I’ve seen plenty of apps get yanked from Apple’s App Store in my day, but the news of an app called iKamasutra getting that same treatment really has me scratching my head. I won’t rehash the entire story, but here’s the gist of what happened:

Apple pulled the iKamasutra from the App Store in February, and after a bit of sleuthing, creator Naim Cesur of NBITE managed to contact someone in Apple’s verification department. According to that Apple employee, the app was removed because of a suggestive app icon and a preponderance of detail in the images used (including the use of brown hair).

Cesur and his team dutifully updated the apps with a revamped icon and less detailed imagery, and resubmitted it. And then they waited.

It’s worth noting that iKamasutra is hardly a stranger to this sort of thing. Shortly after creator Naim Cesur first submitted it for inclusion in Apple’s App Store in 2008, reviewers shot it down for featuring “pornographic and obscene material,” an interesting claim for an app that seemed to have sexual positions acted out by Keith Haring characters. The app was rejected yet again around the time when Apple introduced age restriction controls for apps, but was finally admitted into the store around December 2009.

Meanwhile, Google too quickly yanked the iKamasutra app from the Google Play Store, and the end result was only slightly less unpleasant. After the app was pulled the team soon discovered the rationale behind the decision — according to an email from the Android Market Support team, the app violated the sexually explicit material provision of the content policy.

NBITE eventually made the decision to trick out the Android version with the same toned-down visuals, and re-release it as a separate app in the Google Play Store where it remains. Meanwhile, they’re still being shut out of Apple’s walled garden.

I had to see what all the fuss was about. With iKamaSutra unavailable from the iOS App Store, I turned to two of the three remaining versions of the app still in circulation — the original version in the Windows Phone Marketplace, and the similarly updated version found in the Google Play Store. I downloaded them, fired them up, and started digging.

And what did I happen to find? Putting some mildly annoying music aside, not too much. Looking at the “uncut” version, I can sort of understand where Apple is coming from with regard to the offending gray lines. They’re mainly there to add a bit of anatomical detail — think faces, the curves of someone’s back, a collarbone — but Apple’s original umbrage probably stems from the fact that they also delineate the occasional breast or buttock.

But the bowdlerized version available in the Google Play Store is said to feature the same set of images in the updated version of the iOS app, and there’s nothing explicit to be found here — just plenty of vague silhouettes enjoying each other’s company.

Would I show them to my mother? Probably not. Would she be unduly disgusted or disturbed by seeing them? Absolutely not.

From my vantage point, NBITE has complied with everything that Apple has asked of them (and more). Brown hair? Fixed. Potentially suggestive gray lines? Gone. So what exactly is Apple’s problem with the app now? Well, when Apple finally responded to the Cesur and the NBITE team, it was to say that there were too many Kama Sutra apps in the App Store.

The thing is iKamasutra has been in the App Store for years, and has racked up something like 8 million downloads in that time (Cesur tells me that it would’ve easily exceeded 9 million by now had it not been pulled). That there are plenty of Kama Sutra apps in the App Store isn’t really a question, and there are indeed plenty of lousy ones. There’s an argument to be made for good apps that happen to fall under that category though, and from my brief experience with it, iKamasutra certainly seems to be one of them.

I suspect the real issue here is one of subjectivity. Even with age controls in place, Apple will never, ever let explicit content into the App Store, but I have to wonder about the criteria that Apple’s reviewers are using to judge cases like this one. I don’t doubt that Apple’s review crew is doing what they’re doing for the sake of protecting their users, but I don’t think enacting a sort of blanket policy is the way to go. Alternatives are surely tough to come by considering the sheer number of apps that require their attention, but a case like this raises some valid concerns about the consistency of the review process.

The Apple II personal computer is 35 years old today, a bit of news that I’m sure is either making you feel wildly old or gives you an odd rush of steampunk retro-nostalgia. The computer, launched on April 16 and 17th at the 1977 West Coast Computer Faire, went on to become the definitive machine for primary and high schools everywhere and whose wonky screen and clacky keys brought millions of kids and adults into the information age.

Steve Jobs was 22 when he and Steve Wozniak launched the II. The device, with its eight expansion slots and rapid upgrade cycle, defined the computer as a platform rather than a one-time purchase. You could improve this thing, although I’ve rarely seen any models that were truly tricked out. As Harry McCracken notes, the Apple II and its progeny existed well into the 1990s as a computing solution for many customers.

Not to wax nostalgic, but I still remember typing in long programs into the Apple II and running them just to see them crash and burn because of our sub-par typing skills. A few LIST commands and line edits later and we were up and humming, creating 20 questions simulators and trying to build wonky Spy Hunter clones.

