Happy Holidays from WireBear!

The WireBear staff wants to wish everyone a safe and happy holidays!  Hopefully, everyone has been nice so Santa will bring them that new iPhone, Droid or iTunes gift card.

iTunes New & Improved Layout

The Apple App Store recently got a makeover.  As of December 11,  Apple has been slowly transitioning all apps to a new & improved layout.

The new layout really emphasizes the main app icon, screenshots and user reviews.  The once prominent app description is now playing second fiddle as only the first two lines are shown. However, the whole description can be viewed by clicking on the more button.  The more button is little and out-of-the-way, which is obviously Apple’s way of telling developers to say what you need to say in two lines!

After viewing several apps in the new layout, I would give it two thumbs up.  I like how the screenshots are larger and several are shown at a time.  It will now take a little more thought on the order of the screenshots for those first couple of slots.   I also appreciate the link to the developer’s site is no longer hidden at the bottom of the description.

If I could make one change to the layout it would be the ability to add a background image to the whole page.  I think this one change would really “jazz” up the app store and make each app a little more unique!

Let the propaganda begin! Image Credit: Tom Dynia

Astroturfing is a form of propaganda that tries to deceive the consumer in believing that something is more popular than it really is.  Long used on the political front, it now appears it has creeped its way into the iPhone realm.

A particular iPhone developer, Molinker had over 1,000 apps pulled from the App Store for posting fake reviews.  It appears it wasn’t the doing of one “fake review” but over 40 bogus reviews for each app!

On a side note the article says that many of the reviews were badly spelled.  Does this mean that Molinker thought that by misspelling words in their reviews, that it would be more realistic and believable?

Forty fake reviews does seem pretty excessive.  However, what is the protocol if an employee of a company downloads an app and truly appreciates the work?  In a perfect world the reviewer would disclose their relationship with the maker of the app.  We all know that 99% of the time this won’t happen.

Every time I read a story like this it bugs me.  Not because someone is trying to get a leg up, but because it makes me realize how much junk there really is in the App Store.  I think Apple will need to address this issue at some point.  If they don’t developers will get frustrated as their App will easily get lost in the sea of worthless apps.

Two is better than one.  New iPhone Ads Stick Up for AT&T.

Combining Chrome OS With Android Looks Like Google’s Endgame. Maybe Google really wants to be more like Microsoft rather than Apple after all!

Everyday it looks more likely that the iPhone and Android based phones will rule the mobile market. iPhone And Android Dominate Mobile Web Browsing.

The Smartphone Wars, One Year Later. Interesting article reviewing the last year in the smartphone battle.

Do you think this is what Steve Jobs' nightmares look like?

John Brownlee at Geek.com reports that a Chinese iPhone Knock-Off (iPhone C6) will run Windows Mobile 6.1.

Can Dell become a player in the smartphone arena?

Last Friday Dell confirmed plans to enter the smartphone arena and announced partnerships with two of the world’s largest mobile operators.

Dell plans on distributing its Mini 3 smartphone initially in only China and Brazil through China Mobile and Claro, respectively.  The phones where designed around Google’s Android platform.

“Our entry into the smart phone category is a logical extension of Dell’s consumer product evolution over the past two years,” said Ron Garriques, President, Dell Global Consumer Group. “We are developing smaller and smarter mobile products that enable our customers to take their internet experience out of the home and do the things they want to do whenever and wherever they want.“

Details on the phone models will be announced in late November when the devices become available in the stores.

There is no mention on when the phones will be available in other countries including the United States.  However it makes perfect sense to test the waters in less competitive markets.