The Technology Avenue

Friday, November 2, 2012

Apple Decides To Remove Emoji Apps From The App Store

Back in 2008, Apple added native support for Emoji icons in iPhone Firmware 2.2, which was available only to iPhone users on Japan’s SoftBank network.

But that didn’t stop hackers from figuring out a way to enable Emoji icons using a simple hack. Developers also released apps that allowed users to unlock the emoji keyboard.

But since Apple added native support for Emoji icons for all the users in iOS 5 last year, it seems to have finally decided to remove these Emoji apps from the App Store. MacRumors reports that it has sent notices like the one seen below informing developers that their Emoji apps have been removed from the App Store.

Hello XXXX,

We are writing to let you know your app, XXXX, has been removed from the App Store because it is no longer needed to unlock Emoji.
Since iOS 6 now provides Emoji support to all users, your app is no longer in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines <https://developer.apple.com/appstore/resources/approval/guidelines.html>
2.12 Apps that are not very useful, are simply web sites bundled as apps, or do not provide any lasting entertainment value may be rejected
If you have questions about the removal of your application, please contact App Review at appreview@apple.com. Please include the App ID and the name of your application in your email.
Thank you and best regards,
App Review

As MacRumors points out, while the notice mentions that the apps have been removed, a number of Emoji apps are still available in the App Store, so it remains to be seen when the apps will vanish from the App Store.

While we don’t think Apple should remove apps from the App Store because they’ve started offering the functionality natively in iOS, in this particular case we think it makes sense as some developers are selling Emoji apps for $0.99 in the App Store, which is essentially tricking users to pay for a feature that is natively available for free.

What do you think about Apple’s decision to remove the Emoji apps from the App Store?

iPad 4 Teardown Reveals A6X Chip With 1GB RAM, LG Display

Hot on the heels of disassembling the iPad mini, iFixit has also disassembled the 4th generation iPad, which also went on sale in 34 countries earlier today.

The 4th generation iPad looks exactly like the iPad 3 (new iPad), but it comes with a number of improvements such as Apple’s new faster A6X chip, FaceTime HD camera, expanded LTE support and Apple’s new Lightning connector.

Not surprisingly, iFixit hasn’t discovered too many changes in Apple’s new iPad. Here are some of the highlights:

One of the major differences in the 4th generation iPad is the Lightning connector. But iFixit points out Apple didn’t save any space by switching to the new connector which is 80% smaller than the 30-pin connector as the Lightning cable sits in a frame the same size as the 30-pin dock connector (upper). iFixit felt it was disappointing as Apple could have used the space for bigger, better speakers.
Apple had used an LG Display in the iPad 4 unit that iFixit had disassembled, their iPad mini unit came with a display made by Samsung.
It has the same 3.7 volts, 43 Whr battery as the iPad 3.
It is powered by the faster A6X chip with 1GB RAM. It has the same RAM as the iPad 3 and iPhone 5.
The 1.2 megapixel FaceTime HD camera is thicker than iPad 3′s 0.3 megapixel FaceTime camera, but still manages to fit in the same space.
iPad 4 received a low repairability score as the front panel is glued to the glass , which could increase the changes of cracking the glass and due to other factors.
iPad 4 includes the following chips:
- Apple A6X Processor
- Hynix H2JTDG8UD2MBR 16 GB NAND Flash
- 2 x 4Gb Elpida LP DDR2 = 1 GB DRAM in two packages
- Apple 338S1116 Cirrus Logic Audio Codec
- 343S0622-A1 Dialog Semi PMIC
- Apple 338S1077 Cirrus Logic Class D Amplifier
- Broadcom BCM5974 Touch Screen Controller
- Broadcom BCM5973A1 Touch Screen Controller
- Texas Instruments CD3240B0 Touch Screen Line Driver
- 2 x Fairchild BCHAH/FDMC Voltage Regulator / Reference
- Murata 339S0171 Broadcom BCM4334 WiFi Module