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iPad: Bigger Screen Means More Profit for Developers
A new report says people are willing to pay more for iPad apps than they are for those that support only the iPhone, and the gap may be growing. The average price for an iPad app has risen 14.5 percent in the last six months, while the average iPhone app has only experienced a 2.3 percent rise.

The average selling price of an iPad app is just under $5, and that number grows to $5.80 for those found in the top 100 paid apps list. On the iPhone, the average app sells for just above $4, and when you look at the top 100, that number drops to only $2.14. That makes successful iPad apps 171 times more expensive than their iPhone equivalents.

The iPad has only about 13 percent of the total 300,000 apps available in the App Store, with 37,887 titles as of this writing. And only 7 percent of titles are universal, meaning they work on both devices. So while the volume business isn’t quite there yet, and it’s early yet to make any definitive pronouncements, it does seem like iPad owners are willing to spend more on apps than those carrying iPhones.

I know I feel more comfortable spending $9.99 or more on apps for my iPad. The difference in screen size accounts for some of this, which is tied to an increase in usability on the Apple tablet. Also, since the iPad exists somewhere between a smartphone and a computer, I feel comfortable paying prices for software somewhere between what I expect to pay on either platform.

Given that users seem willing to pay more for the iPad, and given that investment in the development process seems to be about the same for apps for both it and the iPhone, I think we’ll see a lot more interest in the platform. We’ve already seen that devs and publishers are keen on providing iPad offerings, and if the device really does sell as much as many are saying it will next year (subscription required), I think iPad-specific apps could see way more growth than anticipated in 2011.

If you’re an iPad owner, are you willing to pay more for apps for your tablet than you would for the iPhone or iPod touch? And if you’re a developer, is iPad development an attractive option because buyers are willing to pay more?

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The Ongoing Decline of the Desktop Mac
Outside the diminutive circles of Mac enterprise IT, the end of the Xserve will hardly be noticed, but perhaps it should. Up until today, there were four categories of Mac desktop: iMac, Mac Pro, Mac mini, and Xserve. Now, there are only three. The question then becomes whether other desktop product lines might be in danger of discontinuation, or if Apple might move away from the space altogether.

2010: A Predominantly Mobile Year

Before introducing the iPad at the Apple event in January, Steve Jobs defined Apple as a “mobile devices company.” According to Jobs, Apple made more money on mobile devices (including iPods, iPhones, and MacBooks) than companies like Sony, Samsung, and Nokia did on their portable products. For the fiscal year ending in September, that trend continued.

Net sales for Apple were just over $65 billion, of which approximately $50 billion was divided among four portable product lines, with $6 billion going to Mac desktops. Since the iPad was only available for seven months in FY 2010, the Mac desktop will likely be last among Apple’s top hardware earners in 2011.

Notebook vs. Desktop Trends

That doesn’t mean the Mac desktop isn’t earning money. After a disastrous year in 2009, which saw a 23 percent decline in net sales, Mac desktop sales rebounded in 2010, up 18 percent. The problem is, Mac laptops were up 43 percent in net sales for 2010, and that was on top of a 9 percent increase in 2009.

Looking at Mac unit sales puts the net sales into perspective. While laptops started taking off in 2006, desktop sales have seen fluctuations, and even declines, though 2010 was a big rebound year. Nonetheless, Mac laptops represent a strong growth curve for Apple, which, as with the rest of the PC industry, has come at the expense of desktop sales.

Over the last 10 years, Mac notebooks and desktops have more or less switched positions in unit sales. In 2001, 7 out of 10 Macs sold were desktops. In 2009, the reverse was true. For 2010, strong iMac sales pushed the ratio back down to “only” two out of three Macs in favor of notebooks. With the introduction of the new MacBook Air, consumer dollars will swing even more towards the laptop, if analyst expectations prove accurate.

The State of the Desktop

The question then becomes: At what point do individual Mac desktop products reach a point of diminishing sales returns for Apple? The simple answer is that iMacs are safe in the short term. While Apple hasn’t broken out sales numbers for individual desktops since 2005, back then, the iMac accounted for about two-thirds of Mac desktop sales. Since then, comments in Apple conference calls reference only “strong sales” of the iMac, if desktops are mentioned at all, so the iMac’s role in the desktop picture has likely grown stronger still.

