June 29th, 2009
BitTorrent-powered iPhone App Store in beta
I don’t know too many iPhone users that would call themselves dissatisfied with the App Store, but many people cross over to the dark side and jailbreak their phones to get access to software we’ll never see in the App Store.
There are numerous reasons why people jailbreak their iPhones, including unlocking, tethering, file management/editing, themes, preferences and the list goes on. A new application called appDowner may tempt even more iPhone owners to jailbreak their devices.
AppDowner will be the first App Store competitor to use BitTorrent technology and promises to be “the most beautiful application repository on the market.”
The concept of appDowner has also changed slightly, from being a simple “smart” BitTorrent application to a full on App Store replacement. No longer will you have to remember and type in the URL to your torrent file, simply click the “Store” tab on appDowner, and you’ll be brought to a beautiful interface designed by Miles (which isn’t quite ready to be shown off yet, but he assures us that it will be very, very soon!) which will allow you to search and find the apps you’re looking for.
An appDowner screenshot and partial feature list was posted on the ModMyi forums:
- Built-in “Store” features help you find all the apps you’re looking for.
- No review process! Your apps will be added to the store within just a week!
- Runs on BitTorrent technology, allowing for reliable, “always on” downloads.
- Beautiful UI
- Easily use appDowner as a BitTorrent client for non-app related downloads1
- “Wi-Fi Spoofing” allows for over-the-air downloads without your service provider knowing! (Not shown in screenshot.)
A pretty compelling feature set and I can’t wait to test it. I wonder what counter-measures (if any) Apple and its carrier partners will implement to try to stop it. Or can they?
AppDowner is compatible with iPhone 3.0 devices and currently in internal testing. It will be available in beta “soon”, according to the developer.
Tip: TorrentFreak
Jason D. O'Grady is the editor of PowerPage.org, which has been publishing daily mobile technology news since December 1995. For disclosures on Jason's industry affiliations, click here or to view Jason's full profile click here.
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