gdgt

One of the top tech stories as of late is Apple's rather ridiculous move of removing various Google Voice applications from the App Store, as well as rejecting Google's own official application for Google Voice, because it "duplicates the functionality" of features already on the phone. Don't mind the various SMS / MMS applications, Skype, fring, and others that already exist.

Clark Baumgartner, a computer science student from Nebraska, is asking iPhone developers to go on strike and pull all their current applications from the App Store. It's an intriguing idea, but how effective could something like this be? I think the profit motive of the App Store and individual developers outweigh any sort of collective rage - especially if you have a successful application and have not had any trouble with Apple.

I would love to see something like this take off though. As great as the iPhone is, the App Store review process is so arbitrary and opaque, I'm amazed people spend time and resources developing software for it.

Source links:
App Strike: http://appstrike.squarespace.com/
Riverturn's transcript with Apple on GV rejection: http://www.riverturn.com/blog/?p=455
Techcrunch - Can AT&T handle the iPhone? http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/28/can-att-handle-the-
iphone/
TUAW - The Google Voice rejection: http://www.tuaw.com/2009/07/29/the-google-voice-rejectio
n-whats-needed-now/

I'm not sure if a strike against Apple would be very successful. Yes, Apple has some bullshit policies regarding the App Store, but in the case of these Google Voice apps that were pulled, we should be striking the real source of damage: AT&T.

AT&T has nothing to lose from developers pulling their apps, and people not downloading applications. You've already paid your monthly fee and they have your money. Hit them in their pocket books where it'll hurt. Cancel your AT&T account.

This would be a chance for EVERYTHING to be fixed - demands to be made.

GV apps were just the final straw. What about Latitude? That shouldn't bother anyone, but yet, they were forced to make a webapp. It's time for the four+ weeks of review, the black box approach, arbitrary app rejections to be stopped.

I'm sure a strike would work, but getting everyone on board would be, impossible.

I think the problem is that Google is a direct competitor to Apple now, more so then it has ever been. Plus Apple is not in the Open handset alliance unlike Android, Symbian, BB, so Google has posed itself to be very threatening to Apple. Google is all about people using their software, but this thing with Apple or AT&T is ridiculous. Sadly i don't think an App strike from the small amount of tech heads that use an Iphone would hurt them that badly.

I think if all developers stopped maintaining their apps for the iPhone until Apple fixed this, it might actually work. The problem is that they need to do all do it.

FYI, AT&T is washing their hands of this: http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/29/att-dont-blame-us-f
or-the-iphones-google-voice-ban/

There's so much money involved that there would be scabs there to rake up the cash. This is really just going to take high profile companies suing Apple over this....

It gets worse: Apple is now actively censoring the English language on the iPhone. http://daringfireball.net/2009/08/ninjawords I am done. I give Apple six months to release some reasonable guidelines for the App store and begin to enforce them consistently. After that, I am paying my cancellation fees and I am gone. In the mean time, I will not be buying any more apps from apple. I will be writing to Steve to tell him this. I hope others will join me.

That article is depressing... I'm getting less excited about doing Apple App development after each passing day....