More Random And Arbitrary iPhone App Removals: WiFi Finders Disappear
from the and-now-we're-at-war-with-eurasia dept
For a while the complaints used to be about Apple's totally arbitrary process for choosing which apps get into the iPhone app store, but lately the complaints have been about Apple (again totally arbitrarily) removing apps that were already there. There were all those complaints about the sudden removal of "adult" apps (unless you were someone famous like Playboy, in which case Apple was fine with it), and now there are complaints that Apple suddenly and inexplicably has removed WiFi finders from the app store. While developers feel they need to keep developing for the iPhone given its footprint in the market, moves like this are going to keep pissing off developers quite a bit too. You can do that when you dominate the market, but it can come back to bite you later on.
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Filed Under: app store, arbitrary removal, iphone, wifi
Companies: apple
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However, I found that WiFi-Track, a $1.99 application that I did indeed pay for, back in November worked.
I was also surprised to find that this application worked as well with my iPhone as the iPod Touch I bought it for.
The fact that Steve lets it work with my iPhone is amazing in itself.
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What's wrong with a "Private Framework"
http://www.pcworld.com/article/190789/apple_abolishes_wifi_scanners_from_app_store.html
Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but the PC-World article leaves me with the impression that Apple's concern is that the developer's came up with their own method (a 'Private Framework') for Wi-Fi detection instead of using Apple's proprietary API. Is Apple trying to discourage development of apps that are portable to other platforms?
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Re: What's wrong with a "Private Framework"
Apple's API doesn't *have* a way of doing what these apps were doing, do they *had* to come up with their own way.
Is Apple trying to discourage development of apps that are portable to other platforms?
They're trying to limit certain functionality in apps. There are things that they just don't want apps to be able to do. Unfortunately, the full list is secret and seems to change from day to day.
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Re: Re: What's wrong with a "Private Framework"
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Re: Re: Re: What's wrong with a "Private Framework"
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Walled Garden Syndrome
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Not enough competition
As it stand right now, since Apple dominates the mobile app market so much, they can pretty much do what they want, it's their company, they should be allowed to pull apps for whatever reason they want. The sad thing, of course, is that Apple has all of this power because they keep competition out of the market. Look how long it took something like Android to come about, and now Apple is going to try and thwart that as well.
Developers are kind of stuck. They can be pissed off about it but they still feel like they have to develop for that platform, because of the income potential.
Get rid of patents altogether, then everyone would have a choice, and companies like Apple would be punished by consumers when/if they try to do thing like this.
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Re: Not enough competition
Apple only dominate the market amongst "Appleists" - a religeous sect that covers around 5% of the population - with perhaps another 10% Appleist Catechumens - who are attracted by Appleism but will probably drift away before they reach full member status..
Within that sect they can do what they like - but if they want the rest of us to play then they have to change their attitude...
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Re: Re: Not enough competition
You're right.
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No, you're right
Another thing I meant about the competition is in terms of a touch screen and multi-touch screen type of OS for the mobile phone. Apple (and I assume other companies...such as the one suing Apple) seem to be trying to use patents to keep competition (such as HTC) from being able to use the touchscreen and multi-touch technology.
So you're right, there is a lot of competition in the mobile marketplace, but for developers it appears as though Apple's product offers the most promise. Hopefully other platforms will gain in popularity for apps like the iPhone/iTouch/iPad soon.
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Big Brother
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App Idea
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Re: App Idea
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iPhone then, DROID now
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Weakness is strength.
Black is white.
Life is death.
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Apple dominates the market?
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Re: Apple dominates the market?
Supposedly, according to Apple's numbers, there were about 50 million devices, with over 2 billion app downloads. Of course you can break those numbers apart by how many were free apps, and question the accuracy of those numbers, but that's still a lot more than any other smart phone, to my knowledge.
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So glad I recently got a Blackberry and not an iPhone...
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No app for that
These apps were inspected for months before finally getting through the nebulous App Store approval process. Some have been available for months or even years. Now, arbitrarily, they are banned. If they use API calls that Apple didn't want them to, why were they approved? Why weren't the developers contacted behind the scenes to address any fiddly technical issues Apple might foresee?
As users all we see is a useful app, that was paid for, that now can not be updated. We can't find the least used frequency channels to set our access points to, can't take surveys of campus wireless coverage or find rogue wifi on a corporate network. And we can't help with wireless mapping projects. There's no app for that.
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very good wifi finder
It gives out more info than anything apple had at its store. I never ceases to amaze me how people complain about what is not offered thru that stupid store and just use the net.
I guess apple acquired all of those aol users with the launch of the icrap
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This is nothing new
There's no way for an end customer to know that an app in the App Store doesn't follow Apple's rules. While existing apps are not pulled off people's phones, the ability for a user to update or re-download an app they've already purchased is gone -- that pisses off paying customers, who quite reasonably assume that what they bought from Apple's store is approved by Apple.
Every application and update is supposedly reviewed by Apple before being allowed into the store. Developers must agree to terms before submitting an app. My question is how/why some "private framework" apps go undetected for so long but others are blocked immediately.
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This pretty much says it all...
>> The fact that Steve lets it work with my iPhone is amazing in itself.
Freedom
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Turning Techdirt's Developers onto Wine
When Techdirt's own developers make a Techdirt iPhone app and know first hand what it's like to get something submitted, I may believe what they say.
Until then, I think they're just being a little whiny.
Run along children, and get back to your Palm Pré SDK.
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Turning Techdirt's Developers onto Wine
When Techdirt's own developers make a Techdirt iPhone app and know first hand what it's like to get something submitted, I may believe what they say.
Until then, I think they're just being a little whiny.
Run along children, and get back to your Palm Pré SDK.
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Turning Techdirt's Developers onto Wine
When Techdirt's own developers make a Techdirt iPhone app and know first hand what it's like to get something submitted, I may believe what they say.
Until then, I think they're just being a little whiny.
Run along children, and get back to your Palm Pré SDK.
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Turning Techdirt's Developers onto Wine
When Techdirt's own developers make a Techdirt iPhone app and know first hand what it's like to get something submitted, I may believe what they say.
Until then, I think they're just being a little whiny.
Run along children, and get back to your Palm Pré SDK.
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I've had it with Apple
Apple is destined to remain a minor player in the market.
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iPhone App Removals
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