iPhone Applications

The iPhone is about to get a new web browser. That is, if Apple approves Opera Mini for distribution in the App Store. Opera Software ASA has announced that an iPhone version of its efficient web browser will be submitted for approval very soon.

The project is said to be only weeks away from completion, and would bring Opera Mini to yet another mobile platform. The company has already released its software for Android, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices. In January, Opera Mini surpassed 50 million unique monthly users.

Could it be that Netflix is moving closer towards developing an application that would allow subscribers to watch instantly on the iPhone? A new survey question has been discovered that suggests Netflix is gauging interest in a Wi-Fi movie streaming app.

In the past, Netflix used a similar strategy prior to the release of their Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 applications. Support for instant watching is also on its way to the Wii console this spring. Netflix is performing market research constantly and often circulates up to 20 surveys at a time.

Now you can record videos on the original (2G) iPhone and iPhone 3G without jailbreaking. Camera Plus Pro enhances the photography experience on any iPhone running OS 3.1 or later.

Many iPhone owners were disappointed that firmware 3.0 only supported video recording on the iPhone 3GS. Now thanks to Global Delight Technologies anyone with an iPhone can record and share video.

Camera Plus Pro is available on the App Store for a limited time at 33% off regular price ($1.99). The app comes loaded with video recording, photo taking and photo editing features including:

Square Enix has just released two classic games on the iPhone App Store. Final Fantasy was first introduced in 1987 and took the gaming world by storm. Those in North America might remember first playing Final Fantasy on a Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990.

The graphics and interface have been updated in the iPhone version and its sequel, Final Fantasy II. Both games include bonus dungeons not found in the originals and are available for $8.99 each.

The FeedLine 1.3 update is the first iPhone application to hit the App Store that supports Google Buzz public feeds. The app is primarily an RSS reader and goes for $0.99.

FeedLine does not require a Google Reader account, and supports RSS, Atom, and Google Buzz formats. Real-time news alerts can also be configured for specific terms and delivered using FeedLine.

Google Buzz was recently announced and allows Google users to share photos, videos, and conversations in a social networking application similar to Twitter or Facebook.

After the controversial removal of over 5,000 apps from the App Store, Apple looks like it's going to change course on the issue again. Initially, the company sought to purge any overtly sexual applications due to customer complaints and its own decency standards.

Apple has come under fire for hypocrisy as several apps such as Playboy, Victoria's Secret, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2010, FHM, and Maxim remain in the App Store while some developers' businesses evaporated overnight. In the meantime, Cult of Mac reports that a new category labeled "Explicit" has appeared to developers interested in submitting apps for approval.

Reports have surfaced that Skype and Verizon Wireless have cemented a 2-3 year exclusive deal to develop and run Skype applications on Verizon smartphones. iPhone owners have been waiting for a 3G-enabled version of the Skype app for some time.

Now that AT&T and Apple have lifted the Wi-Fi only restrictions on applications like SlingPlayer, Skype users naturally expected they would be the next to benefit from this change. In fact, Skype already has a 3G-ready app but the company has delayed its release due to concerns over AT&T's network.

Following a crackdown on "overtly sexual" content, Apple has had its censors remove 5,000 applications from the iPhone AppStore. The app purge began on Friday, with over 4,000 apps removed due to their "sexually arousing" or implied sexual language and images.

To date, the Apple cleansing is said to have removed almost three percent of the total number of iPhone applications previously available. In a strange twist, apps representing large media companies but still promoting sexual content remain on the AppStore.

Now that there are almost 142,000 approved iPhone applications, finding useful software has become difficult if not impossible. The App Store is projected to keep growing at breakneck speed. Now developer Hello, Chair has released a thesaurus for apps dubbed Appsaurus.

Appsaurus goes beyond the capabilities of Apple's Genius to bring you iPhone apps most similar to those you already find useful and enjoy. Appsaurus can be trained to learn what kind of apps you prefer, and makes it possible to search the App Store with specific filters.

Turns out you can't download that Dalai Lama iPhone app if you live on mainland China. Interested in Rebiya Kadeer, the exiled leader of China's Uighur minority? If you live in China don't look for any apps on your iPhone that mention that person, either.

You won't find them because Apple is likely complying to local laws banning specific political or religious beliefs in the Chinese version of its App Store. The Chinese government is infamous for its "great firewall" and routinely blocks large portions of the Internet with which the governing party disagrees.