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Is Apple killing competition in its App Store?
No 'Pull My Finger'
Software developer Speirs also questions Apple’s rejection of another program, “Pull My Finger,” which features the sounds of flatulence, and was nixed because of its “limited utility to the broad iPhone and iPod touch user community,” according to an e-mail the developer said he received from the company.
Even as silly as the program sounds, Speirs wrote that Apple’s decision based on taste “is the first step to censoring for business advantage.”
Apple did not respond to questions about this issue. Last March, when the company announced it would allow outside software developers to create programs for the iPhone, CEO Steve Jobs indicated Apple would have final say over those programs. He cited applications dealing with pornography, or those with inadequate security, as the kinds of programs that would be rejected.
Some of the company’s actions since then indicate more restrictions may have been added.
There are still no voice-activated, turn-by-turn GPS programs that take advantage of the new iPhone’s GPS chip, for example.
In July, Dominique Bonte of ABI Research wrote in his company’s blog that navigation applications for the iPhone “have been held off by Apple up to now, presumably because they want to reap the profits of this killer application themselves.”
A spokesman for one GPS software maker said the company wanted to pursue such a program, “even though there were some specific clauses in the developer agreement (with Apple) that said you can’t write GPS navigation applications.”
When questioned about that in July, an Apple spokesman declined to comment.
Competition, criteria concerns
Said Greengart: “In some cases, it sounds like Apple is rejecting applications because Apple itself intends to write these similar applications, and doesn't want there to be overlap.”
However, he added, it’s hard to know the real reasons because Apple says so little about what it is or isn’t doing.
“The problem isn't that there are rules; the problem is that no one knows what the rules are, because Apple hasn't said what criteria it is using to reject applications,” he said.
Gartenberg believes Apple is going through “a bit of a learning process” in working with iPhone software developers, as the company tries to understand “what works, what doesn't and how to effectively ensure the quality of applications,” he said.
Software developer Speirs, whose “Exposure” program for the iPhone gives users access to all of Flickr’s photo-sharing Web site, said Apple needs to “publish clear and unambiguous rules for what will be accepted and what will not,” because developers are investing “time and resources” in their programs.
While there are issues, the App Store “is doing some incredible things” for mobile phone software programs, said Greengart. Among them, the store is “exposing consumers to the notion of downloading applications to their phones.
“From the consumer’s standpoint, which is very important to a developer, the App Store is the one place to go to get applications. The browsing experience is superb, as is the buying experience. Basically, you click and a program is yours,” he said.
And most software developers will “cope with Apple’s control” because of the financial returns they might see, said Kundojjala of Strategy Analytics.
Still, with some developers speaking out, there is a crack in the wall. Until recently, it was unusual for software developers to publicly share their frustrations about the iPhone software program.
Most are hesitant to do so, worried about hurting their own chances of success with Apple, and keenly aware of the company’s mania for secrecy and control.
“We’re talking about an ecosystem that in a few months had 100 million downloads of applications,” said Gartenberg. “Clearly, Apple is doing more right than wrong.”
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