AppShopper

Apple this morning announced that its App Store had reached the 50 billion download mark and that the contest to mark the occasion, which had started on May 2, has concluded. The winner of the contest, who gets a $10,000 App Store gift card, is Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, Ohio.

Apple would like to thank our incredible customers and developers for topping 50 billion apps downloaded,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “The App Store completely transformed how people use their mobile devices and created a thriving app ecosystem that has paid out over nine billion dollars to developers. We’re absolutely floored to cross this milestone in less than five years.

Ashmore’s winning download was the free iPhone game Say the Same Thing by Space Inch, the developer of Mac app Lost Photos, which we featured earlier this week.

Apple’s App Store has seen incredible growth since its launch in 2008. As pointed out by our sister site MacRumors, the App Store took about 3 years and 8 months to reach 25 billion downloads and only 14.5 months for the next 25 billion to reach 50 billion downloads.

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  From the band OK Go, a totally new kind of word game. It's creative, with no preset answers -- a funny, unpredictable, mind-melding, turn-by-turn game where you have to think like your friends! Say...

Apple announced a new contest yesterday to commemorate the upcoming 50 billionth download from the App Store with a $10,000 App Store gift card as the grand prize. Additional prizes of $500 App Store gift cards will be given to those who download the next 50 apps after that.

To enter, all you need to do is download an app (free or paid) and if you happen to download the 50 billionth app or one of the 50 after that, you win. If you’d rather not go through the trouble of downloading an app, you can enter to win by completing an online form right here. You can find the official contest rules here.

The contest page in iTunes also lists the top free and paid apps of all time. Unsurprisingly, Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja top the paid list while Facebook and Pandora Radio top the free list.

Apple held a similar contest to mark the 25 billionth download in February 2012, also offering a $10,000 App Store gift card prize then, which was won by Chunli Fu of China. That contest lasted less than two weeks until a winner was announced and I’d wager this contest will conclude even faster than that, so get to downloading apps sooner rather than later to increase your chances of winning. If you’re not looking to spend any money, check out our Top 200 Free iPhone Apps and Top 200 Free iPad Apps lists.

While some things seem to slow down just before the holidays, app developers are apparently an exception if the number of major updates this week are any indication. While all of these apps are free and therefore pose no risk to your wallet, I still wanted to highlight them in case you’re considering a paid alternative that may be less functional comparatively after these updates.

Instagram, the popular photo sharing service, has updated its iPhone app with a new camera interface, the addition of a new filter, Willow, and Foursquare integration. In related news, Instagram removed support for Twitter cards, a feature that allowed Twitter’s own official apps to show thumbnail views of users’ Instagram photos within timelines, from its service. If you’re using a third-party client like Tweetbot this change doesn’t affect you. Yet, at least.

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  Instagram Over 100 million users love Instagram! It's a free, fun, and simple way to make and share gorgeous photos on your iPhone. Pick from one of several gorgeous filtered effects or tilt-shift...

Speaking of the official Twitter apps, Twitter’s iPhone and iPad app also got an update this week, adding features that put it in competition with Instagram when it comes to pictures: filters and basic photo editing tools.

Twitter notes Instagram’s removal of support for Twitter cards in the text describing what’s new in version 5.2:

We understand that you are experiencing issues with viewing Instagram photos on Twitter. Instagram has decided to disable its integration with Twitter and as a result, photos are no longer appearing in Tweets or user photo galleries. While tweeting links to Instagram photos is still possible, you can no longer view the photos on Twitter, as was previously the case.

Why do I feel like I need some popcorn before seeing what happens next between Twitter and Instagram?

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  With Twitter, you can watch the world unfold like never before. • Get real-time stories, pictures, videos, conversations, ideas, and inspiration all in your timeline. • Follow people and your...

The iPhone app for Flickr, the Yahoo-owned photo sharing site, got an update giving it a new interface and – drum roll, please – filters! And, Yahoo also released a brand new iPhone app for its free email service. Yahoo! Mail hit the App Store yesterday and requires iOS 6 or later.

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  Get the power of the world’s largest photo-sharing site in the palm of your hand! ★ "It’s the best mobile photo app out there" - Forbes ★ ★ "The new Flickr...

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  Yahoo! Mail, now available for your iPhone and iPad! With an easy to use interface, this app lets you:   Stay connected • Access your inbox in just one tap • Receive automatic notifications...

