It has come to light that two applications written for the iPhone have been denied a place on the iTunes store, not because of some malicious intent, or because they enable users to violate the law, but because they duplicate features already offered on Apple software. Which Apple doesn’t like.
Daring Fireball has already commented on how the Podcaster app has been rejected though it doesn’t actually break the iTunes SDK agreement (apart from a nebulous part about Apple excluding apps it doesn’t like).
MailWrangler has also been snubbed for “duplicating functionality”.
What I don’t get is if these apps cost extra, and do the same thing as apps Apple includes on the iPhone for free, and people need to buy an iPhone in order to use these apps in the first place… what is Apple afraid of?
Finally, if you’re still confused how apps get approved for the iPhone, The Joy of Tech will spell it all out for ya.
4 replies on “Banned from the iTunes store”
Well, if you have people buying software that ISN’T made by Apple, then…um…dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!
At first, I thought this entry would be about you making a scene in the iTunes store and being asked to leave by security.
…just you wait!
Exactly. More and more cases of rejected apps, because the “duplicate” Apple apps. What’s that? Developers get screwed for their hard work. On this point, Google already made s statement: Anyone can sell his software on their marketplace. Nice posting, and so true.