And there was always Oregon Trail. Always.

As I write this, my month old son is panting in his sleep, probably dreaming about something organic and strange. He was been born into a world remade by great men – Jobs, Wozniak, Gates, and Torvalds – who in turn built their castles on the bedrock laid by Bell Labs and the tag team of Richie and Thompson. I still remember the wonder of seeing my first hard-drive powered PC and magic that happened when I went from a Sony Ericsson P900 to my first iPhone. We say technology is all around us, but in a way that’s comforting, at least in the long term.

Kids born in 1975, like me, grew up in a world gently kissed by the promise of technology and then, with the rise of the Apple II and its ilk, we were suddenly swimming in it. I wonder what launched this year that we’ll remember 35 or even ten years from now. Here’s hoping that it’s a technology that will improve our lives in the long run.

Google made quite a splash with its Project Glass video earlier this month. While Google’s vision of wearable computing still looks a bit like science fiction today, a new report by Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps argues that “in three years, wearables will matter to every product strategist” and that smart developers should start experimenting with applications for wearables on the “big five” platforms (Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook) today.

In Rotman Epps’ vision of wearable computing in the near future, one of these major platforms will have to back the concept for it to go mainstream.

Specifically, she notes that Apple, with its “polished marketing, channel, and brand,” could use its vast developer ecosystem to incubate many of these projects by giving even it’s more low-end products (like the iPod nano) support for more sensors, WiFi and Bluetooth.

Google, says Rotman Epps, could become a major player due to the open nature of its Android platform. Android, after all, is already being uses by basic wearable devices like the Sony SmartWatch and the Wimm One. She also warns, though, that Google’s “diffuse attention and lack of channel” will make it hard for the company to actually turn those ideas into products.

Microsoft, with its operating systems that are optimized for mobile and its Kinect sensor, as well as Amazon with its vast product catalog and Facebook with its rich social data could also play a major role in making wearable computing mainstream.

Indeed, Forrester’s analysts think wearables will follow a similar path to that of the smartphone market: In the first phase, Apple will create an early app and accessory ecosystem for wearable computing. Google’s open platform, however, will give developers more freedom and broader wearable experimentation. Microsoft, thanks to its recent shift toward open web standards, will then be able to offer something akin to an “anti-platform” platform for a future operating system for wearables that could be even more flexible than Apple’s and Google’s offerings.

In Forrester’s view, then, smart developers and product strategists should start to cultivate partnerships with apparel companies like Nike and Adidas now and those companies should also start to reach out to the developer community and the big five platforms.

Apple stock fell 4.1% on Monday, continuing a five day skid and a trend that has drained $50 billion in market capital from the company and dropped share price from a high of $643 on April 10 to its current price of $580.

Apple has been flying high lately, weathering dual storms of Jobs-Cook succession and, most recently, Mike Daisey’s Foxconn fabrications. The stock is up in early trading and many analysts are holding firm to an expected $700 target, calling this a “softening” and not a correction.

Even investors are taking the loss in stride. One user, mauser96, wrote on the MotleyFool boards:

The next big product push should happen during the summer with the potential for an iPhone 5 announcement and/or something more concrete in the TV space. That said, analysts expect the company to sell 12 million iPads this quarter and 30 million iPhones.

Google is slowly but surely building out its movie rental service on YouTube. Less than two weeks ago, the company struck a deal with Paramount to bring about 500 of the studio’s movies to YouTube and Google Play. Last night, Google announced that is also bringing about 600 movies from MGM to its movie rental service in the U.S. and Canada. This new deal with MGM brings movies like The Terminator, Robocop, Rain Man and Rocky to YouTube’s and Google Play’s rental library.

Google promises to add more MGM titles to its catalog “in the weeks ahead.” It’s not clear if this deal just focuses on older movies, though, or if more recent MGM titles like Hot Tub Time Machine will also be included in the YouTube rental catalog.

Google now has deals with five of the six major U.S. studios, as well as deals with more than ten independent studios. The only major holdout at this point is Fox. MGM currently also has streaming deals with most of the major players in the market, including Netflix, Apple and Amazon.

Overall, this looks like a good addition to YouTube’s and Google Play’s catalog. Viewers, after all, rate streaming services based on the availability of the movies they want to see. As a newcomer in this market, Google still has some catching up to do, but its slowly becoming competitive.