All right, enough about filters. Apple updated its Find My iPhone app to offer driving directions to help you get to that lost iOS device. While you may or may not have confidence in the map data, they should at least point you in the correct general direction. You’ll need to be running iOS 6 to get these directions, by the way.

If you don’t already have Find My iPhone, I’d definitely recommend that you download this free app and enable all of your iOS devices to use it. Here are Apple’s instructions on how to set it up. I’ve read several stories detailing how users found their lost or stolen iPhones or iPads with this app and service and while I don’t recommend that you attempt anything dangerous like trying to take your device back from a thief, it can be incredibly useful in any situation when your shiny bundle of Apple joy goes missing.

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  If you misplace your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac, the Find My iPhone app will let you use another iOS device to find it and protect your data. Simply install this free app on another iOS device,...

Apple has released a significant update today to iTunes, its media store and management app for Mac and Windows.

The update was initially announced at the company’s media event in September along with the iPhone 5. At that event, the release timeframe for iTunes 11 was announced as late October but an Apple spokesperson stated late last month that it would be pushed back to the end of November.

iTunes 11 features a redesigned interface for the media library, a new look for the iTunes store, and additional iCloud features. The complete list of the changes is as follows:

• Completely Redesigned. iTunes makes it more fun to explore and enjoy your music, movies, and TV shows. You’ll love the beautiful edge-to-edge design, custom designs for each album, movie, or TV show in your library, and getting personal recommendations any time you click In the Store.
• A New Store. The iTunes Store has been completely redesigned and now features a clean look that makes it simpler than ever to see what’s hot and discover new favorites.
• Play purchases from iCloud. Your music, movie, and TV show purchases in iCloud now appear inside your library. Just sign-in with your Apple ID to see them. Double-click to play them directly from iCloud or download a copy you can sync to a device or play while offline.
• Up Next. It’s now simple to see which songs are playing next, all from a single place. Just click the Up Next icon in the center display and they’ll instantly appear. You can even reorder, add, or skip songs whenever you like.
• New MiniPlayer. You can now do a whole lot more with a lot less space. In addition to showing what’s playing, MiniPlayer now includes album art, adds Up Next, and makes it easy to search for something new to play—all from a smaller and more elegant design.
• Improved search. It’s never been easier to find what you’re looking for in iTunes. Just type in the search field and you’ll instantly see results from across your entire library. Select any result and iTunes takes you right to it.
• Playback syncing. iCloud now remembers your place in a movie or TV show for you. Whenever you play the same movie or episode from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple TV, it will continue right where you left off.

iTunes 11 is a free download available from Apple’s site for Mac and PC.

Apple has released iOS 6.0.1 to fix a few bugs and issues that have plagued iPhone 5 and fifth-generation iPod touch users, including that strange keyboard graphics glitch and the-flash-that-would-not-go-off-even-when-it’s-dark when using the built-in Camera app.

Here’s the full list of what’s new in iOS 6.0.1:

• Fixes a bug that prevents iPhone 5 from installing software updates wirelessly over the air
• Fixes a bug where horizontal lines may be displayed across the keyboard
• Fixes an issue that could cause camera flash to not go off
• Improves reliability of iPhone 5 and iPod touch (5th generation) when connected to encrypted WPA2 Wi-Fi networks
• Resolves an issue that prevents iPhone from using the cellular network in some instances
• Consolidated the Use Cellular Data switch for iTunes Match
• Fixes a Passcode Lock bug which sometimes allowed access to Passbook pass details from lock screen
• Fixes a bug affecting Exchange meetings

I’ve seen several reports of higher-than-expected cellular data usage under iOS 6 over at the MacRumors forums and though I haven’t experienced this myself it seems to be a serious issue, especially for those with small data plans. Hopefully this update fixes this issue.

As expected based on more rumors than you can shake a stick at, Apple announced the new iPad mini at today’s media event. The smaller tablet features a 7.9-inch display with the same resolution of the 2nd-generation iPad 2 of 1,024 x 768 pixels, which will allow all existing apps that work on the iPad 2 to run without any need for modification on the iPad Mini.

iPad mini is every inch an iPad. With its gorgeous 7.9-inch display, iPad mini features the same number of pixels as the original iPad and iPad 2, so you can run more than 275,000 apps designed specifically for iPad,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “iPad mini is as thin as a pencil and as light as a pad of paper, yet packs a fast A5 chip, FaceTime HD and 5 megapixel iSight cameras and ultrafast wireless―all while delivering up to 10 hours of battery life.”

