Apple Pulls App That Let You Turn Your Phone Into a Virtual iPod With Click Wheel (theverge.com) 39
Rewound, the basic music player app released last week that you could skin to make your iPhone look remarkably like an iPod Classic, has been pulled from the App Store, according to Rewound blog post published on Medium. The Verge reports: The blog says that Apple pulled the app because it copied the iPod's design, charged for Apple Music features, and people could mistake the app for an Apple product. The blog makes the case that the app had a pretty basic interface that looked nothing like an Apple app, and the iPod classic skins didn't come preinstalled. (You had to download them after you had already installed the app.) We've asked Apple for comment, and we'll update this story when we hear back.
The Rewound blog says the iOS app can't be updated without "breaking the app for all 170,000+ users," but the developer, Louis Anslow, says he will attempt to bring the app back in some way. On a GoFundMe page for continued development of Rewound, Anslow says he will "try some tweaks to get Rewound resubmitted" on the App Store and that the GoFundMe will help support development of a web app and an Android app. On the GoFundMe page, Anslow says it "isn't clear if Apple will ever allow Rewound back on the [App Store]," and states that "we are not promising fully finished versions" of any of the apps.
The Rewound blog says the iOS app can't be updated without "breaking the app for all 170,000+ users," but the developer, Louis Anslow, says he will attempt to bring the app back in some way. On a GoFundMe page for continued development of Rewound, Anslow says he will "try some tweaks to get Rewound resubmitted" on the App Store and that the GoFundMe will help support development of a web app and an Android app. On the GoFundMe page, Anslow says it "isn't clear if Apple will ever allow Rewound back on the [App Store]," and states that "we are not promising fully finished versions" of any of the apps.
Well, you bought Apple... (Score:2, Insightful)
...and now you don't like bending over anymore... Boo-hoo.
Android sucks ass in a variety of different ways but at least most of them can be used with a ROM.
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Why do people even bother writing apps for Apple? (Score:1, Insightful)
IF you know that your app is likely to get banned off the platform at some point after Apple comes up with any excuse to do so, why would you bother investing all your time and money into writing apps for Apple products in the first place? Over and over again Apple has shown it will ban apps for petty reasons. Developers need to wake up to reality and stop wasting their efforts on this platform.
Re: Well, you bought Apple... (Score:1)
All these "confused" people everywhere (Score:2)
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I'll try to be nice (Score:5, Informative)
Suppose I registered on Slashdot as "Arthur KBE" and started posting horrible troll crap.
You might not like that because some readers would likely think it was you posting. It would be damaging your reputation for me to use your name. It's not necessary to identify who I fooled, we can reasonably assume some people wouldn't notice that "Arthur KBE" is not "Arthur, KBE". That's "likelihood of confusion". It would be entirely appropriate for you to complain.
If another user, perhaps mdsolar or Rei, tried to get Slashdot to take away my Arthur account, someone might say "it's none of your business, mdsolar". If "Arthur, KBE" isn't complaining, who are you to get in the middle of it?
The "it's none of your business" principle is what is called "standing". *YOU* have a reason to complain about somebody misusing your name. It's none of mdsolar's business. You have standing, mdsolar doesn't (unless he is in some way affected, perhaps because you are an expert on solar and my posts, posing as you, hurt his business selling solar).
For a possibly more clear example, suppose I loaned you $100. Two months later Rei sued you trying to force you to pay up. That's classic lack of standing - it's none of his business whether you pay me back or not. It doesn't affect him.
Apple I affected when people put out products that appear to be Apple products, so they have standing.
Also, as someone else mentioned, this isn't a lawsuit. It's just some reviewer working for Apple said that it doesn't meet Apple's requirements to be sold in Apple's store.
Re: All these "confused" people everywhere (Score:2)
Standing doesnâ(TM)t mean what you apparently think it means.
Mainframe era (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Mainframe era (Score:4, Funny)
Their biggest mistake was "cloning" the iPod UI (Score:2)
They should have picked something else,
Like the Zune.
Apple hates when you despoil their opportunity to sell multiple devices to each customer, regardless of their functionality,
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Jobsless (Score:1)
Apple sure does make shitty products in the post-Jobs era.
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It's almost like when Jobs was gone, the company was just an empty suit with no real ideas or style anymore....
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My counting might be a bit rusty, but it looks like that list has 3 Apple products, two after Jobs (although the Xbox controller does have a very Jobs era Apple vibe). The watch and the ear tampons. What do you want to bet Jobs had started them working on a watch before he died? Even if not, that means one hit. I'll give you the earphones as a solidly post-Jobs product, but I think it's very much an example of the failures, rather than a success.
Apple lost the "look and feel" lawsuit (Score:2)
D
cable guy voice (Score:3)
"Well, there's yer iProblem .. "
Why? Why pay premium prices for a crippled pocket computer?
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Because people do not use it as a personal computer
I strongly disagree. The primary use for a smartphone these days is as a computer, running applications. To the point that the "phone" part is almost incidental these days.
and the ways in which it is crippled do not affect the vast majority of people.
I'd more say that the customer base is for the most part accepting of the ways in which it is crippled. Probably because a lot of them haven't really known anything else.
Meanwhile the OS is easy and safe to use, largely trouble-free, and does not require a whole lot of attention. That is what some people pay a premium for.
From some perspectives yes, from others not so much. Happy to grant it's "good enough" for most people, though.
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I've purchased one phone, used it for almost 5 years, and it's still humming along just fine. It still runs all the latest software, it's still updated and supported by the manufacturer, and I hardly ever have to worry about some hack or m
You know the lesson (Score:3)
This is a stupid non story (Score:2)
Re:This is a stupid non story (Score:4, Informative)
Did you read the story though? The app doesn't look anything like Apple IP by default. It's only when the user applies a skin that it can look like an iPod classic. Maybe that was the ultimate intention. Maybe not. Apple's approach here is heavy handed and certainly questionable.
Android (Score:2)
You can always port it to Android where intellectual property law and fair use are respected.
I’d never own one nowadays (Score:3)
But, considering only its utility as a music player... I’ve always felt those iPods with the click wheel interface were superior for navigation to the current, flat list-based interfaces we have now - for large music libraries, in any case.
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If Apple are true to form.... (Score:3)
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Unfair (Score:2)
Ruh roh! (Score:2)
News Flash: (Score:2)
Apple sucks