Application Developers SmartBrief

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November 6, 2012

Serving developers of all types, all languages and all platforms

Top Story

Millennial and AppStori to kick-start selected app projects
Millennial Media is partnering with AppStori to give small grants to up-and-coming developers. The crowdsourcing platform AppStori will contribute $500 behind certain worthy projects and Millennial will kick in $500 in advertising credits and offer mentoring. Mobile Marketing Magazine (11/5)

Developer Economics

Verizon says its app store will close next year
Verizon says it will shut down its application store, Verizon Apps, in 2013 and will instead direct Android and BlackBerry users to stores run by Amazon and Google. Customers will be alerted to the change in January, and the store will be gone by March. Verizon says it will continue to pay developers throughout the shutdown process. VentureBeat (11/5), All Things D (11/5)

Tapjoy.com looks to create a "channel experience"
Gaming ad network Tapjoy saw its sales go from $20 million in 2010 to more than $100 million last year by aiding in the crucial discovery phase of application development. "Driving far better discovery based on what the user wants is hugely important. Tapjoy.com's version two ... will start moving us significantly in that direction, where we're providing a channel experience, in effect, for app discovery," Tapjoy CEO Mihir Shah says. VentureBeat (11/5)

Toolbox

Insiders are "not optimistic" on Google Maps on the iPhone
The prospects of getting a Google Maps application cleared by Apple for iOS devices are apparently not good, The Guardian reports, citing sources at Google familiar with its mapping plans. Those sources say they are "not optimistic" that Apple will allow its App Store customers to obtain the Google app that is said to be in development. The Guardian (London) (11/5)

Regulation & Policy

Negotiations on "Do Not Track" are said to be stalled
Talks concerning a standardized "Do Not Track" feature in Web browsers are at a standstill, says Stanford University graduate student Jonathan Mayer, a privacy advocate. In a separate privacy-related area, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter have expressed concerns over parts of children's protections proposed by the Federal Trade Commission. The Hill/Hillicon Valley blog (11/5), The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (11/5)

Apple takes on Calif. law that bans address collecting
Apple is challenging California's 21-year-old Song-Beverly privacy act, which if applied to an online retail environment would create "unintended and absurd results," according to Apple. A class action lawsuit alleges Apple has no right under the law to ask for an address. Apple's contention is that verification of a person's identification to prevent credit card fraud makes it necessary to gather billing addresses and phone numbers. MediaPost Communications/Online Media Daily (11/5), Bloomberg BNA (free content) (11/5)

Industry Spotlight

Tapping a 3-D skull notes pain points for future treatment
A University of Michigan-based doctor has developed an application for those suffering from migraine headaches, temporomandibular disorders and other facial nerve-related ailments. The PainTrek app helps those patients keep a pain diary that can lead their doctors to develop a more effective pain-management program. During a bout, patients can tap a 3-D skull in the app to note their pain and its intensity. MedicalXpress.com (11/5)

SmartQuote

It's impossible to move, to live, to operate at any level without leaving traces, bits, seemingly meaningless fragments of personal information."

--William Gibson,
American-Canadian author

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Associate Publisher, Technology & Telecom:
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