iOS Archives - Page 2 of 9 - Serious Startups

Swedish Startup Foap Raises $500M From Asian Investors

You know we love startups with silly names. Obviously Foap is one of those startups. The Swedish startup is creating a stock photography market place where the photographers can be anyone in the world with a smartphone or a connected camera.

The premise is simple. The user registers with the Foap platform. They upload pictures of whatever they want to and Foap sells the pictures for $10 a piece to news outlets, bloggers, and other users. You sell the rights to the photo away but heck most smartphone pics happen by accident and even if they aren’t by accident, they don’t take but a second to shoot.

Foap splits the $10 right down the middle and the photographer gets paid. Funny name, easy startup right?

To date Foap has nearly 1 million images for sale on their platform. They’ve seen over $150,000 downloads of their app and 1.4 million photos uploaded since launch.

That was enough to land $500,000 from Asian investment firm Jade Global Investments.

“We always knew we had something pretty special to offer iPhone users but the success we’ve experienced so far is unbelievable and the interest in investors from Asia has been overwhelming”, said co-founder, David Los. “We’re fully focused on growing our market of iPhone images and establishing ourselves as one of the major players in the stock imagery industry.”

“We are delighted to announcement our investment in Foap, a company that we’ve been monitoring closely over the past six months,” said Jacky Lu, CEO of Jade Global Investments based in Asia. “We believe Foap can be extremely successful and as one of the first in this space to go to market, it stands a great chance of success. The company is perfectly positioned to make a big impact on the stock photography industry and that’s something we want to be a part of.”

“We are very excited to have such an experienced investor on board. It’s not just the funding that will benefit the company, but the knowledge and expertise Jacky and the team will be able to offer”, commented Los. “The success we’ve experienced so far has been unbelievable and this round of funding means we can continue to drive forward towards reaching the ambitious goals we have set for the company

Linkage:

Check out Foap here

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Belkin First To Produce Lightning Accessories

When Apple made the decision this year to switch from the 30 pin connector that they introduced in 2001 to the new lightning connector on their devices today, the world went into a panicked frenzy. Now, households were going to have a mix of 30 pin devices and lightning devices, until eventually every Apple device they owned had a lightning connector.

The lightning connector is slimmer, can go in on either side and is considerably faster at both data transfer and charging. Because the connector is smaller it’s less likely to cause the cord to break if it gets tangled. The lightning connector also does away with the locking clip which makes it easier to pull the cord away from the device.

Although Apple’s loyal customers with older generation iPods, iPads and iPhones mixed into their iLifestyle, are undoubtedly upset, it’s Apple’s accessory partners that have to be feeling the biggest pinch. Companies that were known for their data accessories like Griffin, Belkin and even Verbatim, were able to revive themselves by making accessories for Apple’s consumer electronics.

Fret not, all of the accessory companies will eventually get around to making accessories with the lightning connector. Belkin is actually the first one out of the gate. The popular accessory company has produced a car charger and a home dock which both have lightning connectors.

While many of the case manufacturers have already had an iPhone 5, iPad Mini or the new, the new iPad case ready to go, accessories for power and audio are the ones most affected.

Larry Fishback, an Apple customer we met at the Lenox Square Apple store this weekend told us “I’ve got a home audio dock on my desk at home and another at work, as well as an in dash system that all use the old connector.” Fishback is a loyal Apple user and was purchasing an iPad Mini this weekend. For now he says he’s going to use the 3.5mm cord adapters for his docks. He plans on upgrading his iPhone 4s to an iPhone 5 when more lightning accessories are available.

Corrine Watson, also from Atlanta, is hoping that the new lightning connector devices will be able to control the music function on her iPhone 5. “Once I plug my iPod into my car stereo I can control it with the car stereo controls, I hope we can still do that with the itty bitty connector”.

BGR reports that Apple is holding a workshop for it’s accessory partners on the lightning connector. There are also Asian knock offs already on the market.

Both Belkin accessories retail for the normal $29.99 Apple accessory price.

Linkage:

Source: BGR

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Boston Startup: BRIGHTdriver Has Mobile Games Even The Driver Can Play

Do you get bored in the car? Sure you do,everybody does. Now in a lot of states, it’s illegal to do anything on your smartphone that requires you to actually hold the phone. Playing Angry Birds at a stop light is a little too risky, you don’t want to get a ticket, or cause an accident.