The iPad mini is tiny, measuring just 7.2 millimeters thick and weighing .68 pounds. Like its larger sibling, the iPad mini features both front-facing and rear-facing cameras. The front-facing FaceTime HD camera has a 1.2-megapixel sensor and the rear camera has a 5-megapixel sensor and can record 1080p HD video. The iPad mini also has all of the wireless connectivity goodness available in other models with Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0, plus 3G and 4G LTE in certain models.

The iPad mini will come in Wi-Fi and Wi-fi + Cellular models in two colors: black/slate and white/silver (just like the iPhone 5). The Wi-Fi models will cost $329, $429, and $529 for the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models, respectively. The Wi-Fi + Cellular models will cost $499, $599, and $699 for the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models, respectively.

Apple also announced the latest version of the iPad mini’s larger sibling, the fourth-generation iPad. The new iPad gets Apple’s own A6X processor and a FaceTime HD front-facing camera.

Both the fourth-generation iPad and the iPad mini will have the new Lightning connector that first debuted with the iPhone 5.

The iPad mini will be available for pre-order starting this Friday, October 26. The fourth-generation iPad and the iPad mini Wi-Fi models will be available starting on November 2. The iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular models will start shipping in December.

That isn’t all Apple announced today. For more, see the following articles over at our sister site MacRumors:

• Apple Announces Lighter, Thinner iMac Models with Fusion Drive
• Apple Introduces 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display
• Apple Introduces New Mac Mini With Faster Processors and Quad-Core Option
• Apple Updates iBooks Author with New Templates and Remote Update Feature
• Apple Announces Updated iBooks App With Continuous Scrolling

Image courtesy of The Loop

The Loop reports that Apple has sent out invitations for a media event to take place on October 23 at 10:00 am Pacific Time at the California Theater in San Jose, California.

Apple is widely expected to announce a smaller iPad, dubbed the iPad mini by the press so far, at this event. A strong focus on iBooks is also expected according to a report from The Next Web. If Apple does release a smaller iPad with a 7-inch screen, it will compete directly with Amazon’s Kindle Fire and tablets made by Samsung, Google, and others.

An updated 13-inch MacBook Pro with a retina display to complement the 15-inch model that debuted earlier this year may also be on the docket for this media event based on a report from 9to5Mac.

I’m hoping for an iPad mini, which I think could easily replace my current iPad 3 that I’m finding just a little too large and heavy for the amount of ebook reading I use it for. I also wouldn’t mind a version of the iPad that’s a bit more portable –– I rarely lug my iPad with me out of the house unless I’m going on a trip that will last more than a day. What are you hoping to see out of this event?

As announced at last week’s media event, Apple has released iOS 6, the latest version of its operating system for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. iOS 6 boasts over 200 new features compared to iOS 5 and is a free download for the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 2 and later, and 4th-generation iPod touch and later.

In iOS 6, Apple has completely revamped the Maps app to do away with Google map and POI data in favor of data from TomTom and its own map information and technology. Apple also adds a new app, Passbook, that will hold boarding passes, store loyalty cards, movie tickets, and more. FaceTime will no longer be restricted to Wi-Fi only (unless you’re with AT&T, who requires that you be on one of their shared data plans to make FaceTime calls on their network), and Siri is enhanced to provide sports scores, move times, restaurant reviews, and even open apps for you.

If you want to dig into everything that’s new iOS 6, you can find the release notes here. Not all of the new features are available in all countries and Apple has created a handy dandy list of what works where here.

If you’re away from your computer and are running iOS 5, you can update to iOS 6 over the air though be aware the update is over 600 MB so you’ll want to be connected to a Wi-Fi network if you’re on a cellular data plan with steep charges for overages.

I’m installing iOS 6 on my iPhone 4S as I write this article and I’m most looking forward to Passbook and the new Do Not Disturb features that will stop my iPhone from buzzing and lighting up at night when I’m sleeping.

Pre-orders for the iPhone 5, which was announced earlier this week, started at an ungodly hour this morning (12:00 am Pacific/3:00 am Eastern). If you weren’t too keen on staying awake or getting up that early to get in your pre-order and you’re out and about today and can’t easily get to a computer, there are apps that can help you out.

First up is the Apple Store app. Compared to Apple’s site in the wee hours of the morning on a pre-order day, Apple Store can often result in a successful pre-order with a minimal amount of effort. Just like Apple’s website, it will check your upgrade eligibility with your carrier and show you the appropriate pricing. However, if you’re switching to a different carrier, note that this app will not be able to handle those details and you’ll need to go to Apple’s full website for these more complex pre-orders.

