Jonny Evans of 9 to 5 Mac reports that Apple will be shutting down iTunes Connect for Christmas. iTunes Connect is Apple’s developer portal for those who make apps available through the App Store.

From Apple’s “weekend note”:

iTunes Connect, the tool you use to manage your applications and access your reports, will be unavailable from December 23 through December 28, 2009.

Not only does this mean that developers won’t be able to check purchase and download statistics for their applications during those five days, it also means that developers won’t be able to lower the price of their application for Christmas day sales.

Engadget‘s Nilay Patal reports that the initial Twitter app that launched for the Zune HD not only had poor performance but also censored swear words in tweets.

They have since updated the app to improve performance, although Engadget is stilling seeing “unresponsive buttons, laggy scrolling, and random WiFi disconnects,” but they have removed the censorship.

Honestly, did they really think they were going to get away with this?

In the words on John Gruber:

What a joke.

Previously:
9/17/09: Zune HD
8/14/09: Zune HD Apps

Laura Northrup reports for The Consumerist that those who have pre-ordered the Barnes & Noble nook have received emails from informing them that if their nook is not delivered by December 24 they will receive a $100 Barnes & Noble gift certificate.

For those that do not receive their nook by December 24, Barnes & Noble plans to ship it overnight on December 29.

Barnes & Noble has really botched the launch of this device, after missing ship dates left and right and their overall inability to fulfill orders, this is obviously their way of trying to cool tempers. I’m not sure if it’s going to work though, those who ordered the nook as a gift would surely rather have the nook on time. But, at least their trying.

On a lighter note, the nook is slow, and it’s differentiating features come with some major caveats, but it’s incredibly hackable. Engadget’s Thomas Ricker reports that clever nook owners have managed to get a web browser, Twitter, and Facebook app on the device.

Then again, how useful are these hacks if Barnes & Noble can’t actually ship units in any reasonable capacity.

Previously:
12/10/09: Barnes & Noble nook Reviews Start Pouring In
10/22/09: Barnes & Noble ‘nook’
10/17/09: Barnes and Noble E-Book Reader

Gizmodo has revealed that Palm is scheduling an invitation-only press event during CES. It will be held on Thursday, January 7, 2010, at 11am.

Gizmodo’s Jason Chen says that an update to the Pre is a safe bet. I agree, the Pre was announced at this year’s CES and I doubt Palm would go more than a year without announcing a new flagship handset. That is, unless they’re following in Apple’s footsteps. Apple announced the original iPhone at MacWorld 2007 but it wasn’t available until June 29. Apple didn’t announce their followup handset, the iPhone 3G, until June 9 of 2008. Apple took nearly a year and a half to announce their next handset.

Just speaking of Palm’s flagship handset, the Pre was announced at CES last year. But, the device wasn’t available until June. Palm announced their first modern handset early, just like Apple, I wonder if they’re going to wait until late spring to announce their followup, just like Apple did.

If Palm was to announce a new handset, there is also the question of whether or not it will be on Sprint. There have been some rumblings of a webOS device coming to Verizon. Engadget found an FCC filing for a Palm Pixi destined for Verizon’s network (with Wi-Fi no less). Feeding more fuel to the fire, a Phone Arena tipster (and a “trusted” one at that) sent them a document revealing that Verizon has already started training personnel on webOS.

It’s safe to say that any Palm device coming to Verizon would be a boon for Palm, but, if true, I’m certain Sprint won’t be too happy about it.

Previously:
10/18/09: Verizon to Get Palm Pre ‘Early Next Year’
9/9/09: The Palm Pixi
5/19/09: Palm Pre to Release on June 6 for $199.99

Update 1/13/10: Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus Coming to Verizon

T-Mobile Forums moderator, Dominic, posting in T-Mobile Forums:

Beginning December 9^th, customers on post-paid accounts with devices running Android 1.6, such as the T-Mobile G1 and T-Mobile myTouch 3G, will begin to receive an update to the Android Market application to allow for purchases to be charged directly to their T-Mobile account.  This allows customers to purchase paid applications without entering credit card information.

This could be a big deal. Separating the actual transaction from the download of Android apps could cause a big jump in sales.

New Payment Option for Android Market Purchases – T-Mobile Community.

These entries have been updated with new information in the last 24 hours.

Google Gives ‘Google Phone’ to Employees, originally published Dec 12, 2009
TomTom Releases $50 Navigation App, originally published Dec 17, 2009
Apple Unveils New iMacs with 21.5 and 27-inch 16:9 Displays, originally published Oct 20, 2009
AT&T Wants to Charge Heavy Data Users, originally published Dec 13, 2009
Elgato EyeTV 3G Streaming Workaround, originally published Oct 18, 2009

I regularly update previously published entries. This entry is a way of letting RSS feed and homepage readers know about the new information. You can find past updates here.

Macworld‘s Dan Moren reports of three recent iPhone app approvals that are a little out of the ordinary. The applications mentioned were Knocking Live Video, Ustream Live Broadcaster, and iSimulate, all of which use private APIs.

Vimov, the developer behind iSimulate has published Apple’s email regarding their iSimulate’s use of private APIs. From the email:

Thank you for submitting your update to iSimulate to the App Store. During our review of your application we found it is using a private API, which is in violation of the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement section 3.3.1; “3.3.1 Applications may only use Documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs.” While your application has not been rejected, it would be appropriate to resolve this issue in your next update.

The non-public API that is included in your application is UITouch._touchFlags.

Please resolve this issue in your next update to iSimulate.

Another recent addition to the growing list of private API using applications is Hot Links. Jonah Grant, the developer of Hot Links, has also received a similar email from Apple that has published on his blog.

Dear Mr. Grant,

Thank you for submitting your update to Hot Links to the App Store.  During our review of your application we found it is using a private API, which is in violation of the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement section 3.3.1; “3.3.1 Applications may only use Documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs.” While your application has not been rejected, it would be appropriate to resolve this issue in your next update.

The non-public API that is included in your application is setNumberOfRows:.

Please resolve this issue in your next update to Hot Links.

Regards,

iPhone Developer Program

It appears that Apple has taken a more lenient stance when it comes to the use of private APIs. Of course, this doesn’t mean that Apple will allow private API use, simply that for the time being they will accept applications that use private APIs, as long as they don’t break anything and the private API use is removed with the application’s next update.

Update 11/23/09: App Store Submissions are Being Tested with a Static Analysis Tool

TomTom has released a navigation app that includes maps just for the US. The application is available at its introductory price of $49.99.

From the app description:

• Get the TomTom navigation app and enjoy smart, easy-to-use, turn-by-turn navigation on your iPhone or iPod touch
• Buy now and get upcoming app updates for free

The introductory price ends on December 28. So, if you’re looking for an inexpensive option from one of the big guys, pick it up soon.

TomTom U.S.A – $49.99

Previously:
10/23/09: TomTom Car Kit Comes to Apple’s Online Store

Update 12/17/09: TomTom has also lowered the price of their U.S. & Canada navigation application until December 28. TomTom U.S. & Canada currently costs $69.99.

From Amazon:

When you purchase select DVD and Blu-ray titles from Amazon.com you will also receive an Amazon Video On Demand standard definition version as a gift with purchase (see details). You’ll be able to instantly enjoy the video on demand version on your Mac, PC, compatible device or compatible TV when it is available.

I’ve always believed that if you buy a physical version of any type of media the seller should also give you a digital version to download at the time of purchase. Even if the digital version is lower quality than the physical version it’ll give the purchaser that extra push to buy from you and not someone else.

Instant gratification is a wonderful thing.

Amazon.com Special Offer.

Jacqui Cheng reporting for Ars Technica on AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega’s remarks at the UBS conference:

Heavy data users may soon find themselves paying more for service if they’re AT&T customers. […] noting that a mere three percent of smartphone users suck up some 40 percent of the company’s traffic. For those of us who are constantly tortured subjected to AT&T’s slow service, this may seem like a great idea, but de la Vega’s threat falls into the same trap that other ISPs have used in order to merely profit more from heavy users. […] The company claims that perhaps these users aren’t aware of what kind of effect they’re having on the network and could use some “education” on the matter.

I wish AT&T would realize that charging people more to use a crappy network is no way to run a business. These are your power users who convince their family and friends to use (or not use) your network. These are the people you want to keep happy, they might have lower margins because of their data usage. But, don’t you have enough customers who pay for services they barely use?

AT&T wants to “educate,” charge heavy data users more.

Update 12/17/09: Krishna Subramanian, founder of Mobclix, speaking with PC World:

As a consumer, you definitely don’t want [usage-based pricing]. It’s going to limit the number of applications you download, the amount of content you consume, the amount of music you’re downloading. […] What I think will happen is there will be more competition from other carriers with their devices that will force the load across different platforms.

Agreed. If AT&T keeps this up users will be forced to eat the early termination fee and unlock their devices for use on other networks. I hate to say it, but this may be the only way AT&T will learn to treat their customers better.

AT&T Mobility Chief Executive Ralph de la Vega denied rumors of tiered pricing when speaking with the Wall Street Journal:

We have not made any decision to implement tiered pricing.

Translation: We haven’t decided how much we’re going to charge you by the megabyte yet, but we’ll probably figure that out soon.

Currently they have plans to offer “incentives” to limit their use of the wireless data network. The plan’s details are still unknown but we do know that they will offer more free Wi-Fi hot spots and are also running femtocell trials.

Update 12/20/09: Joel Johnson, writing for Gizmodo, reveals that AT&T has spent less on network construction every quarter since the iPhone’s launch. So, they want to charge us extra because they didn’t have the foresight to build out their network?