We are sorry to pass on the news that according to Gizmodo, Apple has yanked the “explicit” option that was spotted earlier today within the App Store submission software, iTunes Connect.

Gizmodo’s iPhone developer tipster even verified the removal by contacting Apple via telephone and were basically told not to expect to see the explicit option back anytime in the near future.

So it looks likes explicit content has seen it’s day numbered within the App Store, just another reason for some of you to jailbreak eh?

[Via Gizmodo]

Apple Yanks “Explicit” Option from iTunes is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Join Chad, Mickey, and Rene for a look back at all the week’s big news! If you have any questions, leave a comment below, hit us up on Twitter @tipb, or better still — join us live in the chat room via http://www.tipb.com/live

REMINDER: You can watch us live on your iPhone with the Ustream Viewer app [Free - iTunes link]. Just wait until the show starts (8pm ET) and search for iPhone. We’ll pop up. Literally.

Chat with you soon!

iPhone Live! Tonight at 8pm ET/5pm PT (1am GMT) is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

So the contest is done and we’re waiting to see who won Apple’s 10 Billion iTunes Music download $10,000 iTunes gift card.

We’ll update as soon as they announce a winner, but in the meantime if you bought anything today in an attempt to get in on the action, let us know what it was. We’re always looking for some good tune recommendations!

iTunes Music Hits 10 Billion Downloads! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Today's TiPb Top 5 will be directed towards our iPhone and iPod touch wielding readers who love their classic, retro games. Just like our other TiPb's top 5 must-have posts, all of these applications are available in the App Store. For the full run down, follow us after the break!

Mega Man 2

Originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System back in 1988, Capcom’s Mega Man 2 ranks in as one of the greatest retro games ever made. This iPhone version is a pretty close port of the Nintendo original. The game features the same simple graphics from the original version along with the 256×256 pixel playfield. Controls are handled via a virtual onscreen joystick and two buttons. The biggest negative that some of you may not like is the game’s difficulty — or lack there of. It’s pretty easy to get through this one, especially when compared to the original.

• Utilize virtual arcade controls to control the blue bomber.
• Rebalanced gameplay for the iPhone experience.
• Battle your way through 14 levels, and conquer 9 unique bosses, each with a unique weapon!
• Bringing the original classic NES game to the palm of your hand

Mega Man 2 [iTunes Link] is available now in the App Store for only $.99 but hurry as this price may soon change!

Earthworm Jim

Initially released on Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo back in 1994, Earthworm Jim broke new ground in 16-bit gaming and we are happy to say the Gameloft iPhone version holds up pretty well. No corners were cut with this one as everything that makes the original a classic is here. — nice crisp graphics, excellent sound and good controls.

• Run, gun, swing from hooks with your head, launch cows, bungee jump, rocket through speed levels and more!
• Face 12 types of enemies and 9 bosses.
• 4 different styles of gameplay: Side-scrolling run & gun, space racing, bungee jumping and underwater levels
• 10 original environments divided into 16 levels
• 4 levels of difficulty, including the challenging mode of the original game
• The re-mastered cult soundtrack
• iPod library access to play your favorite tracks while playing the game.

Earthworm Jim [iTunes Link] is currently available in the App Store for $4.99.

Myst

Myst was one of the first games to be put on a CD-ROM in 1993 and back then it simply awed gamers around the world. With the iPhone version of Myst you not only get an exact replica of the original but you get it improved graphically. Yes, the iPhone version of Myst is visually more impressive than the PC/Mac counterpart.

• All the original Ages & gameplay
• High quality images (better than original Myst)
• Full music & sound effects
• Original movies & animations
• Auto-save (when quitting or phone call)
• “Bookmark” system to save & restore progress
• Swipe to turn
• Auto-zoom in certain close-up areas
• Quick access to hint guide
• Works with iPhone 3G, the original iPhone, and iPod touch.

Myst [iTunes Link] is available in the App Store on sale for $4.99.

Golden Axe

Sega’s 1989 classic 16-bit game Golden Axe is available for your iPhone. Those of you familiar with the original will feel right at home as it’s a exact replica of the Genesis version. You pick one of three characters -a powerful Fighter, a female Amazon, and a mighty Dwarf. Each have different strengths and magical powers, and your mission is to battle through dark castles, on the back of a giant turtle, and even on the wings of an enchanted eagle to challenge the Death-Adder. Along with your sword and axe, you can hop on the backs of the Bizarrians and use their fierce attacks like fire breath and tail whips.

Those of you who do not own a iPhone 3GS may want to avoid this as there are reports of it being a bit sluggish on the older models.

Golden Axe [iTunes Link] is available in the App Store for $4.99.

Secret of Monkey Island

This remake of the 1990 classic PC title Secret of Monkey Island weighs in at a hefty 351MB and it is worth every single byte. If a brilliant story, great visuals and good controls are what you look for in a game, this one’s is for you. Some reviewers complain about the controls but we did not have any major gripes. Sure they could be improved but this very well may be the best version of this LucasArts classic.

• An all new re-imagined contemporary art style
• Complete voice over by members of the original Monkey Island™ franchise cast
• A re-mastered musical score using live instruments
• Plus, scene-for-scene hot swap to seamlessly transition between Special Edition and Classic modes at anytime

Secret of Money Island [iTunes Link] is available in the App Store for $7.99.