As for the Mac Pro and the Mac mini, a lot will depend on whether Apple continues to develop OS X Server. With the demise of the Xserve, Apple is showing it doesn’t really have that much interest in the enterprise back end. Exiting the server software business might make IT enthusiasts recoil, but Apple remains a consumer-focused business. It’s not going to happen next year, but Apple is clearly gearing itself towards a time when the “mobile device company” descriptor is entirely accurate.

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How Apple Can Fix Ping
I got an email today that made me a little bit sad. It was from Apple, and it was about how great Ping is. It left the distinct impression that many don’t agree. An email won’t convince people Ping is worthwhile. So what would?

Play to Your Own Advantages

Many have argued that there isn’t really room for a social music network based around music, what with Last.fm, Blip.fm and Myspace already occupying that niche. I don’t think that’s true, especially considering the fact that Apple has unfettered access to the iTunes library in building its contender.

But iTunes music isn’t the only resource available to Apple, and it hasn’t done a very good job of utilizing the other tools available to it. I’m thinking mostly about its iOS devices. The iPhone, iPod touch and iPad are invaluable in terms of the way people use social media these days. Facebook acknowledges that, as we saw during its mobile-focused press event this past Wednesday.

Ping Its Own App

Facebook isn’t the only example. The iPhone is the sole platform for one of the hottest new social media startups out there, Instagram. In case you haven’t heard of it yet, Instagram allows quick and easy photo-sharing through an iPhone app, and only through an iPhone app. You can’t play unless you have one (though people can view your photos in any browser), at least for the time being.

Ping has presence on the iPhone, but only as part of the iTunes app, and with very limited functionality. Why not partner with some of the more successful music-related apps on the iOS platform to make Ping genuinely useful? Shazam-type music identification comes to mind, as does the ability to share and create playlists, and broadcast what’s currently playing on your device.

Since Ping is meant as a means to boost iTunes sales, I’m not saying Apple should drive an impassable divide between the two. Make track links open in iTunes, or let people buy directly from the Ping app in the iTunes store. As a value-add feature for iTunes itself, Ping clearly isn’t interesting to consumers. And why would it be? Would you use Twitter if it was just something Amazon had created and awkwardly tacked on to its online store?

Put Ping on the Web

I talked about the success of Instagram as an iPhone-only social network, but I think Ping needs a desktop presence, especially if it’s going to achieve Apple’s goals of driving iTunes sales. So put it on the web, not in iTunes. Social networks succeed because users can access them wherever. How often have you quickly signed in to Facebook at a friend’s house to check your messages? Try signing in to Ping on a friend’s Mac. It can be done, but not easily, and not from any browser.

Don’t take away iTunes integration. I’m glad I can Like things from my library, but don’t limit it to that. In fact, provide APIs that let artists post Ping Like links on tracks and albums listed on their own sites. If you want real reach, you don’t insist users come to you, and to an application they have to install and run outside of their browser, no less.

Separate the Ping Brand

Apple is a marquee brand, so why would the company ever want to make Ping its own distinct entity? Because Apple doesn’t mean “social networking” to anyone, and it’s harder to overcome that than it is to start a new brand association.

Ping is aimed at music fans. So leave it at that. Change the badging and branding of Ping, and treat it more like a close partnership than an Apple product. That way, it’s more likely to reach music fans as a general category, not music fans who are also Apple hardware users, which is the much smaller group it’s talking to now.

Instead of funneling already loyal customers to its store, Apple will be reaching a new audience who might not even use iTunes or Apple devices. Ping could be a means of introducing them to the wonderful world of Cupertino, but not if people see it as an Apple sales pitch first, and as a network, only a distant second.

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Video How-To: Uninstall Flash in Mac OS X
In light of the news that having Flash on your system could drastically affect battery life for notebooks, here’s a video showing you how to remove it from OS X if it’s already installed. It takes a little more digging than you might think.