Well there’s got to be a way to play games in the car without actually holding the phone. A Boston startup incubating at Dog Patch Labs, called BRIGHTdriver has the answer, audio games.

BRIGHTdrivers unique and fun games are audio based and don’t require you to actually hold the phone to play. BRIGHTdrivers audio games are as safe as talking hands free on your mobile phone or yelling out the answers to the dj’s trivia question on the radio.

Currently BRIGHTdriver offers three titles. Volley, is their pub style trivia game. Careoke is BRIGHTdriver’s sing-a-long Karaoke game and Best Mile is a game that challenges you to drive your best (and safest) mile. They have plans to introduce more games as the platform gets off the ground.

BRIGHTdriver’s platform is set up to allow you to play by yourself or against others on the BRIGHTdriver network.

The BRIGHTdriver team has taken to Kickstarter to help fund their official launch. You can donate to their Kickstarter campaign here and get cool perks like early access to this exciting new platform

We got a chance to talk with BRIGHTdriver founder Matt Albrecht about his unique new spin on mobile gaming. Check out the interview below.

Analysts: Apple Sold 18M iPads In Their Their Q4 2012

Apple’s Fiscal Q4 ended on September 30th and analysts are anxiously awaiting their 4th quarter results. It was a good year for the Cupertino based company, breaking stock price records repeatedly in their last 12 months.

In the spring of 2012 Apple released their newest iteration of the iPad. It wasn’t called iPad 3 as expected, instead Apple went with calling it “The New iPad”. This put retailers and vendors in a frenzy as the iPhone 5 approached, with companies like Best Buy opting to use signage that said “The New iPhone”. Of course, 10 days before the release of the newest iPhone, Apple confirmed it would be the iPhone 5.

The New iPad, saw a significant upgrade in processor speed, display (retina) and additional wireless speed with the addition of 4G/LTE on multiple carriers. Throughout three cycles of the iPad, Apple has been able to maintain roughly the same price point, as they have with all their previous releases of iPads, iPods and iPhones.

Apple is also expected to announce a 7″ version of their world famous slate as early as a press event next week. Many internet sources are reporting that Apple has ramped up production and ordered 10 million of the as yet unannounced devices.

As for The New iPad (the 10″ version), Analysts are suggesting that Apple has sold around 18.38 million units. Fortune Magazine’s Phillip Elmer-DeWitt polled 61 wall street analysts and independent firms to come up with that figure. If that’s the case, Apple has sold a million more iPads than the previous quarter and 60% more than the same time last year.

While the 10″ “The New iPad” has been around for six months, there’s still no slowing down the tablet machine. With the new increased size in the iPhone 5 many people are curious to see how many 7″ iPads can be sold. The “iPad Mini” is expected to be the “must have” gift this holiday season.

Linkage:

Source (never thought we’d ever do this but) Thedroidguy

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Seattle Startup Bibo Launches Social Drinking Beta App

There are very few areas where the phrase “There’s an app for that” doesn’t apply. The social drinking space is starting to produce a whole new crop of apps. On nibletz.com alone we’ve featured Wisconsin based startup Trinker, New York startup Drynk.me, Pittsburgh startup Grail, Baltimore startup BeerGivr, and Oklahoma startup Drink Easy.

Each one of these startups addresses social drinking in a different way. A few of them are about buying a buddy a drink either in person and charging it to your phone, or from afar. Some are about taking pictures of drinks and sharing them, while others are more like mobile based wine lists.

Seattle startup Bibo is hoping to become the social discovery platform for drinks. Their new iPhone app allows users to rate, and share beverages socially. It also allows you to search for drinks based on your physical location. Now you don’t have to walk into a strange bar or restaurant just to find out if they have your favorite craft beer or mixed drink. Bibo solves that for you in the palm of your hand.

Similarly to Drynk.me, Bibo wants to become the largest location based picture database of drinks in the world. The platform works in reverse as well. Say you go into a bar that you like for ambience and atmosphere but the bartender there doesn’t do your favorite cocktail. Well with Bibo you can show the bartender how to make that drink that will keep you coming back.

The co-founders of Bibo are no strangers to discovery. Natan Antolin, Mac McClian, Steve Jacobson met in late 2011 while working for a job search platform.

Bibo works with local bars, lounges, night clubs and restaurants to procure all of their drink data. From there restaurants and bars can be featured based on the drinks they serve.