Apple took to the wires this morning to announce that the new iPad will hit 12 countries later this week. Along with South Korea, this coming Friday the new iPad launches in Brunei, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Panama, St. Maarten, Uruguay and Venezuela. Then, the following Friday, it hits Colombia, Estonia, India, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Africa and Thailand.

For better or worse, the new iPad will carry the suggested retail price of $499 USD and up. The iPad 2 will also be available at its new $399 price and might be the best bet in the majority of the markets just now getting the new iPad; only the North American markets have LTE data capabilities anyway.

These new markets will help the iPad extend its global dominance in the tablet wars. The iPad is far and away the most popular tablet on Earth but generic Android tablets have no doubt found a home in developing countries thanks to their generally lower price and wider availability. But that won’t stop the Apple machine. Cook & Co. will systematically roll out new products worldwide on Apple’s quest to be a trillion-dollar company.

Looks like we may see another development today in Apple’s ongoing iPad/4G controversy in Australia. The country’s Competition and Consumer Commission is meeting with Apple in court again today to try to get Apple to officially change the name of the device when it is sold in Australia.

Although many people know the tablet as “the new iPad” since launching the product in March, Apple has also been marketing the product as the new iPad with ‘Wi-Fi +4G’ in Australia and elsewhere. Apple quickly ran into trouble in Australia when the ACCC said Apple was misleading consumers: in fact, the tablet is not actually compatible with the country’s 4G networks.

Since then, Apple has agreed to refund consumers who bought the device thinking they were getting 4G; and the company has also been putting up notices wherever the iPad is sold warning them that it didn’t work with Australia’s 4G. But the ACCC, it seems, does not think this goes far enough.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Apple and the ACCC met today at a mediation hearing “without a resolution” over whether Apple would change the name of the device. The two are due to meet again later today in a “directions hearing” in Melbourne to decide the next course of action.

The case has two levels of significance for Apple: on one hand, it’s an embarrassing admission of one of its products falling short of what Apple claims it can do. That’s bad news for any company, but, as with “antenna-gate” and “heat-gate” these knocks always seem to attract disproportionate attention, partly because Apple has played everything so well up to now with its wireless devices.

The other issue for Apple is that similar questions are getting raised in other markets, like the UK. If this case in Australia progresses, then it could act as a precedent for how Apple has to market its products (and offer refunds) in other parts of the world.

One country where the consumer watchdog is looking at Apple is the UK, where the advertising standards watchdog, the ASA, is apparently deciding whether to formally probe Apple over how it markets its new iPad in the UK.

Currently, the only commercial LTE network in Australia  is run by incumbent carrier Telstra but it works on a different radio frequency from the one in the iPad. The device does work with Australia’s 3G and accelerated 3G services, eg HSPA.

There are reports that Telstra is working on changing the frequency of its 4G LTE in the country by the end of this year, which would throw the 4G iPad back into play: that could be something that Apple is using in its arguments in making any more concessions to the ACCC on this matter.

At the moment, Apple’s language around 4G in Australia is mixed. It may be making the lack of 4G clear in stores, but when you buy the product online, two different messages appear. In search results (top right) you can see that the product is still being called the “iPad Wi-Fi + 4G”, but when you actually click on the product to proceed with the purchase (below right), you then get the message that the device is actually “not compatible with current Australian 4G LTE and WiMAX networks.”

At the very least the case today may see Apple clear up some of that kind of wording on its site.

Ever since OMGPOP launched Draw Something, there has been a brand new group of artists showing off their touch-screen authored doodles. I’ve seen some seriously amazing art come out of Draw Something, but it’s not really set up for sharing what you’ve draw as of yet.

When I saw the site Doodle.ly, I immediately knew that this would be a welcome home to those who can’t get enough of sketching fun little pieces of artwork using their iPad. While the site has an iPad app for drawing, it’s not required.

The site, which describes itself as “a social sketchpad for self-expression, creativity and inspiration” lets you create and share your wonderful pieces of art on Twitter and Facebook, as well as on the Doodle.ly site. The cool part about Draw Something is that you can run into some amazing artists randomly, so this site is set up just for that.

The team behind the site consists of co-founders Evan Vogel and Darren Paul, and is located in NYC.

Get your draw on

When you visit the Doodle.ly homepage, you’re greeted with some of the latest doodles. I was blown away at the artistic nature of the doodles, with an amazing attention to detail:

If you find a piece of art that you like, you can share it on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, or pin it on Pinterest. The thing that’s missing for me is the ability to comment on someone’s doodle, as I found myself wanting to ask people questions about their work. This is something that can easily be added, along with the ability to follow people, and I think we might have ourselves the beginning of a really awesome social network.

iPad (only) app

The Doodle.ly iPad app brings a much better drawing experience, and has the pencil, ballpoint pen, highlighter, marker, and eraser that the site lets you use. You’ll also be able to browse work done by others, which will surely help the network grow once it gets more social features.