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Flash: Sucking the Life Out of Your MacBook Air Battery
Steve Jobs has repeatedly insisted that Flash is a resource-hog. A review of the 11-inch MacBook Air conducted by Ars Technica shows he’s quite right. The new Air shows a drop in battery life with Flash installed, at a cost of around two hours of use.

The Air is marketed around the idea of portability, of which battery life is a major component. A "long-lasting battery" is one of the four major features mentioned in Apple's advertisements for its slim notebook. Ars claims that they weren't intending to test the notebook's interaction with Flash, while investigating these claims, but couldn't ignore the obvious problems when the plugin, not pre-installed on the MacBook Air, is added to the mix:

Having Flash installed can cut battery runtime considerably—as much as 33 percent in our testing. With a handful of websites loaded in Safari, Flash-based ads kept the CPU running far more than seemed necessary, and the best time I recorded with Flash installed was just 4 hours. After deleting Flash, however, the MacBook Air ran for 6:02—with the exact same set of websites reloaded in Safari, and with static ads replacing the CPU-sucking Flash versions.

Ars is clear to state that, with light web surfing, users should be able to enjoy a full workday on a single charge. But heavy Flash usage, such as gaming and video, will usually require carrying your power adapter. In fact, many won't encounter enough Flash through regular usage to merit a major problem if they don’t have the plugin installed, not with the success of HTML5.

As web developers debate over whether to use HTML5 (suggested by Jobs & widely considered more efficient) or stick with Flash, Apple continues to make the decision easier by not including Flash in its new machines, and now we see why. Adobe can’t be enjoying the media attention this latest development will bring to its web video and interactive media platform. Now that I’ve seen that it might actually impede performance, I’m going to try going without Flash entirely. Who else is jumping ship?

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Apple to Stop Selling the Xserve Jan. 31 [Updated]
As Liam argued yesterday, Apple is aiming for the consumer market these days, which is why it should come as no surprise that it would discontinue its Xserve enterprise server. The rack-mountable Xserve will no longer be available for purchase as of Jan. 31, and Apple has no plans to produce a new model in the future.

Apple does assure customers that any Xserve already sold up until that day will be fully supported, however. So your warranties, AppleCare, etc. will all be taken care of. And for those customers concerned about not being able to use OS X to run their servers, Apple has some “transition options,” which it details in a .PDF released specifically to address the Xserve end-0f-life.

Cupertino offers either the Mac Pro or the Mac mini as viable alternatives for use as servers, when installed with Snow Leopard Server. In the document, Apple describes the advantages of each alternate setup, and even provides comparative performance benchmarks. The Mac Pro, it maintains, is more powerful than the Xserve, though it doesn’t support rack mounting, obviously, and it also draws more power.

The Mac mini, on the other hand, is laughably underpowered compared to the Xserve, though it can be made to work with server racks via third-party hardware brackets. And, it’s much much cheaper, obviously. Apple also points out that mini is in fact currently Apple’s most popular server option.

Xserve’s demise will probably come as a disappointment to a few dedicated enterprise and small business customers, but it’ll free up resources and time that Apple can then devote to its continued consumer market expansion. I certainly won’t miss it. Will you?

UPDATE: Apple now offers a “Server” configuration of its Mac Pro desktop, which includes one 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor, 8GB of RAM, two 1TB hard drives and an ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics card with 1GB of dedicated RAM. It also comes with an unlimited-client license of Mac OS X Server.

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Does Intel's Light Peak Have a Place in Apple's Future?
In September 2009, at the IDF Conference in San Francisco, Intel demonstrated a new technology dubbed Light Peak, a super high-speed optical fiber data transfer system that, overnight, every tech pundit in the industry was predicting would be the successor to USB (I was one of them). Thirteen months later, and CNET reports that Light Peak is due to arrive early next year, and will potentially be featured in new Macs in 2011.

Headed for a Format War?

