeting to spread the word about MacHeist.

- Tracks - Play your music library and browse the iTunes Music Store from your menu bar
- Airburst Extreme - Airborne "floating" survival game with multiple gameplay modes
- Burning Monkey Solitaire - Suite of solitaire card games enhanced with a singing gorilla, flaming arrows, hundreds of jokes and secret easter eggs

This $19.95 bundle sale runs through Wednesday night Eastern time.

MacRumors is a promotional partner with MacHeist. Bundle sales through these links benefit MacRumors financially, and provide a way for readers to directly support this site.

Update: With the MacHeist nanoBundle passing through 50,000 bundles sold, RapidWeaver has now been unlocked for all customers. Tweetie will be unlocked once 56,789 bundles have been sold.

Update 2: All applications are now unlocked.

Apple just aired their first iPad commercial during the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. A description of the ad by Doju:

The commercial was just on, depicted a person using the iPad on their lap, going through the various features (iBooks, Pages, Videos, etc. nothing new) with an upbeat song.

The ad ends with "April 3."

The Apple iPad will launch on April 3rd with pre-orders starting on March 12th.

Meanwhile, Steve Jobs is said to be spotted at the Oscars tonight as well. Confirmed by another attendant:

Photo by Jon Chu

Update: High quality version of ad available now at Apple.com.

After Valve's series of teaser images, it's now been revealed that their upcoming sequel Portal 2 will also be coming to the Mac. The above image comes from a series of scans from the latest issue of Gameinformer magazine which carries a cover story about the much anticipated sequel.

The original Portal game was originally released as part of the Orange Box compilation for Xbox and PC. It was a relatively short game featuring physics based puzzles in which the player manipulated two different teleporting portal entrances:

The original game was a critical success and has resulted in the full-length sequel planned this fall. Portal 2 will presumably be distributed on a Mac version of Steam which has been hinted at over the past week.

Swedish site Slashat.se reportedly emailed Steve Jobs asking the simple question "Will the wifi-only version somehow support tethering thru my iPhone?" Steve Jobs' reply was a simple "no" and was sent from his iPhone.

Tethering is the process by which you can share an internet connection from a cellular device (such as the iPhone) to a non cellular device such as a notebook, or in this case an iPad. If tethering were allowed, the iPad could share the iPhone's 3G connection removing the need for purchasing wireless service on the iPad itself. The answer is not a surprise as Apple had given no indication that the iPad could service this function.

Meanwhile, Jobs has been busy answering emails as he had also responded to disbelief that the iPad's IPS display could support 10 hours of battery life in such a small form factor. To these inquiries, Jobs replied:

"... yes, we are getting 10 hours in 1.5 pounds."

Notably, in this email, he actually responded using the iPad.

The iPad launches in the U.S. on April 3rd with pre-orders starting on March 12th.

Last week, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky released the results of a survey showing pent-up demand for the iPad exceeding that of the original iPhone, highest customer demand for low-capacity Wi-Fi-only and high-capacity 3G-enabled iPads, and moderate cannibalization of other Apple products by the iPad.

ChangeWave today released additional data from the survey, showing Apple poised to take the top spot among e-reader purchasers over the next 90 days, with 40% of purchasers in the survey planning to opt for an iPad. Amazon's Kindle holds the second spot in the survey at 28%, with Barnes and Noble's Nook placing third at only 6%.

In short, while the iPad launch is likely to strengthen overall e-Reader demand, the survey suggests Amazon and its competitors could well find themselves relegated to playing catch-up within just a few quarters if they don't preemptively move quickly to upgrade their own e-Readers.

Also of interest is ChangeWave's data from customers who already own an e-reader, 27% of whom would have purchased an iPad had it been available when they made their purchase. 45% of purchasers would still have purchased their current e-reader, while 30% registered as undecided.

