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We’re back! Summer vacation is now behind us, and boy, it looks like we missed out on some big news over the last two weeks. Pretty much everyone seems to agree that Apple will be announcing the next iPhone on September 10, so we have that to look forward to, but our first August recap has gathered up plenty of other stories you may have overlooked, so let’s dig in!
Apple Store App Serves Up Free iBooks Title
As noted by 9to5Mac, the Apple Store app is now offering iPhone users an iBooks freebie, which appears to be part of a new initiative to get retail store customers to download the app. The free title is Away in My Airplane by Margaret Wise Brown, and the app claims the e-book is “free for a limited time — exclusively for Apple Store app users.” According to one Apple employee briefed on the offer, the freebie expires on August 28 and is limited to the United States and only four other countries, and is the second such Apple Store offer this month.
Path Joins API Hands with Developers
Path announced Monday that the private social network is expanding its connectivity to other apps and services, starting with a group of “hand-selected developers we admire for their innovation and quality.” The first 15 developers with access to the Path API include familiar names such as WordPress, Viddy and Over, and a number of lesser-known photography apps such as PicMix, PicFrame and Pic Stitch. The blog post notes that updates to some of the apps are available now, with others arriving in the coming weeks, along with additional developers who can apply for API access for sharing from their own apps to Path.
Chase Commits to Isis Mobile Wallet
Mobile wallet solution Isis announced Monday that Chase has joined the ranks as part of the service’s national rollout later this year, which will include such popular credit card products as Chase Freedom, Sapphire and Slate. After extensive pilot programs in Austin, Texas and Salt Lake City, Utah, Isis is expected to go nationwide in the next few months, complete with iPhone support. The joint venture between AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon is hoping to succeed where Google’s own Wallet initiative has thus far floundered, allowing near-field communication (NFC) payments from mobile devices at retail.
iOS App Store Still Reigns Supreme Over Google Play
Distimo released its July 2013 list of the global top apps on Monday, and Apple’s iOS App Store again holds a strong defense against the Android-based Google Play, at least where paid apps are concerned. Aggregating data from 18 of the largest countries, Apple’s mobile marketplace smoked Google Play almost everywhere except South Korea — not much of a surprise, considering that’s the home base of rival Samsung. Curiously, Russians spent more money on iPad apps than on the iPhone, but the U.S. spent more than any other country overall.
Google Shells Out $2M to Squash Bugs
The Google Online Security Blog announced Monday that it’s handed out more than $2 million dollars over the last three years since launching its Chromium and Google Web Vulnerability Reward Programs. The initiative rewards users who find and report bugs on these platforms, with more than 2,000 such issues reported and subsequently fixed. In an effort to step up patches on Chromium, Google is raising its reward level from $1,000 to $5,000 per bug, so it certainly looks like it pays to get out there and dig ’em up.
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