It won’t be long before pundits are talking about a “format war” between USB 3.0 and Light Peak. I don’t think there will be a format war, and I certainly don’t believe it’s an issue that will even cross the radar of the average consumer. Rather, I think we’ve reached a point in personal computing where blistering speed and capacious storage have become less important (to most users) than ease-of-use and simplicity.

Take a look at USB 2.0. It’s dominant today for several reasons, but mostly because it’s adequate. Widespread adoption of USB was something of a struggle in the early days, and we can thank Apple for having the courage (and stubborn streak) to “aggressively encourage” customers to adopt it. But Apple seems willing to go in the other direction, too, withholding technologies in favor of something simpler – or more popular.

Simple Trumps Flexible

Consider the ExpressCard. Until last year, it was supported in all MacBook Pros. Today, the only model in production sporting an ExpressCard slot is the high-end 17-inch version. Most people buying that model are atypical consumers, and instead tend to be media professionals or power users, for whom ExpressCard is actually useful. For the vast majority of consumers snapping up MacBooks and iMacs, that slot was an idle curiosity. So Apple opted to replace it with an SD card slot. The technology is slower and less flexible so, from a certain point of view, this represented a step back. But for the average buyer, it was a great leap forward.

A process as seemingly straightforward as connecting a digital camera to a computer becomes an exercise in frustration and anxiety for a surprising many: old cables are piled in tangled heaps from the depths of drawers, USB cables are jammed into Ethernet ports, 54-in-One memory card adapters are manhandled and USB keys wrenched unceremoniously from machines.

The experience of the average, everyday computer user varies wildly from that of the tech-savvy individual, as anyone who’s worked at a technical support hotline can attest.

Whose Definition of “Better?”

In light of this, Apple’s decision to incorporate the SD interface into their best-selling computers makes perfect sense. There are no cables involved. There are no similarly sized ports to confuse or confound the uncertain user. SD cards might not represent the cutting edge of technology, but they are the right technology for most people.

But surely people want better? The definition of “better” isn’t static, though. To some, like me, “better” is all about power consumption, bandwidth, pipes, protocols and things like “API’s” and "Controllers". My mom’s idea of “better,” on the other hand, means "easier," and though she might not be able to tell you what would be easier, she can certainly tell you what’s not, and ExpressCard is one of those things.

This is representative of the typical user, and Apple not only knows this, but is dedicated to realizing a computing future in which, if anyone is going to be left wanting, it won’t be my mom.

No Wires, Nor Ports

Light Peak, if it is going to be adopted anywhere, will see use as part of the guts of a machine, providing incredibly wide bandwidth between internal components. You'll never see a Light Peak port anywhere, if Apple’s vision of the future of computing comes to pass.

You won't, in fact, see any ports. Already SD cards can wirelessly broadcast data to a waiting computer, and it's only a matter of time before this technology makes its way into most of our portable devices. Apple is bound to lead the way. Let's face it; the stage is set. Apple has a plethora of portable devices packed with flash-based storage and radio assemblies. The advent of technologies like Wi-Fi Direct make a future without hardware ports even more likely. Wires definitely don’t figure heavily in the streaming future I alluded to earlier this week.

Finally, don't forget aesthetics; I imagine Steve Jobs pretty much hates those ugly ports breaking the otherwise flawless, minimal lines of his beautiful MacBooks. As notebook internals get ever smaller, the ports themselves will begin to dictate the minimum thickness of future MacBooks. How long do you think Mr. Jobs will tolerate that barrier to better design?

So as the Light Peak story begins to do the rounds once more, ask yourself what Apple is more likely to do: adopt a new standard for which speed is the primary “benefit,” or aggressively pursue a vision of "better" that geeks might lament, but most embrace? I guess it comes down to this: Between moms and geeks, which is Apple's biggest market these days?

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Google Instant Arrives on iPhone. And Android, Too.
Originally announced back in September, Google Instant for mobile went live today, bringing the auto-populating search results to iPhone and Android devices. Like on the desktop, Instant displays search results as you type into the Google.com search field in mobile Safari, as well as Android’s browser.