At this point in time the drink space is anyones game. We’ll see if Bibo can bring it.

Linkage:

Check out Bibo here

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Cuban Backed Boston Startup Apptopia Heating Up, Sells First $25,000 App

Back in march we reported on Boston area startup Apptopia. They’re making a name for themselves as a second hand market for app developers. They essentially do what Flippa does for websites, except for mobile apps.

Mobile app developers may find that they’ve built an app that’s picked up a bit of traction, but they’re ready to move onto something else. Rather than abandon the original app idea or it’s user base, an app developer can turn to Apptopia and sell the app and the accompanying intellectual property to someone else.

Many mobile app developers are incredibly good at coding and design but they may fall short in the marketing or sales department. For some developers the thrill in itself is the development process. Apptopia is the perfect place for those developers who may not necessarily have the skill set or drive to push their app to an actual business model. In some cases Apptopia may actually save some really great apps and get them out to market, in the hands of a more business savvy owner.

Apptopia is also a great place for multi title app publishers to increase their portfolio size.

Apps can sell on Apptopia, with the business plan, intellectual property and user base in tact, from anywhere to a few hundred dollars, upwards to tens of thousands of dollars.

Such is the case with an app that modeled itself after humor site 9GAG. The Android based app, which in some opinions was better than the official iOS 9GAG app, (and had more downloads than the official app) recently sold on Apptopia for $25,000.00.

On the sale of the 9GAG app, Apptopia founder and CEO Jonathan Kay told nibletz.com

“The 9GAG app that sold for $25k on Apptopia boasts stats that include over 855,000 downloads & 37,000 ratings. This is great to see as this app (built by an independant developer) is far out performing 9GAG’s offical iPhone app (which has less than 10% of the stats). 9GAG plans to enter the Android Market “later this year,” but i would be quite shocked if they built something from scratch versus acquiring the best available option (and customizing it to fit their brand/API). In my opinion this is what makes the acquisiton so interesting – there is a massive opportunity to then flip this back to 9GAG when they are ready. Just remember it’s about the users, not the technology.”

That’s definitely not chump change, especially for developers that may not have as much skin in the game.

To date Apptopia has facilitated the same of 83 different apps from the original developer to a new buyer. Sure with the hundreds of thousands of apps available today 83 doesn’t sound like very many, however Apptopia has been growing exponentially since their launch earlier this year.

Why does this work?

“Probably 80% of people who want to get involved in mobile either don’t know how to code an app or don’t know an app developer,” Kay said. “So there’s this massive demand, but kind of a little bit of a barrier to entry.”

The model alone has attracted an investment from Dallas Maverick’s owner, entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban. The secondary app market will naturally continue to grow. As the word spreads about Apptopia people will start utilizing the service as a go to spot for app developers to sell their apps outright.

Kay also pointed out that there are some developers out there who are developing directly for Apptopia.

Linkage:

Check out Apptopia here

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Boulder Startup Orbotix Hits Target With Sphero Ball

We’ve covered Boulder startup Orbotix since the beginning. We began covering them at our previous Android website when we saw the Sphero ball at a Show Stoppers event during CES 2011. We also covered their Techstars pivot, which came about when working with their mentor Brad Feld, and we covered their biggest fan, President Barack Obama.

Orbotix is the startup behind the Sphero ball. Sphero is a smartphone controlled ball. The concept in itself can bring tons of fun, maneuvering the ball throughout the house, teasing the dog and cat can be hours of fun. However, Sphero isn’t just about the ball. They’ve built some great interactive apps (games) like golf. The control the user has with their Android phone or iPhone, over the ball, is world’s apart from other smartphone controlled toys.

While the company launched in 2011 after going through the TechStars program in Boulder, Chief Executive Paul Berberian feels like this distribution deal with Target is their big consumer launch.

“The name of the game in consumer electronics and gaming is getting in front of customers,” Berberian said to the Boulder County Business Report. “We feel like we’ve been out there for a long time telling our story, but most people have never seen a Sphero. This is essentially our launch.”

The Sphero ball has limited distribution in some Apple stores as well as some Brookstone stores but of course Target means they’ll reach the masses. It’s also a great time to get into a retail stores shelves as Americans prepare for the busy holiday shopping season.

