Why not wait until the next version?
Good question. Obviously it would make perfect sense to wait with the transfer until the upcoming Where To 2.0 with exciting new functionality is out. Unfortunately, this was not an option because our contract with Sophia to use her iTunes vendor account expires by end of this month. Sophia was not willing to negotiate the expiration date. So we are in a position of either killing Where To completely or doing this. Clearly, this isn’t the way I prefer to do things because it’s against my understanding of respecting customers, but I simply had no choice in this situation, unfortunately.

What does this mean for me as a (potential) new customer?
New customers who purchase Where To from now on will automatically be eligible for a free upgrade to the upcoming Where To 2.0. Think of it as a grace period for a free upgrade that begins now.

What does this mean for me as an existing customer?
First, the existing version of Where To in the FutureTap account is exactly the same as the version in the “Sophiestication Software” account.
Second, we are working to offer a price-reduced upgrade path to version 2.0 for current Where To owners who purchased it from the seller tap tap tap or Sophiestication Software.
While we know this is surprising and nasty for you, we had to take this unevitable step at some time although we delayed it as much as possible. So depending on your purchase date, you received a whole lot of updates for free. Only the next major version will be a paid upgrade. Please subscribe to this blog and/or follow us on Twitter to stay informed.

You mentioned Where To 2.0. Will it be cool?
Absolutely! We integrated a ton of new features in Where To 2.0. Most requested, the map will be built-in leveraging iPhone OS 3.0. Switching apps is no longer necessary. Then, the results automatically update while moving. Overall we think it’ll be an amazing update that you’ll absolutely love! Follow us on Twitter to watch some sneak peeks from our labs soon and to be the 1st to know when it’s available!

• Added several new categories in Services (various construction contractors), Shopping and Emergency
• Improved German, Dutch and Greek localization and results quality
• Search is now in Italian for the canton of Ticino in Switzerland
• Search is now in Greek for Cyprus
• The Greek localization now also contains an alphabetical category index

All current owners of Where To? get the free update in the App Store.

Kudos to Michiel Houtman, he made an amazing job with the Dutch localization.

Alongside the Dutch localization, Where To 1.7.2 adds some category and brand improvements.

All current owners of Where To? get the free update in the App Store.

What is missing so far is a solution to retrieve information about feature entries on the App Store start page such as “New and noteworthy”, “What’s hot” and “Staff favorites”. Mentions on the start page have a considerable influence on sales. To avoid monitoring the different country-specific stores manually in iTunes, I wrote a Perl script that can be scheduled to run daily. The script is launched with the app’s iTunes ID (the numeric ID at the end of the iTunes URL you can copy in iTunes using right click on your app title) as a parameter and puts out the current date, country and the type of the mention:

./iTunesFeatured.pl 284940039
29.04.2009	AT	Home page, NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
29.04.2009	DE	Home page, NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
29.04.2009	GB	Home page, STAFF FAVORITES

The script takes a while (~5m) to complete because it needs to fetch 8 pages per country. The output is in tab-delimited format to facilitate post processing of the data. In our case, we’re importing the data into a FileMaker database that allows an easy graphic representation (colors to indicate trends) and the creation of all kinds of reports.

So, let’s get to the meat: Download iTunesFeatured.pl

Do you find this useful? I’d love to know your feedback in the comments or via Twitter!

We’ve added the following languages:

• French
• Spanish
• Italian
• Portuguese
• Greek
• British English

Together with English and German, Where To? is now localized in 8 languages. The nice thing about the added localizations: Even if you don’t speak one of these languages, you’ll still profit when traveling into such countries. Where To automatically uses local search terms depending on your current position. As an example, when you’re speaking English and are traveling to Montreal in Canada, Where To will automatically use French search terms although the user interface will remain English. We call this “on-the-fly translation” and we think it’s a huge improvement for travelers.

To make things even better, we have reworked our brands database of more than 1100 worldwide brands to display each brand only in the countries where it’s available. So, all you British users won’t be overwhelmed with US-only brands anymore.

Where To 1.7 is available as a free download for all current Where To owners.

Special note for French and Italian users: In version 1.7 we have an issue that the categories are localized correctly but the labels are still in English. This will be fixed in the next update that is currently waiting for Apple’s approval.

curl -s -L http://phobos.apple.com/version | grep -i carrier

So I had to create my own ipcc file based on the bundle found on a 2.2.1 jailbroken phone under /System/Library/Carrier Bundles/TMobile_Germany.bundle.

