A report earlier this month indicated that the U.S Department of Defense was preparing to approve Apple devices running IOS6 for us on military networks. It’s now been confirmed that the department has issued official authorization for IOS6 allowing Apple products to be used more freely on their networks. The reported stated that out of more than 600,000 mobile devices used by the Defense Department only about 41,000 of those appear to be Apple products. Currently Blackberry has around 75% of military device market share however Android and Apple are now set to erode that number. Samsung Android phones using Knox, a secure function which is available on the Galaxy S4 are also set to eat into Blackberry’s military dominance.

Recent reports also suggest the Air Force has switched it user flight manuals to iPads saving millions of dollars in the process. IOS6 had a host of new security feature including fixing 107 security vulnerability and adding more granular privacy controls.

As iPhone app developer we’re glad to see the DOD open up its networks to Apple devices and hope they create innovate apps to save lives as well as take them.  Mobile app developers in Los Angeles will be hoping to pick up some military contracts as see their apps contributing to the nations security.

Debra Hilton from Florida filed a class action suit against Apple alleging that the power button on the iPhone 4 has a manufacturing defect that Apple was a aware of and chose not to fix.

The suit claims that the iPhone 4′s flex cable is defective and designed to cause the power button to malfunction shortly after the 1-year warranty, forcing users to either get it repaired for $149 or pay for an entirely new device.

The complaint reads….

“The Apple iPhone 4 is plagued by a latent defect that causes its Power Button to fail, usually shortly after the 1 year warranty covering the device has expired, thereby rendering the phone unusable.

Apple knew when it manufactured, marketed, and sold the device that this defect existed, but failed to disclose it, instead touting the purported superior attributes of the telephone in Apple’s various advertisements and marketing campaigns.”

Miss Hilton claims that Apple was well aware of the problem and points out that Apple’s own community support forum is filled with hundreds of complaints from users experiencing similar power button failure issues. She then further points out that said complaints have been viewed over 720,000 times and that a YouTube video featuring solutions to fixing the iPhone 4′s faulty power button have been viewed more than 1 million times.

The class action suit seeks $5 million in damages. As an iPhone app developer  we’ve encountered people complaining about faulty power buttons regularly.  As mobile app developers in Los Angeles we’ll be intrigued to see how this case works out.

The retail giant launched its new currency with the promotion that will see all Kindle Fire owners gifted with 500 Coins. The coins can be used to purchase apps and in-app items on the Kindle Fire.

The new currency is aimed at increasing Kindle Fire apps buy and putting more money in the hands of developers. Revenue sharing on apps and in-app purchases will operate in the same manner it did before Coins. Developers will get a 70 percent cut of the revenue with Coins.

Amazon Vice President of Apps said ”We will continue to add more ways to earn and spend Coins on a wider range of content and activities,” George said. “Today is Day One for Coins.”

The arena remote home monitoring and control is gaining momentum and that might well be accelerated by the acquistion of MyEnery by Nest. Originally called Earth, MyEnergy launched its online dashboard in 2009 as one of the first energy monitoring solutions. They  provide users with information on how much electricity, water, and natural gas they use and how much they spend on these.

“Giving our customers more in-depth access and analysis of their energy usage has always been part of the Nest vision,” said Tony Fadell, Nest founder and CEO said in a released statement today. “We’ve made great strides in the past year and a half; by bringing MyEnergy into the Nest family, we can reach our goals even faster. The MyEnergy team is incredibly like-minded and we’ve already begun working with them to find ways to integrate their technology into Nest products.”

Nest produce a smart thermostat which can be controlled from your phone via an app. As a iPhone app developer we’re always excited to see innovations like this pushing the technology forward. The mobile app developers in Los Angeles i’m sure will be looking to get involved with interested hardware project like this.

A few weeks ago we reported how discovery App AppGratis had its app removed from the Apple App store then its push messages stop to its 12 million users. This looks like it’s part of a much bigger crackdown confirmed by PocketGamer.biz after Apple began rejecting apps that feature tools for “filtering, bookmarking, searching, or sharing recommendations.”

We’ve been contacted by one developer whose app discovery tool has recently been blocked by Apple because it includes such features, with App Store regulation 2.25 – which restricts apps that could be confused by consumers as app stores in their own right – cited within the reasoning.

Regulation 2.25 reads as follows “Apps that display Apps other than your own for purchase or promotion in a manner similar to or confusing with the App Store will be rejected”

The developer who remained anonymous reported that the rejected app focused primarily on sharing app recommendations to friends.

“I have not seen this rejection notice before and believe that it is a new one. We thought that basing our recommendations on sharing was suitable for Apple, as it had previously stated that if you bake in social or local into your app discovery, you would be fine.

“However, either we are not social enough, or Apple is going back on its position. Either way, it appears the scope of 2.25 continues to grow and I think they aim to be the only provider of recommendations for apps, along with being the distributor.”

As an iPhone app developer we feel thats Apple are taking things too far and are likely to scare off developers and crush creativity. From the mobile app developers in Los Angeles Apple please calm down and encourage open and easy trade in your store.

According to an article by Apple Insider, “The DoD will reportedly grant clearance for both iOS 6, Apple’s current mobile operating system, as well as iOS 5, the company’s previous-generation software. iOS 5 will be cleared for use on an “as needed” basis subject to hardware modification, while any device running iOS will be acceptable, without the need for hardware modification.”

The approval process set up by the Pentagon is comprehensive and extremely difficult to pass. However, Apple has proven that their devices are running some of the most secure software available. For example, the DEA recently complained that they couldn’t circumvent the iOS platform’s encryption technology used on the app iMessage.

Apparently the DoD also cleared some the newest Samsung Galaxy 4 device for use by Federal employees as well. Samsung runs the Android OS on their hardware.

As an iPhone app developer its impressive that Apple’s iOS technology was built from the ground up with user security in mind. Some mobile app developers in Los Angeles may be surprised that Samsung passed the security threshold. The Android platform has been shown to be susceptible to exploits as demonstrated by several high profile hacking scandals.

According to an investigative report issued by The Verge, “[Path] has been getting some heat for what some users say are spammy tactics to recruit new users. Digital marketer Stephen Kenwright downloaded the app earlier this week, tried it out, uninstalled it, and went to bed. When he woke up, he found that Path had gone on a rogue mission early in the morning, texting and robocalling an unknown number of his contacts, including his grandparents.”

Path as a social networking app is designed with a beautiful and intuitive user interface, built around users photos and personal experiences. The networking app has gained an impressive 1 million users in a week, leading them to meet a big milestone with their 10 millionth app download. However, in their mission to quickly gain traction, the Path team has crossed the red line concerning user privacy time after time.

The start-up has been chastised for scraping user contacts in the past, and was penalized with an $800,000 fine from the Federal Trade Commission for invading the privacy of underage users.

As an iPhone app developer in San Diego it is infuriating to see a start-up like Path put the entire app ecosystem at risk with their blatant disregard for personal privacy. Rest assured government backlash will ensue and restrictive laws that stifle innovation will follow if this type of behavior continues. Mobile app developers and growth hackers need to think twice before deploying shady techniques into the app market.

Would you like to have an app copy your entire contact list to their servers and call your Grandparents at four in the morning? No thanks!

Parse offers services that help mobile developers store data in the cloud, manage identity log-ins, handle push notifications and run custom code in the cloud. Over 60,000 mobile apps have integrated Parse into their software infrastructure. With Parse coming under the Facebook umbrella, the company now stands a good chance to scale rapidly. This may enable app developers to acquire new users by making apps more engaging and social to encourage new users to invite friends. Facebook may have just unlocked a new revenue stream by being able to offer back-end services such as data storage, push notifications, and a CMS for tracking app users.

As an iPhone app developer in San Diego this deal will likely add value to the mobile developer community. Parse is tremendously useful service that enables an iPhone app developer like myself to quickly put together certain portions of an app that may have required intensive custom coding in the past. We hope that Facebook allows Parse to operate with the same developer friendly business model that they started off with.

Apparently insiders are leaking information to the media. Rumor has it that the iOS7 design is similar in nature to Microsoft’s Windows Phone “Metro” UI. Apple prides itself on releasing products and software with intuitive, stylish and easy to use design aspects. The 7th version of iOS to be released promises to deviate from previous versions of the software with newly designed tool bars and tab bars.

The iPhone and iPad app developer community is excited to see what nifty interface features may be released. Some reports predict Apple may add new gesture based navigation options and user engagement tools.

As an iPad app developer in San Diego any number of these predicted changes to iOS7 could fundamentally shift the way iPhone and iPad apps are designed. Mobile developers will be watching with anticipation for big iOS software announcements at this years WWDC in San Francisco. We’ll stay tuned and post credible iOS7 updates as they develop.

According to sources at TUAW an iPhone app developer gave details of his experience, saying, “I pick up and a nice guy tells me he’s from Apple Developer Support and that they noticed that I tried to purchase a ticket today and that the transaction didn’t go through. I told him that was true. I thought the next thing out of his mouth would be an apology or something – just to be nice. He then proceeds to tell me that he’s got good news – a ticket has been reserved for me in my name and that I’ll be receiving an email from Developer Support within 12 hours with instructions on how to purchase the pass.”

For those of us in the iPhone and iPad app developer community unable to attend the world’s most prominent developer conference Apple is allowing developers free access to watch online video feeds of developer sessions. As a Los Angeles iPad app developer getting face-time and networking opportunities with the 1,000 Apple engineers and iOS developers is worth the $1,599 price of admission but a free video of the keynote speakers and developer workshops will do just fine.