Anith Gopal

Across the pond, our European neighbors have been enjoying Spotify for some time now. It’s only fair that Apple should continue on in that vein and approve Rhapsody for the American masses. Sure Rhapsody costs money and Spotify doesn’t, but it does present a very competitive subscription-based alternative to iTunes.

Steve Jobs return as the face of Apple yesterday was immediately followed by an interview with Tech Guru David Pogue of the New York Times. A lot of the conversation focused on cameras, like why the iPod nano got one and the iPod touch did not. It turns out Apple had no idea how to market the iPod touch — imagine that! Vacillating between concepts such as an “iPhone without the phone” and a pocket computer that actually fits in a pocket, touch users had to help the company that is arguably the most adept at advertising in the world figure out what to do

At the Apple Event today, Steve Jobs and company unveiled the fall lineup of iPods. The biggest change was the iPod nano , but every iPod got a little bit of love, be it increased capacity or decreased price. iPod touch: The new “magic price point” of $199 has 8GB, with two upsell models at 32GB and 64GB for $299 and $399, respectively.

iPhone and iPod Touch games are a booming business in the App Store, but how do they stand up against the big daddies of the handheld game market? The Nintendo DS and Sony PSP boast huge install bases of about 70 million and 35 million, respectively, and a robust game library featuring well-known, high-quality franchises; will they ever feel the competitive heat from Apple? According to Michael Pachter, managing director at Wedbush Morgan Securities and a top game industry analyst, that’s actually a fait accompli

If you play Texas Hold ‘Em on the iPhone, you know Jonathan Kromrey, the former games producer at Apple having worked on that title. His new title isn’t a game, but a position, head of Apple Gaming for Namco, producer of 80s’ nostalgia games like PAC-MAN, Dig Dug and Galaga.

A turbulent week of Apple news comes to a close, but with a selection of new app’s available for iPhone, it’s not quite over yet — it’s time to take a look at this week’s recommendations. Hold up one moment though as, before we run through this week’s picks from the App Store, we should take one last cursory glance back at the week that was on TheAppleBlog. The week opened with the admittedly amusing allegation that Apple are in bed with the Mafia

The iPhone/iPod 3.0 OS allows third-party applications to utilize the device’s Bluetooth capabilities for two-player games. The first (and only) application I had that supported this in an update was Flight Control, and since then, whenever my wife and I are on a train, we occupy our time playing this. The huge advantage of multiplayer Bluetooth compared with Wi-Fi is that you just need the two devices, no Wi-Fi access points or Internet connectivity is required

Pinch Media , an analytics firm for iPhone OS developers, has found evidence of a third-generation iPod touch.

It arrived shortly after midnight on Tuesday, the same day as the release of the desktop version, and I was all over it. “Pumped” would probably be the best way to describe me at 12:45 a.m.

Your first question might be, “Isn’t Zune dead already?” Or you might be wondering, “Why does Microsoft bother ?” You might even be asking why there’s a report about Zune on TheAppleBlog. Well, first the news.

In this installment of the App Store Roundtable, I talked to a few developers about issues with supporting their apps after a sale has been made. Many developers are concerned at the difficulty of providing any form of after sales support to customers. Minor problems with an app often lead to a bad review and a dissatisfied customer, when a better support system could have quickly resolved the issue.

App Quick Stats World Cup Ping Pong $1.99 iTunes Link All of the thrills, adrenaline and drama of ping pong arrives on the iPhone, courtesy of Skyworks. I’ve tried many sports — rugby, basketball, hockey, even lacrosse — and discovered that physical exertion is not my bag