Walkthrough

Here is a walkthrough on how to enable tethering with T-Mobile Germany:
Step 1: Copy the T-Mobile bundle from an iPhone running 2.2.1 with SSH enabled:

scp -r root@iPhone.local.:"/System/Library/Carrier\ Bundles/TMobile_Germany.bundle" /tmp

Step 2: Right click on it and select Show Package Contents. You will find two plist files and two images.

Step 3: In Info.plist, change the BundleVersion from 2.9 to 5.0 and change DTSDKName to (SDK_NAME). Delete MinimumOSVersion. I recommend using Property List Editor for these changes. Save.

Step 4: In carrier.plist do the following and then save:

(a) Add a new Dictionary to the apns Array:

apn = internet
password = password
username = iphone

(b) In the Dictionary with apn internet.t-mobile add the key type-mask with type Number and value -2.
(c) Add a new pair at the top level Dictionary of the carrier.plist file with key AllowEDGEEditing, type BOOLEAN and value YES.

Step 5: grab http://appldnld.apple.com.edgesuite.net/content.info.apple.com/iPhone/CarrierBundles/061-4732.20090203.gj3ef/ATT_US.ipcc using Safari and copy version.plist from the bundle into the TMobile_Germany.bundle. Change the CFBundleVersion from 3.1 to 5.0 and save.

Step 6: Create a folder named Payload and copy the TMobile_Germany.bundle into it. Compress Payload using the context menu. Then in the “Get Info” window of Payload.zip change the name to TMobile_Germany.ipcc.

Step 7: Connect your phone and upload the ipcc file via iTunes: Option-click on the Update Button and select the TMobile_Germany.ipcc file. Then eject the phone and reboot it.

Step 8: Now, a new entry appears under Preferences > General > Network. On my first attempt, I received an error to consult T-Mobile on how to setup tethering. On the second attempt though, I was able to successfully enable Internet Tethering.

Step 9: When connected via USB, Mac OS X automatically detects a new Ethernet adapter and the connection comes up using DHCP just flawlessly. One drawback: I have not been able to connect via Bluetooth so far. I attribute this mainly to pairing problems. The Mac thinks it is successfully paired but the iPhone thinks not. I’ll continue investigating this and update the post when I find a solution.

If you think this is useful, please digg it. Many thanks to Steven Troughton Smith and Erica Sadun who discovered it!

• Improved search results for Taxis, ATMs, Gas stations, pharmacies
• Added US shopping and coffee brands
• Fixed a minor display issue under iPhone OS 2.2.1

The update is available as a free download for all current Where To owners.

• Fixed a stability issue with Shake for Surprise
• Fixed an issue with favorite brands using on-the-fly translation
• Fixed a rare issue that could lead to a wrong search language in german speaking countries

So how many new features do we have? — Zero! That’s why we call it Snow Where To.

All current owners of Where To? get the free update in the App Store.

However, the update isn’t the only thing that is new. We’ve also been encountering something strange in the App Store, which should serve as a warning to anyone else needing to transfer an App from one developer account in iTunes to another. Apparently, the idea that ownership of an app, including it’s list of customers (to receive free updates) can change, never occurred to the creators of iTunes or the App Store. It seems that transferring ownership of an App is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to do in the App Store. As a result, Where To is still listed as being sold by tap tap tap Sophiestication Software (see update below).

This situation has created a ton of headaches for us. On one hand, it can cause confusion for potential buyers, who may search for the App under the FutureTap brand. For the developer, it means that the creation of new Where To releases always requires special steps for Sophia to take, such as signing with her certificate. Sophia has been extremely accommodating in helping us for whatever we ask, but the inconvenience and hassle seems so unnecessary. Our change request with the Apple iTunes team is now exactly 2 months old. We’ve been told that it will be resolved soon. (Still) keeping my fingers crossed!

Update on May, 20: The situation is pretty much unchanged. Only the seller name is indicated as “Sophiestication Software” for some time now. Sophia finally managed to change the name to her company name after the split of tap tap tap.

• Added Shake for Surprise
• Added on-the-fly translation: Browse in English, search in German (and vice versa)
• search language automatically set by geo location
• new system preference panel for shake detection and the browse language
• shipping service brands added
• minor category improvements and some new brands

Where To? now contains over 600 categories and over 800 brands. The update is available as a free download for all current Where To owners.

If you like Where To, please tell your friends on Twitter or elsewhere.