MacRumors iPhone and iPad Blog: Apps, News, and Rumors

Over the weekend, updated versions of TomTom's turn-by-turn GPS iPhone application appeared in the App Store. As previously announced the update brings several new features, including real-time traffic information (requires separate in-app purchase) and Google local search. - REAL TIME TRAFFIC: The best traffic information available today - for the fastest route every time and the most accurate ...

Augmented reality firm Layar today announced that its iPhone application Layar Reality Browser has reappeared in the App Store after a several-month absence. The much-anticipated application capable of utilizing the camera, GPS, and digital compass on the iPhone 3GS to superimpose data on top of live video had been released last October but was pulled in December for a complete rebuild after...

PCWorld reports that China Unicom has officially acknowledged that it is in discussions with Apple to offer a Wi-Fi capable iPhone in that country. "I know that in the market there is hope we will offer an iPhone with Wi-Fi," said Chang Xiaobing, chairman and CEO of China Unicom, outside an event in Beijing. "We have been holding talks with Apple in this area." Chang did not give a timetable...

Macworld reports that MLB.com At Bat 2010 has arrived in the App Store, offering baseball fans even more coverage of the upcoming season's games. As with last year's version, users can listen live to every regular season and postseason game and also view streaming video of games not blacked out in the user's market. The app also continues to offer the "Gameday" feature with pitch-by-pitch...

MobileCrunch reports that TomTom has issued a press release announcing the submission of Version 1.3 of its iPhone application to Apple for inclusion in the App Store. The updated version will bring real-time traffic updates and local search functionality offered by Google, as well as other yet-to-be-announced enhancements. A number of new services and features are coming soon to the TomTom app ...

Fidelity Investments today announced the release of a new, free iPhone application allowing brokerage customers to monitor their portfolios and execute trades directly from their iPhone or iPod touch. "At Fidelity, we recognize the growing popularity of the iPhone and iPod touch, and in fact, nearly half of the customers using our current mobile trading application, Fidelity Mobile, log in from...

Just a day after Apple released a pair of new iPhone commercials, a third ad entitled 'Family Travel' has begun airing on television and been posted to the company's ad gallery. Although the new ad returns to Apple's common theme of featuring individual iPhone applications, it is notable because it utilizes a female first-person narration rather than the standard male voice-over used for...

TechCrunch reports that iPhone game developer has secured $25 million more in venture capital funding and has also acquired Freeverse for an unspecified price. Freeverse began as a Mac shareware company in 1994 and has since expanded to other platforms. Their iPhone division has been particularly successful with a number of top hits including Skee-ball, Flick Fishing and Days of Thunder. ...

Apple has posted two new iPhone ads on their website. - First Steps - a woman narrator discusses how she used her iPhone to capture video of her child's first steps and shared them with her family. - On Hold - the narrator talks about how he doesn't mind being on hold because he can check his email, pay his bills and download games from the App Store. Thanks Macduke...

Register Hardware notes that Apple has modified the iPhone SDK to specifically allow developers to include sweepstakes and lottery functionality in their App Store applications. The new rule is unambiguous: "3.3.17 Your Application may include promotional sweepstake or contest functionality provided that You are the sole sponsor of the promotion and that You and Your Application comply with any ...

Apple today posted an updated support document detailing recent enhancements to its me.com landing page for iPhone and iPod touch users. The new landing page offers instructions for setting up MobileMe services via the device's Settings application, as well as direct links for Find My iPhone and Apple's MobileMe Gallery and MobileMe iDisk applications. Accessing me.com with your iPhone/iPod...

Apple today announced that it has added App Store support for a number of new countries, with developers able to update their offerings accordingly via Apple's iTunes Connect service. You can now distribute your apps to more customers with the addition of App Store support in Armenia, Botswana, Bulgaria, Jordan, Kenya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, Tunisia, and Uganda....

Popular multi-protocol instant messaging service Meebo has released a free dedicated iPhone application that appeared in the App Store yesterday. Meebo allows users to connect to nearly all of the major IM services, including AOL/AIM, Yahoo!, MSN/Windows Live, Gmail/Google Talk, Facebook, and MySpace. Meebo's iPhone application offers push notifications, seamless shifting between EDGE, 3G...

Sling Media today announced that an updated version of SlingPlayer Mobile adding the ability for users to stream media to their iPhones via 3G has appeared in the App Store. The update comes less than two weeks after AT&T announced that it would allow Sling Media's application to stream over the carrier's 3G networks. "We're delighted the SlingPlayer Mobile App now has 3G capability," said John...

AT&T today announced the release of AT&T FamilyMap, a new iPhone application that integrates with the company's existing FamilyMap service to allow families to keep track of each other while on the go. The AT&T FamilyMap app brings a streamlined approach to helping families stay up to speed on each other's whereabouts by locating wireless devices within a shared family account. The app provides...

In a posting on its news page for iPhone developers earlier this week, Apple encouraged developers to integrate the Core Location framework into their apps, offering the ability to deliver information to users based on their location. Perhaps more importantly, Apple also clarified that the use of such geolocation solely for serving ads to users is not permitted. If you build your application with ...

TechCrunch reports that French game developer Gameloft reported its 2009 financial results today, specifying "iPhone revenue" of 17.6 million Euros, or about $24.5 million. That number was up 231% over 2008, and was responsible for approximately 14.5% of Gameloft's total revenues for the year. Gameloft's iPhone revenue was even more impressive when considered only under the fourth quarter of...

The Wall Street Journal reports on data from technology market research firm ABI Research showing that the iPhone's share of the worldwide smartphone sales market slipped in the fourth quarter of 2009 to 16.6%, down from 18.1% in the previous quarter. Despite strong performance from Apple during the quarter, the overall market grew even faster, resulting in a dip for Apple's market share. Apple's ...