If you’re with AT&T, I would normally point out the AT&T Upgrader app, which we recommended last year at the release of the iPhone 4S, as another option. However, AT&T appears to have recently removed it from the US App Store. There’s no official information on AT&T’s site explaining why it’s no longer in the App Store and I’ve heard no response from AT&T yet to my query about it’s removal.

UPDATE: The AT&T Updater app is now back in the App Store (thanks, Tom!):

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  The AT&T Upgrader provides AT&T customers, using an iPhone®, iPod Touch® or iPad®, a tool to quickly check upgrade eligibility to immediately purchase select iPhone models, select...

However, if you had previously downloaded AT&T Upgrader when it was available and still have it on your iPhone or on your computer to sync back to your iPhone, you can use it to log in to your existing account, check your upgrade eligibility and place an order for a new iPhone, including the iPhone 5.

(If it’s not on your iPhone and you’re not near your computer to sync it back, you may be able to re-install it via iCloud using these instructions.)

While Sprint and Verizon both have account management apps in the App Store, neither lets you actually pre-order an iPhone 5, unfortunately. For those carriers, you’ll need to use their respective websites or use the Apple Store app (as long as you’re not switching from another carrier, as previously mentioned).

I had Siri set an alarm on my iPhone 4S to wake me up just before 3:00 am Eastern time this morning and the (not so) dulcet tones of the system Beep sound woke me up as scheduled. As with the iPhone 4S, Apple and AT&T were hit hard with a large number of pre-orders and it took me a little over a half hour to finally make it through all the way to the end using the Apple Store app to finalize my pre-order.

At the time of this post, delivery times are already slipping well past the original September 21 delivery date through Apple, Verizon, and AT&T. If you were hoping to get one on release day and haven’t placed your pre-order yet, you may have to try your luck by standing in line on that day. If you’re not concerned with getting one on September 21, the Apple Store app is a tried and true way to pre-order yours barring any system trouble on Apple’s or your selected carrier’s ends.

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  When you’re on the go, the Apple Store app is the best way to research, personalize, and buy products from Apple. You can also use it to make Genius Bar and workshop reservations at the Apple...

Today’s media event was packed with a ton of news today, with Apple announcing the next model of its flagship iOS device, the iPhone 5.

The new iPhone 5 will feature the expected 4-inch display and 4G LTE connectivity, along with improved camera features (though the sensor for the rear-facing camera remains at 8 megapixels) in an aluminum and glass enclosure. All in all, the iPhone 5 will be the same width as the iPhone 4S but will be taller to accommodate the larger screen yet still thinner and lighter overall.

Internally, the iPhone 5 gets a faster and more efficient A6 processor, dual-band 802.11(n) Wi-Fi capability and will use a smaller Nano-SIM card. When it comes to battery life, the iPhone 5 matches or exceed the iPhone 4S with up to 8 hours of LTE or 3G talk time, up to 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing, and up to 225 hours of standby time.

The iPhone 5 also gets a new, smaller dock connector called Lightning. Unlike the older 30-pin connector, the Lightning connector is reversible and doesn’t need to be connected in a specific orientation. Apple will sell an adapter so you can use your existing accessories with a 30-pin dock connector but it will set you back $29 for one, which can add up to a pricey proposition if you have several older accessories you want to use with your shiny new iPhone 5.

Pre-orders for the iPhone 5 will begin on September 14 and it will begin shipping in the US and eight other countries on September 21 and will roll out to 22 more countries on September 28.

The iPhone 5 will be available in black (with a slate aluminum back) or white (with a raw aluminum back) and will cost $199, $299, and $399 with a 2-year contract respectively for the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models.

That’s not all Apple announced today – check out these articles over at our sister site, MacRumors.com:

• Apple Announces 4-Inch iPod Touch, Multitouch iPod Nano
• Apple Announces Major iTunes Update Coming Next Month [Update: Version 10.7 Released Today]
• Apple Announces New Dock Connector Called ‘Lightning’
• Apple Announces EarPods Earphones

A specific time for the launch of pre-orders on Friday has not yet been announced but I’m hoping it’s not 3:00 am Eastern like it was for the iPhone 4S. I’m also hoping that Apple is truly prepared for pre-orders this time and beefs up its systems and servers so I don’t have struggle for hours to place my pre-order.