Sadly, Doodle.ly is missing an iPhone and iPod touch app, which I think would get a ton of usage, especially since people are already used to doodling on a smaller screen with Draw Something. I’d hate to see the experience remain an iPad one, as it’ll stunt the growth potential of the network.

The start of a community

When you visit the Doodle.ly blog, you can see that the team is already building itself an awesome community of doodlers. The company has set up contests with themes, asking its users to participate with its best work. The community has responded in a big way, just check out this winner from the “best show ever” contest:

If you’re a fan of sketching on your iPad or the web, then you should definitely give Doodle.ly a try. With a few extra social features and perhaps an iPhone and Android app, this site could explode by capturing the generation of sketchers brought to us by OMGPOP’s Draw Something.

➤ Doodle.ly

If you’re still on the look out for a new and different way to share your photos through an iOS app, WeHeartPics is definitely worth a look. While the app is currently iOS only, an Android version will be available by May.

WeHeartPics is a social network unto itself, and also makes it easy to share your photos on Facebook and Twitter. What sets the app apart is that it almost feels like a combination of Facebook and apps like Instagram and PicYou. It combines elements of Facebook’s Timeline together with Instagram’s filtered photography, to create a photo-powered story of your life.

The team behind the app

We caught up with WeHeartPics’ founder, Ilya Zudin to find out more about the app, and the team behind it. He told The Next Web, “There are 9 of us. We are a Russian team. We began to work on WeHeartPics about 4 to 5 month ago. To do our best and to concentrate as much as possible, we relocated to Thailand for six months (winters in Moscow are quite cold), where we live and work all together in two sea-view villas.”

Having developed and launched the app, the team will soon be relocating to Europe or the US, where they can network and share ideas with other startups.

The Russian team is made up almost entirely of engineers, “We have three beautiful girls among us,” Ilya explains, “Which is quite rare for an IT startup. Most of our team is between 23 to 25 years old. I’m the oldest guy in my thirties.”

So why did they decide to enter a rather competitive market with another iPhone photography app? Ilya explains, “Personally I like photography and I have a DSLR and use Instagram, of course. The hardest part for me was always finding ideas for my photos. And I believe that there exists a problem of a blank list for people who have a camera in their hands but have no idea what to shoot”.

WeHeartPics addresses this problem by providing users with a list of types of photos to share, an endless sources of inspiration.

How the app works

To sign up for a WeHeartPics account, you have to connect to either your Facebook or Twitter profiles. While this makes sense, since the app is all about sharing your life, Ilya tells us that the next update will include an old-school sign up, where users can simply use their email addresses to create an account.

Once you’re logged in, you can start adding photos (or ‘stories’) about yourself – your appearance, clothing, what you like to read, watch and listen to, your hobbies, your car – basically everything about you.

Other categories include friends and family (your kids, partner, pet, co-workers, classmates etc.), your home (your neighbourhood, view from your window, plants etc.), your office or school (your workspace, what you’re working on now etc.), places you go (parks, entertainment, nightlife, restaurants) and your city (the streets, architecture, signs, weather report etc.).

The final category, Daily Stories, is the ultimate source of inspiration. It features random themes updated on a daily basis, and you can only add photos to the theme of the day. The current theme is ‘Everyday Apps’, while previous themes inclue coca-cola cans, what’s in your pocket and your nightstand book.

You can either add photos directly from your ‘Stories’ tab, or using the ever-present camera button in the bottom right hand corner of the app. When adding photos using that button, you’ll be prompted to choose between sharing it as a ‘Story’ or just sharing it on your ‘Timeline’ as a snapshot.

Your profile is divided into three tabs, and features a Path-like cover photo at the top of the page. The first tab – your Timeline – features photographs that you’ve added as ‘snapshots’ or ‘stories’. The second tab ‘Stories’, displays all of the photos you’ve added into the designated categories, and finally there’s ‘Private’ tab featuring photos you’ve uploaded but havent’ shared.

In addition to the Timeline on your profile, there’s also a ‘Timeline’ in the main menu where you can view your activity and activity from your friends.

As you continue to add photos using the app, your profile becomes a visual representation of who you are.

Our verdict

WeHeartPics really focuses on the concept of sharing your life and your ‘daily stories’ using photos, and it does it well. The app’s interface is slick, and if Facebook had been paying attention when it designed its iPhone app – it might have looked and felt a little bit more like this. In all irony, the app feels a little bit like a combination of Facebook and Instagram.

