iPhone Applications

Apple has relaxed restrictions on third-party software used to develop iPhone applications. Flash won't be coming to an iOS device anytime soon, however Adobe Flash Professional CS5 users can now submit apps created with the tool. Adobe has responded to Apple's change in policy by renewing investment in Packager, which converts Flash to iPhone apps.

In a controversial move, Apple had previously shut out third-party application development tools by requiring that all apps be written in C, C++, Objective-C or JavaScript as run by the Apple iPhone OS WebKit engine. Private application programming interfaces (APIs) were banned in the developer agreement.

According to Oprah Magazine, StumbleUpon is not only the most addictive website ever, it's also the "greatest thing ever invented." Well now you can have all this on your iPhone with the StumbleUpon app. The app will look familiar if you're one of StumbleUpon's almost 11 million members.

With an embedded browser, the StumbleUpon toolbar has thumbs up and thumbs down buttons along with a home button and random stumble option. In order to use the app you must have a registered account with StumbleUpon. What sets the iPhone app apart from the desktop version is a focus on mobile-web specific features and content.

Even though iPhone 4 owners are still waiting for a jailbreak, at least they know when it's released the process will be legal. Thanks to a decision by the US federal government, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has won exemptions for jailbreaking and unlocking under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Rulemaking sessions happen every three years, and exemptions to copyright law based on fair use can be requested by organizations and users of digital devices. The much-awaited ruling brings independent software development and iPhone hacking into the mainstream, and removes its grey-area status. Many developers and hobbyists feared that Apple would succeed in criminalizing unauthorized software that runs on gadgets made by the company.

Finally the Skype update that iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 users have been waiting for. Not only does Skype 2.0.1 make it possible to receive calls at all times, the application allows calls to continue uninterrupted in the background while the iPhone is used for other things. These improvements take advantage of iOS 4 multitasking and make the Skype app much more user friendly.

Skype had announced that calls placed over 3G data networks instead of W-Fi would incur a fee after an introductory period. The company now explains that it has dropped plans to institute a 3G calling charge, keeping Wi-Fi and 3G cellular calling expenses unchanged.

The popular photo sharing site Flickr first launched its native iPhone app in September 2009. The latest update, version 1.2, is now available on iTunes and takes advantage of new features in the iOS 4 operating system. Multitasking allows photo and video uploads in the background instead of preoccupying the iPhone until the task is complete. A badge on the app icon indicates how many uploads are processing.

Fast app switching means that every time you open Flickr, the app will remember exactly where you left off last time the app was used, and you can continue what you were doing. HD video upload capability will be useful for those iPhone 4 owners who enjoy recording 720p video on their devices. Hopefully Flickr will add high-resolution support for the Apple retina display in the next update.