It isn’t enabled by default on the iPhone, requiring you to activate it by clicking a link below the search bar when you first navigate to Google.com. It’s also available only in the U.S. initially, and not at any of the international domains like Google.ca, etc. If you aren’t seeing it yet, Google advises that you wait a moment and refresh. You have to be using iOS 4 on the iPhone, or Android 2.2 or above for the feature to work, too. Google has a demo video, which you can see below.

I found that it works about as quickly as the desktop version, and that on the iPhone, the functionality is somewhat limited by the fact that your on-screen keyboard obscures most of your results. Still, all you have to do is hit the “Done” button to view your aut0-populated list, so it is a lot faster than searching via Google’s mobile site used to be. In fact, since you don’t have to load a new page, and you can usually see right away if you have your desired top hit, navigating one-handed becomes much faster overall.

It’s a nice addition, and possibly more useful than its desktop counterpart, since it caters to the limitations of mobile browsing. I tested on 3G and Wi-Fi connections. Let us know how well it’s working for you.

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Patent Describes Co-Located Laser Tag Gaming for iPhone
A new patent filed by Apple called “Interactive Gaming with Co-Located, Networked Direction and Location Aware Devices” describes new possibilities for iPhone gaming in the real world. Essentially, the tech described would use players’ iPhones to recreate what amounts to a game of laser tag.

Readers who attended a birthday party for teenagers in either the 1980s or 90s will recall laser tag, a game in which participants wore light-sensitive vests that registered a hit when shot by “laser” guns wielded by other players. The new Apple patent describes a very similar system, in which iPhones could be used as both “gun” and “vest,” using the GPS, gyroscope and accelerometer built-in to the device to fire shots and detect those fired by others.

Accessory makers will be pleased to know that Apple is thinking of them, too, as it describes using things like a gun grip handle to augment the experience. Imagine the kind of cheap plastic add-on market the Wii remote currently enjoys invading Apple Store shelves.

Before you dismiss this idea outright, remember that Apple has made games in the past, including Texas Hold’em for the iPhone. It’s serious enough about the potential behind this idea to actually go to the trouble of securing a patent for it. Plus, the idea combines augmented reality, geolocation, and shows off just about all of the iPhone’s fancy internal sensors, so from a marketing perspective, it’s a solid concept.

Honestly, if this ever sees the light of day, I’ll be all over it. Think about the Game Center achievements and how much fun it could be if Apple included random location-based matchmaking. Would you play if Apple made something like this available?

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IBM Launches iPhone App to Help Monitor California Creeks
IBM is using the iPhone to help contribute to environmental preservation efforts in California. Creek Watch, a new free app developed by IBM in partnership with California’s State Water Control Board, allows anyone to report unsafe or polluted water conditions to the proper authorities.

Users simply upload a report to a database monitored by board employees. A report can include a photo taken with your device, and information about the water level, flow rate, and how much trash there is present, in addition to information about your location automatically shared by your iPhone. Any required info can be entered via buttons, so there’s no laborious typing involved unless you want to add a comment. A “Definitions” button provides the scale by which conditions may be measured, cutting down on the level of guesswork involved.

The app stores a history of your reports locally, and also provides a map that’s updated with observations as they come in, so you can see if someone else has already reported similar conditions in your immediate area.

IBM designed the app to make it as easy as possible for local residents and visitors to contribute productively to the management of the state’s ecosystem, and to do so without any expert knowledge. The tech firm noted that contaminated water is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, beating out crime and war, according to a UN study. According to Christine Robson of IBM’s research division (speaking to InformationWeek), the app is a great example of the ecological good that can come from crowdsourcing:

Creek Watch lets the average citizen contribute to the health of their water supply — without PhDs, chemistry kits and a lot of time. Harnessing the crowdsourced data movement for a cause people care about is a win-win-win for citizens, local water boards, and IBM’s desire to solve big data challenges.

If this experiment works, it could have huge potential for use in the U.S. and abroad. Waterway monitoring is expensive, and local, state and national preservation agencies just don’t have the resources available to adequately cover that much ground. Putting even basic monitoring duties in the hands of concerned citizens, and eliminating technological and knowledge barriers that might otherwise prevent them from participating, could result in major progress in our guardianship of our crucial freshwater resources.

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iOS Platform of Choice for More Than 50% of Developers
A new report reveals the iPhone is still on top when it comes to the state of app development, but Android is hot on its heels. Coming in close behind both, however, is the iPad, giving iOS a strong lead overall. But is it likely stay that way for another year?

In compiling the report, Millennial Media surveyed more than 500 developers, publishers and advertisers to find out their current and future plans in terms of mobile app development. The results provide a snapshot of where development investment is currently, and where it looks to be heading in the future.

The Current State

While the iPhone came out on top, as mentioned, with 30 percent of development efforts geared toward it, it suffered a decrease year-over-year. RIM’s BlackBerry was the only other platform that saw a drop in developer preference from 2009 to 2010. Android, Windows Mobile and Symbian all saw growth over the course of the year, as did Apple’s other development platform, the iPad.

The iPad accounted for 21 percent of active development, giving iOS a total slice of 51 percent when you combine both platforms. Android is being developed for by less than half that many respondents.

The Picture for 2011

When Millennial looked at what new platforms developers want to pursue in 2011, though, Android’s prospects seem much brighter; 29 percent of those surveyed indicated they had plans to introduce Android support in the new year. The iPad and Windows Phone 7 tied for second place, with a 20 percent share each of respondents planning software for those mobile platforms.

What’s the bottom line? iOS looks to remain in front in 2011, but Android will probably come very close to catching up. Does that mean Apple is falling out of favor with developers? No, it just means devs and publishers are more interested in diversifying their portfolios than they have been in the past. Many studios want to provide offerings for all viable mobile platforms, not choose one over the other. Interest in a platform among those who create and distribute software will grow based on factors like reach, demographic and the potential for increased sales.

Only 8 percent of developers said they planned on supporting the iPhone as a new platform in 2011. But the iPhone having less growth makes sense, since it already boasts the largest active development community. Apple has nothing to worry about until devs start abandoning the platform, or working on Android apps to the exclusion of iOS ones.

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Apple TV Gets More Versatile With Plex
For those tired of playing within Apple TV's (s aapl) limited bounds, Plex provides some new freedom for jailbroken current generation devices. You may have already seen this media center application on your Mac or iOS device. Plex is based on the open-source XBMC (also the basis for Boxee) and provides a free alternative to sticking with only what Apple has provided.

Though only in the "concept client" mode (untested and complicated to install) as of right now, the jailbreak app shows the true, unlocked potential of the new Apple TV. Plex allows you to stream nearly any kind of video directly to your device from your Mac, not just the content in your iTunes library. Despite being an early build, the app does have a clean interface that fits right in on the Apple TV and allows for easy navigation.

Plex also introduces various other sources from which to draw media, in addition to those provided by your Apple TV and files on your local network. It can act as a media center for streaming content from the web, and is compatible with sources like FoxNews.com, MLB.com and BBC iPlayer. Perhaps most useful of all, Plex also supports Hulu. Essentially, an Apple TV running this new jailbreak app nears content parity with the much more expensive Google TV offerings.

Some limitations of the application include how Plex must re-encode videos rather than play them back in native form, using more device resources, and how it still isn’t very easy to install or jailbreak your device.

If you're looking to try it out in the current un-tested mode, visit the Plex forums. For non-advanced users, it’s probably best to wait for a more stable (and more easily installed) version to emerge. As always, remember that jailbreaking your device can create various problems, to the point of making your device unusable and/or voiding your warranty.

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Apple Begins Accepting Submissions for Mac App Store
Apple announced yesterday that it is now accepting submissions for the upcoming Mac App Store. Revealed in October, the Mac version will operate much like the iOS App Store, and is set to launch sometime in January 2011 if Apple keeps to its schedule.

At the Oct. 20 “Back to the Mac” event, the Mac App Store was announced alongside the next iteration of OS X, dubbed Lion (10.7). Apple then revealed that users wouldn’t have to wait until Lion’s summer release window to get their hands on the new distribution channel. Instead, the Mac App Store would be available for OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard within 90 days.