If we had one complaint about WeHeartPics it would be the fact that there are perhaps too many features, which can make the app a little confusing at first.

The social aspect of the ‘Daily Stories’ are great, and seeing what other people all over the world are sharing is part of the app’s charm. That said, WeHeartPics is also asking you to share an awful lot of information about yourself in photographs – your home, kids and neighbourhood are not something that everyone would want to share with the world.

Ilya tells us that we can expect a more robust privacy feature in the coming month, explaining how it will work: “When you switch your profile to private mode, nobody can see your photos in any section until you’ve granted them access. But we don’t plan to implement comprehensive privacy settings.”

With its private mode, WeHeartPics has the potential to become a photo-powered alternative to Facebook. The main problem that the app faces is, with Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram, are users going to even look for a third option? With many users vowing to ditch Instagram, it’s very possible, the answer is yes, as the app can definitely market itself as an Instagram-alternative.

Even die-hard Facebook fans can use the app to feed content into their profiles, while keeping a beautifully crafted photographic timeline of their lives on WeHeartPics.

 ➤ WeHeartPics

If you think the iOS app ecosystem is big now, as it pushes some 600,000 apps available for iPhone and iPad, just imagine how big it could become if Apple made good on this newly filed patent application titled “Content Configuration for Device Platforms.” The application describes a way for non-developers to create iOS apps using a simple, graphical interface.

Whoa.

Of course, it’s just a patent application, and Apple files tons of these things. So you can’t point to it and call out what it describes as a confirmed, forthcoming feature for the iOS platform.

But an Apple-provided DIY app building tool does makes some sense in terms of a way to envision the future of mobile computing. Remember, there was once a day when only “webmasters” could set up and maintain webpages. Now everyone just starts a Tumblr to share their thoughts with the world. Why shouldn’t everyone have the opportunity to try their hand at app creation, too?

Obviously, non-programmers today can build apps through the use of third-party app building services, but most mainstream users don’t know about those. Apple introducing a basic app builder of its own would serve to raise awareness about the existence of these kinds of tools.

Specifically, the patent app (unearthed by Appleinsider this week) describes something of a “WYSIWYG” (What you see is what you get) system for app building, stating the need to make app building more broadly accessible.

Reads the application:

In many instances, computer-programming languages are a hindrance to electronic content creation and, ultimately, delivery to content consumers. Often content creators and designers simply lack the skill and the knowledge to publish their mental creations to share with the world. To begin to bridge this gap, content creators can use some electronic-content-development tools which allow content creators to interact with a graphical user interface to design the content while an electronic-content-development tool puts the computer-programming code in place to represent the electronic content on a user’s computer.

Apple’s proposed authoring tool would provide a series of templates, allowing users to insert various actions and animations, like a “pan to view” function or purchase function for a checkout screen, for example.

Notably, the application describes the apps it would create as able to work on various screen sizes. Although the patent app doesn’t quite confirm the existence of an Apple television, it does say that there have historically been challenges in developing apps for different screens:

Even if a content creator successfully creates his electronic content, it is unlikely that the content is optimally configured for each device on which the user will view the content. Originally, digital content was created without having to account for device capabilities. The digital content was going to be viewed on a computer or television having a display of at least a certain size, with at least a certain resolution, if not multiple resolutions. Accordingly, it was possible to generate only one version of the electronic content and that version could be expected to be presented properly by the user’s device.

It goes without saying that there would be some issues to overcome in implementing a system like this – after all, the App Store has rules about the apps it approves and Apple’s staff curates submissions to keep out the spam. But who’s to say that in some far-flung distant (or not so distant) future, there won’t be a way for users to exchange self-built apps amongst each other, sans App Store intervention?

That would be an ideal way for people to build and share apps serving a temporary need, for example, like one created for a hastily thrown together meetup or event. It could also allow people to create their own personal apps which they would only share with a small circle of friends – think baby announcements, wedding apps, vacations photos, etc. Publishing these non-professional apps to the greater App Store could be an optional final step in the creation process, perhaps.

As for the DIY app makers already out there, while such a system would compete with their offerings to an extent, Apple’s validation of the space would mainly serve to help their businesses grow by essentially providing free marketing about the possibilities.

Now all we need is a whole new user interface for our iOS devices themselves. Given that Apple has sold 316 million cumulative units of of year-end 2011, these sad, little app folders won’t be able to keep up with all the apps created by this possible DIY app explosion.