In an embarrassing incident for Apple, a 15-year-old boy managed to get his app which contained a hidden feature onto iTunes.

On the face of it, the lad had created Handy Light, a torch app which could change the colour of the screen, so you could turn it all white for a kind of makeshift torch. Or all red, or green for… well, holding up to your face and pretending you’re turning into the Hulk?

Of course, this was all just a cover, as what the app really did was execute code in the background which enabled tethering.

In other words, using the iPhone as a 3G modem so you can get your laptop online via your smartphone.

Apple doesn’t allow such apps on the store, as tethering is a service which a substantial fee is exacted for (AT&T charge $20 per month on top of the user’s plan for tethering). The Handy Light app was priced at just $1.

While the app has now been pulled, anyone who has already downloaded Handy Light will be able to keep the app and its tethering abilities on their mobile, thus ducking out of any subscription.

Lucky for them, but embarrassing for Apple, particularly given the age of the chap who managed to get this past the company’s app sniffer dogs.

How long will it be before the next app comes along with a hidden tethering (or otherwise) payload?

iPhone app facilitating tethering made it onto iTunes

The BBC is finally going to launch an app for Apple’s magical tablet and smartphone devices.

The Beeb was all set to bring out free apps earlier this year, but the move was halted while the BBC Trust evaluated the impact these might have on the newspaper industry’s mobile apps, and whether or not it might be damaging.

However, the Trust has finally concluded that the apps don’t “represent a significant change to the BBC’s existing public services”.

So the BBC News app will be available on the iPad and iPhone later on today, the Beeb assures us. Expect sport and iPlayer apps to follow, and an expansion into Android territory alongside Apple smartphones later on in 2010.

Oddly enough, the news app has been available in the US for some time now, but at least we’ll be able to enjoy its services from tonight onwards.

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BBC News app to hit iPhone and iPad today

The initial shortlist of nominations for the T3 Gadget of the Year Awards 2010 was compiled before the iPhone 4 was launched, but T3 found they were being inundated by requests from the consumer to allow the iPhone 4 into the final shortlist.

It seems that to run an award with no Apple product in the category of Gadget of the Year was too much for the shortlist to handle.

According to Chris Smith of T3, even though the iPhone 4 was released after the shortlist was compiled and despite the reception problems, the iPhone 4 is a late entry onto the list.

But this is not a deal that has been signed and sealed as Apple is up against some serious competition, such as the BlackBerry Bold 9700, HTC HD Mini, iPhone 32GS, Motorola Milestone, Nexus One, Nokia N900, HTC Legend, Samsung Wave and the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10. 

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Back in May, Google announced that it was pulling the plug on direct sales of its Nexus One smartphone.

At the time, Google admitted the web store had remained a niche channel for early adopters of the handset, and it would stop selling the Nexus One on the store after a last shipment of phones was exhausted.

That has now happened, and if you visit Google’s Nexus One page, it simply says: “The Nexus One is no longer available for purchase directly from Google. For more information on how to purchase the Nexus One, check out our help centre.”

The help centre sends you off to the Vodafone site, where you can still pick up the Android powered handset for free on a £35 per month two year contract.

Google claimed in the Wall Street Journal that it had at the very least broken even on the smartphone, but its launch is unlikely to be regarded as one of the search giant’s more prolific successes.

Even so, it has certainly shifted some units, and can’t have done any harm in helping cement Android’s position in the market.

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Google stops selling Nexus One direct

British Airways has come up with a new iPhone app this week which is designed to take the pain out of plane travel.

Using the app, customers will be able to download their boarding pass and use their smartphone to check-in and confirm their seat on the plane.

Although this feature is currently only available on Heathrow to Edinburgh flights. However, come the end of August, it should work for all domestic flights, and next year we can expect it to be available for long-haul routes too.

The app will contain a number of other features, such as flight information, travel news, and it will even tally up your air miles.

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British Airways produces iPhone app for swift check-in