Target already has a good selection of interactive smartphone accessories. Their toy section is filled with iPhone and iPad games that have a physical component like fishing, and even an Angry Birds game where you move the bird across the screen. Target’s smartphone accessories section, located within their electronics department, stocks the iCade mini arcade machine accessory as well as some of the “cooler” music accessories.

Sphero will be stocked among the smartphone app accessories section and available online at Target.com as well.

Linkage:

Check out Sphero here

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Boston Startup: SlideShark Solves The iPad/PowerPoint Problem

Although we love our Apple products around here, sometimes getting Apple to play nice with others requires a little work around. In this case we’re talking about the fact that PowerPoint slide shows never show up right on an iPad. This problem had thousands and thousands of startup founders in a frenzy trying to find the best way to get their pitch decks onto their iPads.

Sure a KeyNote presentation will play well on an iPad, after all it’s an Apple product, but what about those 30 million presentations created daily using Power Point (according to Microsoft)?

Power Point can be a vital business tool and with more and more people taking to Power Point out of the board room, it can be frustrating trying to get your slides to fit and play right on your iPad. Well worry no more, as Boston Startup Slideshark has you covered.

Slideshark is available for all iOS devices. They recently launched their iPhone version and according to the company, it plays well with iPhone 5 too. Slideshark covers three main Power Points (you see what we did there). Of course it’s a viewer that allows slides to be seen with fonts, graphics and charts in tact. Secondly, SlideShark allows users to share, track and manage their presentations in the cloud. And now, with the iOS version available, you can show your pitch deck during your elevator pitch, on the elevator, on your iPhone.

We got a chance to talk with the folks at SlideShark, check out the interview below:

You’re Holding It Wrong… Again

It seems like just last week Apple CEO Tim Cook was apologizing for Mappsgate. As we all know, and have ridiculed constantly, Apple’s new maps app for the iOS 6.0 fell short of their typical “magic”. In a bold move Cook acknowledged that Apple Maps didn’t deliver the quality that iOS users are accustomed to. They even went as far as to suggest that users download other apps like Waze or use the Google Maps website.

Well late last week another problem started making it’s way onto the interwebs. Users of the new iPhone 5 (released just two weeks ago), have discovered a purplish haze in photos and videos shot with their iPhone 5’s when shooting against something bright, like the sun.

The problem has been officially described as:

Apple,iPhone 5, iOS, Camera, Holding it wrong

image: MacRumors

“a purplish or other colored flare, haze, or spot is imaged from out-of-scene bright light sources during still image or video capture.”

While it’s nothing that’s going to affect the overall performance of the iPhone 5, nonetheless it can be annoying especially when the iPhone camera is touted as one of the best in the way of smartphone cameras. Many users have ditched their traditional point and shoot cameras in favor of the 8 megapixel iPhone camera.

Apple has now released a support document entitled “iPhone: Camera image effects”

In the document Apple doesn’t take responsibility for the problem the way they have in the past with Maps and Antennagate, instead they say:

“Most small cameras, including those in every generation of iPhone, may exhibit some form of flare at the edge of the frame when capturing an image with out-of-scene light sources. This can happen when a light source is positioned at an angle (usually just outside the field of view) so that it causes a reflection off the surfaces inside the camera module and onto the camera sensor. Moving the camera slightly to change the position at which the bright light is entering the lens, or shielding the lens with your hand, should minimize or eliminate the effect.”

So there’s no running back to the Apple store or Best Buy on this one. If you’re having this issue with your iPhone 5 you’re evidently, holding it wrong.

Linkage:

Apple’s support document

Source: SAI

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Keep An SOS In Your Pocket With Seattle Startup React Mobile INTERVIEW

In this day and age personal safety is a very important issue to many people. There are a million different factors that play into a persons personal safety. Did you just get attacked by someone? Are you feeling unsafe because someone is following you? Are you diabetic and feeling light headed? Are you allergic to bees and just got stung?

Any of these situations, and countless others, could result in the need to make a distress call to someone, and time is almost always of the essence. Well Robb Monkman and Grant Wallace, two Seattle based entrepreneurs with backgrounds in safety and communication have created a startup called React Mobile. React Mobile functions as a distress or SOS signal right in your pocket.

With React Mobile both Monkman and Wallace figured out that the best safety device, and distress signal device was already in most people’s pockets. Of course that device is their smartphone. React Mobile is an iOS and Android app with three distinct safety abilities; alerting via email, text and social networks; GPS location sharing; and emergency reporting.