Finally, in looking at timing for iPad purchasing, the survey found that many potential iPad customers are looking beyond the usual 90-day window typically used by ChangeWave for its data, with purchasing windows actually peaking in the 4-6 month post-launch timeframe and considerable numbers of customers planning to hold off even longer.

It is important to note that ChangeWave's research focuses mainly on business, technical and medical professional, as well as early-adopter consumers, so its results are not necessarily indicative of broader consumer buying patterns. Its data does, however, offer a glimpse into the thinking of those who are frequently considered to be at the forefront of such trends.

Daring Fireball's John Gruber claims to have heard from his sources that the slight shipping delay (about a week in the U.S. and on the order of a month in the first batch of international markets) for the Wi-Fi iPad is due not to hardware production issues but to Apple putting the final touches on the software for the device.

It was the software, not the hardware, that took a week or two longer to finish than they'd hoped. Nothing extraordinary or unusual, just the usual hard-to-predict timing of turning software that's almost ready to ship into software that's ready to ship. In the grand history of major OS release date slips, one week is pretty tame.

A report early this week indicated that a "manufacturing bottleneck" would be responsible for limited iPad quantities at launch and possibly a delay of the entire launch. Another analyst claim yesterday offered similar information, but noted that the issues were not related to "glass or manufacturing process". If Gruber's sources are correct and the delays were simply due to software, Apple should be able to quickly deploy the final software version to units in production and rapidly fill its sales channels for launch.

Apple today seeded yet another version of Mac OS X 10.6.3, termed Build 10D567, to developers. iPhone in Canada offers some details on the new version, which has seen only minor refinements as development appears to be wrapping up. Developers are reportedly asked to focus their testing on Graphics Drivers, iChat, QuickTime, Printing and Rosetta.

The last developer build of 10.6.3 was seeded last week Wednesday, and we continue to expect a public release of the third maintenance update to Snow Leopard in the relatively near future. Mac OS X 10.6.2 was released in early November.

Patently Apple points to an interesting Apple patent application published yesterday describing methods of incorporating commercials into video content such that viewing of the commercials interspersed throughout the video presentation would be required in order to "unlock" portions of the content. The methods would allow users to freely navigate within a video presentation such as a television show while still requiring them to view commercials.

For example, a downloaded television episode may have multiple commercial breaks encoded into the file, and should a user attempt to navigate to a "locked" portion of the episode, they could be redirected to a commercial that, after viewing, would allow the user to "unlock" the desired content for viewing. Such implementations could allow for such options as one-time unlocking or limited-time unlocking after which the user would have to view commercial content again in order to access the locked segment.

As ad breaks are viewed, a segment of the episode associated with that ad break becomes an unlocked segment 310. The unlocked segment can remain unlocked indefinitely, can remain unlocked for a fixed, limited duration, or can remain unlocked for an unknown, but limited duration, such as until the viewer has finished viewing the entire episode.

Alternatively, the user's desired content could play immediately, but content from the required "unlocking" ad break could be displayed back-to-back with the following ad break at the next opportunity. A third option could be that the user's navigation request would simply be denied until they had reached the appropriate ad break to unlock the segment.

The system also offers the availability of ad "bundles" which can either be included with the downloaded content or offered separately, allowing for certain "bundles" of ads to expire at the end of a campaign and be replaced by new advertising.

Amid growing video downloads from the iTunes Store and reports of Apple developing a subscription-based package of television shows, it is clear that the company is thinking about ways of moving television content to its portable devices while providing methods for content providers to receive sustainable revenue streams. Whether that comes from per-download or subscription fees from users, advertising dollars, or some combination of those sources remains to be seen.

Apple today announced that Wi-Fi models of the iPad will go on sale in the United States on Saturday, April 3rd. 3G-capable models in the U.S., as well as both Wi-Fi and 3G models for a number of other countries, will be available in late April. U.S. preorders for all iPad models begin on March 12th.

Apple today announced that its magical and revolutionary iPad will be available in the US on Saturday, April 3, for Wi-Fi models and in late April for Wi-Fi + 3G models. In addition, all models of iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April.

