Apple Bans iPhone App For Competing With Mail.app

recoiledsnake writes "Another submission has been rejected from the iPhone App Store, this time for 'duplicating the functionality of the iPhone Mail application.' The author claims that his application allows the user to log into their multiple web email accounts and that Apple seems to be confusing Gmail and Mail.app. This comes on the heels of Apple rejecting an application for competing with iTunes and rejecting other silly but harmless apps as being of 'limited utility.'" ComputerWorld has an update to the rejected Podcaster app mentioned above. It seems the developer has used Apple's "Ad Hoc" service to begin distributing the software despite the fact that they blocked it from the App Store.

Comments

Re:They have no reason to change

[freedom_india]

No. This is pure profit motive, that's all.
Apple is hyper-monopolistic and hyper-aggressive when it comes to their OS.
No one has built an effective Mail client for Mac OS X. No one has built a good replacement for ANY of the Mac OS X's system tools, BECAUSE Apple closes their system effectively.
On one hand they cry out loud no one builds apps for their OS, but OTOH they scuttle anything which remotely threatens them.
Unlike Microsoft.
True Microsoft is the T-Rex, but they don't compete in markets like system tools, mail clients, etc., and other apps like Bloomberg, financial apps, even browsers, where they have a good market share and poor market share too.
Microsoft actually is more accomodating than Apple in this case.
Its time to start going the Android way.

Re:Absurd!!

[Macthorpe]

Do they think their users are idiots?

Yep - unfortunately, they might be right. I have a couple if iPhone-owning friends who are rationalising this behaviour for them without Apple having to try.

Re:"Duplicating functionality"

[recoiledsnake]

But by using a different distribution method (jailbroken device + cydia or installer.app) you could duplicate the functionality of apple's own apps.

And also simultaneously reduce your potential customer base by 99.999%, thus giving Apple what they want.