Apple Bans Podcasting App From App Store
Sep 12th, 2008 | By James Lewin | Category: iPhone 
Almerica reports that Apple has rejected the hotly anticipated Podcaster iPhone application from the App Store:
Today I finally got a reply from Apple about the status of Podcaster.
Apple Rep says: Since Podcaster assists in the distribution of podcasts, it duplicates the functionality of the Podcast section of iTunes.
That’s right folks, it duplicates the functionality of the desktop version of iTunes.
I find this a bit strange considering there are numerous apps that duplicate the functionality of other apps. For example, any calculator app is duplicating the functionality of Apples calculator app. Any app that tells you the weather is duplicating the Yahoo weather app. Any app that let’s you listen to music is duplicating the iPod portion of the iPhone.
There are also several apps that simply allow you to listen to a podcast (Diggnation and Mobility Today just to name a few) that are not denied from the app store.
This is exactly the sort of thing that the iPhone platform doesn’t need.
There’s a huge amount of interest in developing for the iPhone, and the iPhone already has the most interesting ecosystem of any mobile device.
Rejecting an app because it competes with Apple’s own software, though, sends the signal that people shouldn’t develop podcast-related applications for the iPhone.
This is bad for podcast fans, obviously, because they won’t have Almerica’s software available to them. But it’s also bad for the state of podcasting. Almerica or someone else could could have great ideas for mobile podcast software, and you’ll probably never see it because of this.
It’s also bad for iPhone owners, because it means that you’ll probably have fewer options available in other categories of apps that overlap with what Apple offers. Developers don’t want to spend time developing software that Apple is likely to reject.
Ultimately, it’s also bad for the iPhone platform. If developers aren’t clear on what they can and can’t offer through the App Store, they’ll put their resources elsewhere.
I had an iPhone app in development, so I guess thats on hold now until there is some clarification. Although this might just be some kid at apple freaking out and applying the brakes so it can be looked into more carefully by someone upline?
In the end, this kind of thing will only end up hurting apple. Podcasting suffers largely because most people use iTunes and the podcast section of iTunes sucks. iTunes sucks because it’s got no competition. It seems to me that Apple wants to podcasting to flourish, but what podcasting needs in order to flourish is more innovation… which is never going to happen if Apple just squashes every and any alternative.
Zune has embraced podcasting, what has Apple done for podcasters?
James – Apple has increased the audience for podcasts a thousand-fold, and created an easy to use podcast system that offers mainstream audiences 150,000 podcasts.
But – this rejecting apps after they’re developed because they’re competitive is BS!
But of course no-one wants to download a podcast away from their desktop right? Err…
I suspect the usual protectionism from Apple is on stream, who’s going to bet me they have their own Podcasting app waiting in the wings for HDSPA support (I forget the iPhone doesn’t have WiFi or does it?) or somesuch faster mobile technology.
And the person who said Apple has done loads for podcasting – that was nearly 4 years ago. Apart from adding video shortly after tbh they’ve done very little since except mess podcasters around with odd closed specs for video and RSS and suchlike. Out of the millions of iPods IHNI which to encode for video, and I’ve been podcasting before Apple even took note and video WAY before that – Zeus help any poor soul who is a n00b at this.
And so podcasting remains the realm of the geek and major broadcaster. Sigh.
[…] There’s a bit of a kerfuffle brewing up in the gadgetosphere over the rejection of a podcasting app for the iPhone that was rejected by Apple as it duplicates iTunes functionality. As John Gruber notes over at Daring Fireball, this wouldn’t be such a big deal if Apple’s App Store wasn’t the only point of legal distribution for applications, but it’s stifling competition and innovation when Apple starts rejecting apps to protect its monopolistic hegemony. More on this here, here, here, and here. […]
[…] It continues: Apple also refuses applications for no other reason than that they compete with iTunes. It even stirred up some bad press. Apples solution: Make the rejection letters […]