Beginning a week from today, on March 12, US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models from Apple's online store (www.apple.com) or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up on Saturday, April 3, at an Apple retail store.

Apple also noted that its free iBooks application offering access to the iBookstore will be available in the U.S. App Store on April 3rd, with other countries to follow "later this year".

Apple had initially announced worldwide availability of Wi-Fi models for late March, with 3G-capable models to follow in April. Several reports from analysts this week claimed, however, that Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn has been experiencing production delays that will result in limited initial availability. Based on the iPad's U.S. launch slipping into April and the delay of international availability of the Wi-Fi models, it appears that those reports may have been correct.

After a brief outage on Thursday, Apple's developer site returned with a dramatically restructured developer program for the Mac that is modeled after the $99/year iPhone developer program:

"Modeled after the highly successful iPhone Developer Program, we've relaunched the Mac Developer Program to offer members technical resources, support, access to pre-release software, developer forums and more, all for just $99 per year. As our developer base continues to grow in leaps and bounds, we're working hard to ensure we provide our developers with everything they need to create innovative applications for both the iPhone OS and Mac OS X."

Previously, Apple offered multiple tiers (Select, Premier) at significantly higher prices ($499, $3499) but also included hardware discounts and other perks to membership. It appears Apple may be looking to tempt the large number of iPhone developers to easily jump to Mac development. Existing ADC members accounts will continue as is until they expire, at which time members can then join the new $99/year program. Prospective Mac developers can still download the Xcode tools for free, but without access to the pre-release software and technical support.

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) on Sony's plans to develop a new lineup of handheld devices to compete against Apple's iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

Threatened by Apple Inc.'s growing stable of portable devices, Sony Corp. is developing a new lineup of handheld products, including a smart phone capable of downloading and playing PlayStation games, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Japanese electronics giant also has a project under way to develop a portable device that blurs distinctions among a netbook, an e-reader and a PlayStation Portable, or PSP. The device is designed to compete against multifunction products such as Apple's coming iPad tablet, these people said.

The initiative seems to be an expansion of an effort revealed last year, with Apple's forthcoming iPad now serving as yet another target for Sony. According to today's report, Sony is targeting a 2010 launch for these devices, although specifications and pricing are currently unknown.

The devices will reportedly be designed to take advantage of Sony long-standing leadership position in mobile gaming while also leveraging the company's new media service due for launch this month as a competitor to Apple's iTunes Store. Sony has felt increasing pressure as Apple and third-party developers have been increasingly positioning the iPhone, and particularly the iPod touch, as gaming devices. The iPad, which will be able to run iPhone games as well as iPad-specific applications, obviously offers yet another venue for quality gaming experiences.

In the 2010 edition of its annual ranking of "World's Most Admired Companies", Fortune placed Apple at the top of the list for the third year in a row and by the highest margin ever in the survey's ten-year history. Apple was followed in the rankings by Google, Berkshire Hathaway, Johnson & Johnson, and Amazon.

What makes Apple so admired? Product, product, product. This is the company that changed the way we do everything from buy music to design products to engage with the world around us. Its track record for innovation and fierce consumer loyalty translates into tremendous respect across business' highest ranks.

As BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer puts it, "The whole world held its breath before the iPad was announced. That's brand management at its very best."

Reithofer also ranked Apple CEO Steve Jobs as his most admired CEO. And beyond the overall crown, Apple took the top spot in the sub-category of Innovation while placing second in People Management. The company was also recognized as fourth in Quality of Products/Services and in a tie for sixth with Amazon in Management Quality.

Fortune's rankings were based on a poll of 4,200 corporate executives, directors, and industry analysts.

The Wall Street Journal reports on a new note from research firm ThinkEquity claiming that the Apple's manufacturing partners in Taiwan are in fact experiencing delays in ramping up iPad production ahead of the device's launch announced for later this month. According to the report:

Our checks in Taiwan indicate some minor delays on the iPad. The manufacturing of the iPads was supposed to pick up in February, but volumes even in March are still low. Current volumes are much lower than the market expected but most checks are indicating minor delays. The delays do not appear to be a glass or manufacturing process delays.