We got a chance to talk with Monkman. Check out our interview below:

Nashville’s Griffin Technology All In On iPhone 5

While Griffin Technology hardly qualifies as a startup since it was launched in 1992, the company founded (and still remaining) in Nashville Tennessee is a driver of innovation. Griffin started out by making computer parts beginning with DB15 connectors and launching USB peripherals in 1998. However, it was the release of the original iPhone and a barrage of well designed accessories created in Nashville Tennessee that drove Griffin to “household name” status.

With the announcement of the iPhone 5 last week and the release of the device next Friday, Griffin, like the rest of us, waited with eyes glued to projectors, screens and monitors throughout their Tennessee campus, reports Nasvhille Business Journal’s Jamie McGee. Over 150 Griffin employees gathered around to watch the release of the iPhone 5, all seeing the same images that we saw thanks to live blogs and other information. They watched with pens and paper and immediately went to work on their designs.

Griffin Technology and other iPhone accessory manufacturers got a welcomed break when the last iPhone update was from the 4 to the 4S. There was no real form factor change.

“To have something happen like a complete form-factor change, like we’ve seen on the screen, means our industrial design people are going to be really, really busy for the next couple of weeks,” said Web Wester, who handles social media for Griffin told local news station WKRN.

By the next morning Griffin had a plan. About mid-morning the sent out a press release confirming that their Survivor and Protector collections along with their Reveal, Chevron, Moxy, Mustachio & Wise Eyes, Kazoo and Animal Parade lines will all be quickly updated for the new iPhone 5. The company also plans on adding some more cases to the mix as time goes on.

The iPone 5 hits Apple stores, Best Buy and carrier partner retailers on Friday. Griffin Technology hasn’t said when you’ll be able to pick up their accessories for the iPhone 5 but it should be soon. A Griffin spokesperson has also said that the power accessories the company is known for will be released for the iPhone 5 shortly. However, Apple changed the 30 pin cord design for the first time since the original iPod so those may take a little longer.

Griffin also has alumni startup founders among their ranks. The group behind Nashville Startup Evermind, a device that helps keep tabs on the elderly, all got their start at Griffin.

Linkage:

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NQ Mobile Vault For iPhone Is The Ultimate For Privacy And Security

NQ Mobile, the leader in mobile security, announced today via their US headquarters in Dallas Texas that they’ve launched the NQ Mobile Vault for iPhone. This privacy locker app for iOS devices is also available for Android smartphones and provides the ultimate amount of security and protection for files that you want to keep away from prying eyes.

The addition of the iPhone version of NQ Mobile’s Mobile Vault, comes on the heels of 3 million downloads for Android and a rating in the Google play store of 4.5 out of 5 stars.

While some might jump to the conclusion that this app is for people who have things they shouldn’t have stored on their phone, on the contrary there are hundreds of legitimate reasons to keep your photos secure and private. First of all, if you’re a startup or working on something involving intellectual property you wouldn’t want those photos to leak into the wrong hands.

You may also be hesitant about having your personal family photos resting on your phone to see, whether you let a friend borrow your phone to make a phone call or you leave your phone on your desk all day. NQ Mobile’s Mobile Vault will give you an extra piece of mind.

Heck if you’re married or in a relationship and travel a lot you may want to protect some photos that some may think are inappropriate out of your general gallery.

Mobile Vault is the most robust app of its kind and includes:

Private Album: Easily transfer photos and videos from the iPhone album to Vault’s secure and password protected album.
Vault Camera: Helps to eliminate any possibility of leaving private content out in the open with its built-in camera, which will automatically secure any photo and video it takes behind Vault’s password protected album.
Break-In Attempts Monitor (premium feature): Catch intruders in the act! Automatically photographs anyone who enters the wrong password into Vault (requires a front facing camera).
SecureCam Login (premium feature): SecureCam login is an innovative security tool that uses the main camera of the iPhone to unlock and access NQ Mobile Vault content. To anyone attempting to snoop, when NQ Mobile Vault is first opened, it will simply open up to what appears to be a simple camera app. But when the camera is pointed at a solid background (like a hand or desk surface), a numeric keypad will appear, allowing users to login.

“Our smartphones have become portable picture frames that we put into the hands of our friends, family members and colleagues every day,” says Gavin Kim, Chief Product Officer, NQ Mobile. “To date, it’s been an all or nothing proposition — either you choose to share your phone and expose all your content or you keep it to yourself. NQ Mobile Vault offers the best of both worlds, allowing consumers the ability to create two distinct albums on their iPhones — one for openly sharing and another, more private album, that is kept safely behind a password.