Have a classic retro game you would like to add to this list? Please share it with other readers in the comments below!

Mega Man 2, Earthworm Jim, Myst, Golden Axe, Secret of Monkey Island — TiPb’s Top 5 Retro Games! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Cult of Mac is reporting that Apple has added an “Explicit” category to iTunes Connect, the portal through which developers submit and manage their App Store apps. According to their developer source:

"It's available for selection when adding a new app to iTunesConnect although I can't see any sign of it in the actual App Store yet."

MacRumors says they’ve confirmed the information, so where does this leave us now? Apple removed 5000 sex-based apps last week and stirred up a ton of reaction (cheers and jeers alike), only to come up with an organizational alternative a few days (and hundreds of blogs posts, thousands of tweets and comments) later? If it wasn’t a reconsideration, wouldn’t they have just added the category and reshuffled the apps without all the fuss and muss? Or did they want to force a re-submission to start the new category off with a clean slate?

Either way, hopefully this will include a better ratings implementation to go with it, so parental controls can turn off “explicit” apps without turning off apps that access the web along with them.

What think you?

Apple Adding “Explicit” Category to App Store? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

If PCWorld’s second 3G, 13-city performance tests are to be believed, AT&T’s investment in their network just might be starting to pay off:

• 84% better download speeds than 8 months ago
• 64% faster than Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon
• Average download speed of 1410kps
• 3x faster in Chicago, 40% faster in San Francisco
• 94% connection reliability (up from 68% last spring)
• iPhone on AT&T had the fastest downstream/upstream performance of any smartphone/network combo (worst was Verizon/Droid)

The representative cities chosen for the test were Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, New York City, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle.

Here’s hoping AT&T can keep it up, what with those sweet iPad data deals, and most likely a 4th gen iPhone heading their way this summer. For now, though, let us know how fast and reliable your iPhone on AT&T has been lately…

iPhone + AT&T Fastest Smartphone/Carrier Combo in PCWorld Test is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Thinking back to the hype surrounding the launch of the first iPhone, with podcasters stomping their Treo’s on the floor of Moscone West and customers waiting in line outside the New York Apple Store for weeks, it’s hard to imagine that interest in the iPad could be even bigger, but that’s what ChangeWave’s survey just may be telling us.

Gizmodo notices something interesting as well:

The lowest end and the highest end [iPad] win, with 19% each. With the 64GB Wi-Fi getting only 8% and the 16GB Wi-Fi and 3G version getting 9% of the interest. 68% of the people interested in it want to surf the internet, 44% for email, 37% for eBooks, 28% for the reading magazines and other periodicals, and only 24% for watching video.

Is 2007, a lot of people wanted something new from a smartphone and the iPhone was the first thing in a long time to really offer that “something new”. Now in 2010, there are 75 million iPhone-platform devices on the market, so is there simply more awareness? Most people need a phone, we can’t see most people needing a tablet… or is this measuring more want than need anyway?

[Digital Daily via Gizmodo]

Interest in iPad higher than it was for 2007 iPhone? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

The iPhone 3.2 SDK for iPad has officially outed the PowerVR SGX as the graphics core inside Apple’s A4 chipset:

Using OpenGL ES on iPad is identical to using OpenGL ES on other iPhone OS devices. An iPad is a PowerVR SGX device and supports the same basic capabilities as other SGX devices. However, because the processor, memory architecture, and screen dimensions are different for iPad, you should always test your code on an iPad device before shipping to ensure performance meets your requirements.

Since Apple is a major stakeholder in PowerVR creator, Imagination, this was widely assumed, Bright Side of the News had suggested otherwise.

Whether or not it’s the same PowerVR SGX in the current iPhone 3GS, or the latest generation announced back in January at CES remains unknown. We’re hoping for the latter, of course, and that the 4th generation iPhone gets it as well…

[Via MacRumors -- Happy 10th anniversary from everyone at TiPb!]

iPad A4 Chipset Uses PowerVR SGX Graphics Core is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Following recent incidents involving Apple’s manufacturing partner, Foxxcon, Apple.com has posted a “Suppler responsibility progress report“, the introductory page for which reads:

Apple is committed to ensuring the highest standards of social responsibility wherever our products are made. We insist that our suppliers provide safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, and use environmentally responsible manufacturing processes.

Apple's program is based on our comprehensive Supplier Code of Conduct, which outlines our expectations for the companies we do business with. We evaluate compliance through a rigorous auditing program and work proactively with our suppliers to drive change.

Similar to Apple’s Green Initiative on the heels of ecological scrutiny, the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad maker is again handling response not by way of dialog but by way of large-scale program announcement.

Let us know what you think!

Apple Posts Supplier Responsibility Progress Report is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Live from Macworld 2010, Rene and Leanna talk to Bernd Hahn, product manager for NAVIGON MobileNavigator [$89.99 - iTunes link] about the latest additions for the iPhone, and his thoughts on the iPad.

Watch along and let us know what you think!

TiPb Apps 2.4 — NAVIGON MobileNavigator for iPhone (Macworld 2010) is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog