Apple has added a new automated layer to its approval process for App Store software, but according to one developer, it’s not perfect.

Apple recently began using computers to automatically scan for the use of private application programming interfaces. The new automated scan does not change any of the rules Apple has had in place for the App Store: Private APIs have always been banned from use in iPhone software. But according to Gizmodo, the rule was not entirely enforced, because it can be difficult to determine when an API falls within the rules and when it does not.
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Apple plans to release a new “Concierge” application for the iPhone and iPod touch that will allow customers to schedule appointments at retail stores, AppleInsider has been told.

According to a source that has proven reliable in the past, the App Store software will allow anyone to view memberships and make appointments for services at retail stores, like the Genius Bar or One to One. No release date or the alleged application was provided.

The information on the potential new iPhone application was corroborated Monday in a separate report from MacRumors.
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Touch Arcade has the news that the long-awaited Ravensword and a number of other games built on the Unity game engine have been rejected by Apple from the App Store. The problem appears to be a number of API calls in the engine (though not specifically the game themselves, as I understand it) that allow the games to access the iPhone’s number and send it back to the developer’s servers.
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Apple is looking to hire a game and media software engineer for its iPhone and iPod touch team, perhaps signaling that the company intends to expand its first-party software offerings.

The listing posted this week is noteworthy because Apple has only released four applications on its iPhone App Store since it first launched, and only one of them — Texas Hold’em — is a game. The $4.99 virtual card game was released in 2008.

The advertisement seeks a full-time employee to work at the company’s Cupertino, Calif., headquarters. Apple is looking for a “passionate gamer” with 3 to 4 years of video game development experience. The person would help design and implement “interactive multimedia experiences” on the iPhone and iPod touch. Only candidates who have shipped “at least one AAA title” are asked to apply.
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Apple has quietly launched iTunes Preview, a web based preview for those iTunes links that used to just open the application.

Previously, when linking to a song or album in iTunes your browser would open a blank page and prompt you to open the link with the iTunes application. This was fine if you had the iTunes application installed but annoying if you didn’t. Read more…

As the iPhone has proven itself to be a formidable competitor in the handheld gaming business, the president of Nintendo has said his company must differentiate itself to survive.

As Apple portrays the iPod touch and iPhone as the ultimate portable gaming machine, Nintendo, maker of the Nintendo DS, has seen its profits freefall last quarter, from 133 billion yen a year prior to 64 billion yen. Highlighting the newfound competition between Apple and Nintendo, The Wall Street Journal noted that Nintendo has fended off several potential portable challengers, but it hasn’t quite faced a competitor like the iPhone.

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Apple added a large amount of HD movies to iTunes this morning with little fanfare, according to MacWorld. There now are hundreds of new and classic movies available for rent or purchase in HD.

Headlining iTunes Store’s newly-stocked HD shelves are Wall-E, a pre-order for Star Trek (which was only available in SD until now), Hero, The Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Knowing, Bolt, and many more. Plenty of classics have arrived in HD as well, including both Kill Bill movies, Short Circuit, Zoolander, No Country for Old Men, and what is probably my favorite B-budget sci-fi film: Cube.

MacWorld notes that most HD movies are available for purchase for $20 with few exceptions. At only 720p some of these movies especially the older ones should be pricing accordingly.
via iclarified.com

John Carmack, creator of the classic PC game Doom, described working with Apple as a “rollercoaster ride,” and suggested that company executives are not happy about the popularity of gaming on the iPhone and iPod touch.

In an interview with gaming website Kotaku, John Carmack revealed that top executives at Apple do not look fondly on the growing popularity of games on the iPod Touch and iPhone.
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RadioShack has announced that they will carry the iPhone in stores beginning later this month.

“As part of its ongoing mobility strategy, RadioShack is pleased to announce that it will introduce Apple’s iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in a limited number of company-owned stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth and New York City metropolitan areas beginning later this month. RadioShack expects to introduce iPhone in stores nationwide in 2010. Read more…

Boy Genius Report is claiming that two separate sources have told them that AT&T is looking to sell an 8GB iPhone 3GS for $99 US before Christmas. While this news wouldn’t come as a shock, it would certainly take more than AT&T to make it happen. As most of you know, Apple doesn’t make an 8GB iPhone 3GS and it would probably mean the discontinuation of the iPhone 3G in general.

If you think back to the time of the first generation iPhone (it was so long ago now), you’ll probably remember that Apple quickly discontinued the 4GB iPhone after realizing that most people were opting for the larger capacity. Not too long after that, Apple introduced the 16GB version and discounted the price of the 8GB. Now that the iPhones themselves are subsidized by the wireless carrier, the game is a little different.
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