Barron's is also reporting on the news, citing expected shipments of 200,000-250,000 units for this month before ramping up to 800,000-1,000,000 units per month in the April-May timeframe. Earlier claims had suggested that Apple had been looking at having 1,000,000 units ready for deployment at launch.

A separate analyst report earlier this week had claimed that iPad production delays would create shortages or even delay the launch of the device, although Apple has stood by its "late March" launch date and other suppliers have disputed any delays in production.

MacRumors has heard whispers of a possible Friday, March 26th launch at 6 P.M. local time similar to that used for the original iPhone.

paidContent:UK reported earlier this week on a presentation from Penguin Books CEO John Makinson showing his company's vision for the future of eBooks on the iPad. Makinson's presentation highlighted Penguin's goal of embedding interactive content such as audio and video into its eBooks, as well as the inclusion of even more advanced features such as chats between readers.

Interestingly, Penguin is even looking to push things beyond what the EPUB format used for Apple's iBookstore can support, meaning that the company is planning to launch much of its content as applications rather than eBooks. It is unclear how that strategy will mesh with Apple's plans for its centralized iBookstore.

"We will be embedding audio, video and streaming in to everything we do. The .epub format, which is the standard for ebooks at the present, is designed to support traditional narrative text, but not this cool stuff that we're now talking about.

"So for the time being at least we'll be creating a lot of our content as applications, for sale on app stores and HTML, rather than in ebooks. The definition of the book itself is up for grabs."

In addressing Penguin's relationships with Apple and other eBook distributors, Makinson noted that the 30% revenue sharing split with distributors pushed by Apple as an extension of its existing App Store is better than the 50% split seen for print agencies, indicating that his company is happy with the arrangements. That happiness apparently has not stopped book publishers from noting that it could be argued that Apple should have to pay them for content based on its need to drive device sales, although that tactic has obviously not worked.

A video of the demo played during Makinson's presentation has also been posted.

Earlier today, Valve Software released teaser images which indicated that their Steam platform as well as a number of their games would be coming to the Mac.

For those unfamiliar with this currently PC-only software, Steam is a digital distribution system for PC games. Essentially, a PC game App Store. The Steam storefront allows users to purchase from over 1000 titles and download them straight to their computer. Steam also provides digital rights management, auto-updates and community features for the games installed. Besides Valve's own games, major 3rd party developers including EA, Activision, SEGA and many more distribute their games on the system. Steam has been around since 2002, but in the past few years has really gained significant momentum and market share.

Part of Steam's popularity has been on the strength of Valve's own offerings which include Half Life 2, Team Fortress 2, Portal, and Left 4 Dead. Here's an old teaser trailer for their critically acclaimed Portal game:

Based on the teaser images, it seems likely that all of these titles will also make their way to the Mac. This leads us to believe that Valve has ported their Source game engine over to the Mac, which would allow any future games based on this engine to be easily launched for the Mac. Alternative, Valve could be using Transgaming/Cider for the translation. Coincidentally, Valve has been in the process of seeding information believed to be about Portal 2 over the past few days. In fact, they even changed the famous ending to the game, leaving it open to a sequel.

Now, given all this, it does not mean that other non-Valve Steam games will necessarily be coming to the Mac. It would be up to each developer to make that decision. iPhone and PC Steam developer NimbleBit, however, is already considering moving their kart racer Zero Gear to the Mac based solely on these announcements.

"The arrival of Steam on the Mac platform would make porting our PC game Zero Gear to Mac much more feasable and attractive. This could be a chance for many independent iPhone developers to test the waters of desktop game development as well.", writes Ian Marsh of Nimblebit.

It could also open the door up to existing Mac-specific developers to have a new digital distribution system to Mac gamers.