Apple would need to start looking at submissions now in order to have a decent stable of software available for users when the App Store launches. Remember that it also released the iPhone OS 2.0 SDK to developers months ahead of time to prepare for its June 2008 release. This time, Apple should have a head start since there’s already a healthy and active community of Mac developers to draw from.

Guidelines for inclusion (developer account required) in the Mac App Store mirror closely those for the iOS App Store, and have been criticized by some. Then there are new problems related to brand identity protection, as Todd Ditchendorf, creator of the popular Mac site-specific browser app, Fluid, found out. He found that his app’s name had already been registered when he went to sign up as a Mac App Store dev. Considering that the Mac already boasts a large library of software, this probably won’t be an isolated incident.

At least one thing has definitely changed for the better, though. The price of the Mac developer program is now only $99 per year, like its iOS sibling. Before the introduction of the App Store, it used to start at $499 and go up to $3,000 for a premier account. Apple is clearly hoping to mirror the success of the iOS App Store as closely as possible.

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3 iOS Game Developers to Watch
Many of the developers we’ve come to know and love on the iPhone platforms started small, but have been acquired by larger companies since achieving success. But there are still smaller players out there, and the products they’re putting out are among the most exciting available.

Here are just three examples of terrific games recently released in the App Store, and the developers behind them.

1. Beast Boxing 3D — Goodhustle Studios, Inc.

This is a great new game, released just before Halloween. If you’re a fan of Nintendo’s Punch-Out!, you’ll find the gameplay pleasantly familiar. Don’t think for a second that it’s just a clone, though. There are RPG game elements, like the ability to trade coins earned in-game for increased stats, and you have more variety of control, perfectly suited to the iPhone’s touchscreen. But what’s probably most impressive about Beast Boxing are the graphics. Each character is beautifully rendered in 3D with careful attention to detail, and in-game animation is silky smooth.

Goodhustle Studios is the baby of former Yahoo web developer Gordon Luk. After resigning from Yahoo, Luk spent some time doing freelance work before being inspired to get into gaming after meeting up with an inspiring concept artist. His interest stems from genuine personal love of gaming, and he says on his blog that playing Halo 3 actually led to the meetings that prompted his move to actually becoming a game developer.

Luk’s first game, Skybox, is a 3D, multi-planar version of Tetris, and both it and Beast Boxing 3D have been well-received by critics and reviewers alike. They have yet to crack the top charts at the iPhone store, but they demonstrate a level of care that promises great things to come from Luk and Goodhustle.

Skybox is $0.99, and Beast Boxing 3D is only $2.99 during the ongoing launch sale.

2. Game Dev Story — K airosoft Co.,Ltd.

Game Dev Story was addictive enough to nearly be responsible for genuine relationship problems for me. Luckily, I managed to burn through the 10 year span the game covers in a solid day of playing, without any breaks to avoid lasting damage. But I still want to play more of Kairosoft’s sim. In it, you manage a game development company, choosing the direction and platform of your games. It’s the old efficiency management game, but Kairosoft’s done a good job of making it feel new again.

Kairosoft isn’t new to the game development game. It’s been making games for the Japanese market since 1996, for both PC and cellphones. But Game Dev Story is their first offering for the iPhone, though it’s a port of a game created earlier. Based on Game Dev Story’s success, though, we’ll probably see more from Kairosoft, and we’ll probably have just as hard a time tearing ourselves away.

Game Dev Story is $3.99.

3. Galaxy on Fire 2 — Fishlabs

Did you enjoy Privateer or Freelancer on the PC, or Escape Velocity on the Mac? Or maybe EVE Online is more your speed? If you liked any of the above, you’ll love Galaxy on Fire 2. It’s a sequel, as the name suggests, and the original Galaxy on Fire is also a great play. Many improvements have been introduced in this latest offering, though, and the story isn’t really tied too strongly to its predecessor, so if you’re only shopping for one, get GOF 2. There are other space trading/combat sims out there for iOS, but this is the best.

