Apple Has Gone Too Far

I read tonight that Apple has announced in it’s developer forum that any application submitted that uses location services ‘primarily’ for the purpose of serving ads to the user will be rejected from the App store. If this is true, they have simply gone too far.

Now Apple is making rules about what kinds of software can be installed on the users device.  That the user paid for.  That the user owns.  It’s their device.  If a user finds value in an application that serves them ads, great.  If they hate it they can delete it. After all, it’s their own device.  Right?

But no, Apple seems to think that they know better.  How can it be OK for the computer provider (because today’s phones really are just hand held computers) to make this kind of arbitrary rule?  Oh, wait… Apple recently bought Quattro Wireless, a company specializing in mobile ads…  so the prediction of evil is coming true.   Any really lucrative market for iPhone apps risks them suddenly changing the rules to make sure that Apple is the only vendor that can serve that market.  All those crappy little markets – sure, let the suckers independent iPhone developers scratch a living there.  If it’s got a lot of zeros in it, well, then Apple wants that market.  And they can take it, lock stock and barrel by just rejecting any competing application out of hand.  Apple becomes ready to take over mobile advertising and bang – one policy change and they suddenly own the market.  Neat trick, eh?

Just ask yourself:  if Microsoft did this kind of thing, what would your emotional reaction be?  I bet you’d be outraged.  Why is it that that Apple gets a free pass on this?  Because they make ‘cool’ products?  Is that enough?  Not for me.

Am I the only one that smells monopolistic abuse of power?  Am I the only one that thinks that this borders (or crosses into) behavior that is evil, if not illegal?  Simply put, I think Apple has gone too far.

What do you think?

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