NQ Mobile is known for their widely used security products and Mobile Vault was developed with the same attention to details and features that the NQ Mobile team has been known for, even before they were at NQ Mobile. Kim, along with co-CEO Omar Khan and PR Executive Kim Titus were all part of the Samsung Mobile team when Samsung was burning up the charts with Android devices.

Linkage

iPhone users can get Mobile Vault here

Android users can get it here

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Next Generation iPhone Strongly Rumored For September 21st Launch

Most everyone who has even a murmur of a pulse about technology knows that we are expecting the announcement of the next generation iPhone to come out of a press event Apple is holding on September 12th. We won’t even go with calling it the “iPhone 5” at this point in time because of the stunt Apple pulled with “the new iPad”. However, whatever you call it, it’s expected to be announced in a few short weeks.

We’re not even going to speculate as to what features this next generation iPhone will have. I am personally switching, provided it has 4G/LTE, without that though, I’m sticking with a 4S. If you want to keep track of the rumors and the track records of the rumor mongerers we highly suggest you check out Cincinnati startup Tracour here.

As for the relevance of the next iPhone here at nibletz, the voice of startups everywhere else, well the design for one is of great concern to any startup in the iPhone accessory space. The brains, speed, and guts of the next iPhone also weigh heavily on the conscious of the thousands of startups who rely on iPhone apps. And of course, because we’re smart enough to know you’ll read this piece just because of the headline.

As for the source, every major tech site is reporting off a tip that originated at TechCrunch and has been confirmed by just about every site with a connection to a middle manager at Verizon Wireless. Apparently Verizon Wireless has a vacation freeze on the 21st of September. The barely under 10 day spread from announcement to release date, fits conspicuously well within Apple’s normal pattern and routine.

It’s also heavily rumored that Apple will release a 7″ iPad at the same event. For many this is great news. The 7″ form factor fits in your pocket very nicely but aside from that I think I’m going to stick with the 10″ version myself. As Cameron will tell you, I’m quite good with the 10″ iPad keyboard.

Well I get a 7″ iPad. Probably.

Are you getting the next gen iPhone? Are you getting a 7″ iPad? Tell us below in the comments section.

Source: TechCrunch via PCWorld

Apple Drops Their Preloaded YouTube App Leaving Google To Finally Bring Their Own YouTube Experience To iOS

As many of you know already, Apple has just announced that they would not include their 1st-party YouTube app in the next iteration of iOS. Plenty of sites have taken this opportunity to show the fact that Apple and Google are opposing forces, and with that comes a dissociation of products and services. However, this can actually be a very good thing for Apple, Google, and all iOS users.

Up until the release of Google’s new version of Google+ for iOS, almost every single app Google put into the App Store sucked. For instance, Gmail. But after we got a glimpse of Google’s beautiful work on the new Google+ app, many became believers. If Apple had announced their dropping of the YouTube app before we saw Google+ for iOS’s makeover this reaction would have been a completely different story, but because of Google’s latest efforts, I am a believer.

Apple’s move to drop their 1st-party YouTube app leaves Google in a position with two possible outcomes: develop a YouTube app for iOS or let iOS users deal with the mobile site. Now that Google has decided they would like to make quality apps for iOS, it doesn’t worry me that they will have to develop their own app, and leads me to believe that they will. And this will be a good thing for iOS users, because the YouTube app Apple was supplying was pretty bare. You could watch videos and leave comments, and that’s about as far as it went. Sure, there were a few other features, but it was nowhere near as robust and Google’s YouTube app for Android. This means that if Google follows their recent iOS app development patterns (and I mean very recent), the iOS community should be anxiously awaiting a beautifully developed YouTube app.

Google hasn’t actually said they will develop an iOS app yet though, and if they don’t many iOS users will be hurting for a native app. But Google knows how big YouTube is, and even if they were so blind as to say a native app isn’t necessary, the community will make sure El Goog knows its mistake. This also will relieve the duty of developing a third-party app for a service they don’t actually own, much like they’ve done with Google Maps. Now all we can do is wait to see if Google can bring us the YouTube app that we want to see, and if they do, the world of iOS will be ready to finally get a proper YouTube experience.