Fishlabs was founded in 2004, and works in every mobile platform. It has the most offerings in the App Store of the developers covered here, but it hasn’t achieved the recognition of players like Gameloft and Chillingo. Fishlabs also makes promotional games for companies to use for advertising purposes, which could become a boom industry if integrated properly within iAd efforts, for instance. Founder Michael Schade sees a strong bond in the future between gaming and corporate branding, according to TechCrunch, and Fishlabs is well-positioned to take advantage of that shift away from more traditional advertising.

Galaxy on Fire 2 is $6.99. Waterslide Extreme, one of Fishlabs’ most successful ad games, is free.

These developers aren’t the only ones out there making great games for iOS, but they are the ones taking some unusual and exciting approaches to what has, in many ways, become a boilerplate space. Don’t get me wrong; I still enjoy offerings from the big studios, even the cookie cutter ones, but these are the kinds of titles that I just can’t put down.

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Facebook iPhone App Update Brings Groups, Deals for Places
Facebook held a live media event today to show off a few new mobile initiatives, including an updated iPhone app. The update brings more Places features, including Deals for Places, and support for the recently introduced Facebook Groups.

You can now see retailers offering special deals and coupons to those using Facebook Places highlighted in the menu of nearby locations. Luckily, that’s as intrusive as the feature gets, so people who don’t use Facebook’s check-in service won’t notice any changes. Deals are currently only available in the U.S., but international expansion is intended down the road. You can also now flag friends in the Places list to make it easier to check in with them.

Groups are now also accessible from the home screen in the updated app. You can write posts and share photos with others in your Groups, though you can’t perform administrative actions like adding and removing members. The update, which brings Facebook for iPhone up to version 3.3.1, is available now in the App Store.

Mark Zuckerberg also dodged a question about the prospects for an iPad app at the event, revealing that he doesn’t consider it a mobile device. He later clarified that he wasn’t trying to knock the Apple tablet, but rather just pointing out that the event was supposed to be mobile-focused, so the iPad wasn’t considered a relevant topic of discussion.

Facebook Head of Mobile Products Erick Tseng noted that the iPad already had access to the social networking site via two great avenues, the regular site and the iPhone-optimized site. An iPad app didn’t seem to even be on the table, but maybe an HTML5-optimized web-based version is more in keeping with Facebook’s future mobile goals.

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Skyfire Brings Flash to iPhone, But Is it Worth a Purchase? [Updated]

UPDATE: Skyfire has been pulled from the App Store by Skyfire, not Apple, due to high demand. Skyfire’s current server capacity can’t handle the load, but the company is planning to retool and reintroduce the app.

You can now get the much-hyped Skyfire browser for your iPhone, which brings the ability to watch Flash content. You won’t get that for free, though, as the price is $2.99 at launch, which is described as an “early adopter price.” So is it worth it?

Skyfire works by sending Flash content to its servers, transcoding it using a proxy and sending it back to your device as HTML5. However, it has its limitations. If you were planning on watching Hulu on your device through its website, for instance, you’re out of luck, since it isn’t supported. It also won’t work with Flash games.

It does, however, play Flash video without issue on many sites, and provides audio, too. In my experience, it worked often, but when it didn’t, I was very disappointed. For example, streaming video from network sites here in Canada didn’t work at all. Other sites, like Current TV worked fine, albeit with some slowdowns likely caused by strain on Skyfire’s servers.

Is it worth $2.99? Well, it also offers a private browsing mode, related search terms automatically combed from every site you visit, the ability to select whether pages load mobile or standard versions by default and a Facebook quick view feature that makes posting to and viewing your account while browsing easy. So as a Safari alternative, it isn’t without merit.

Even with all these features, though, and with Flash capabilities, I’m not sure the app is a good buy. It seems to run slowly, and video conversion quality can vary greatly depending on the quality of your connection. Finally, it seems most are warming up to HTML5, so iOS incompatibility with Flash may not even be an issue for much longer.

If this app had been around two years ago, it might have been worthwhile. Then again, the only reason Apple approved it now is probably because it knows it pretty much won the HTML5/Flash video war at this point, anyway.

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