Throughout the month of August, Nullriver’s NetShare application, which allowed iPhone users to utilize their handset’s 3G/EDGE connection as means of connecting their computers to the internet, was in a constantly wavering state of peril. After a brief (as in hours) stint on Apple’s App store, it was taken down. Days later it returned, albeit only for a brief while.
After nearly a month of silence, Nullriver is reporting that Apple has decided that NetShare is permanently banned from the App store.
I won’t get into the argument of whether or not Apple should be removing applications that do not explicitly violate the terms of service, because that argument is happening in a million places around the internet at any given time. I will mention, however, that this specific decision is absurd. Anyone technically capable of playing with NetShare is more than capable of jailbreaking their handsets and installing tethering applications of their own. This decision gives an entire group of people, uninterested by custom themes or fancy-pants video applications, a reason to jailbreak when they wouldn’t have bothered before. Without any real gain, the decision maker has essentially forced the tether-hopeful end user to cross into the realm of unauthorized use.
Way to go.
I am really disappointed in this decision by Apple. Though I suppose it was unlikely that they were going to allow the app, I held a bit of hope that they would come around.
Apps like NetShare really open up the iPhone use and experience to a whole new league of users. In fact this really will just cause more people to go out and jail break their phones and stop using the App Store all together.
While it may not cut deeply into their bottom line, I still think it is poor decision on behalf of the users.
First Podcaster, now this? I guess Apple should have added a clause that says “and we also ban any app that may infringe on our own products or business model in an unforeseen way”.
I bet Nullriver knew this would happen. but what about companies that want to build an app for their offering, and aren’t so sophisticated? How can they predict whether Apple will accept their app?
I guess you could make sure to talk to apple before you start development…
The version I downloaded when it first came out still works for me on an iPhone that’s not jailbroken. I wonder for how long though.
So I wonder if Apple is going to refund those of us who paied $10 for this application and return to Nullriver the portion of sales that they kept? What is the procedure and precedent being set here?
I’m not going to loose sleep over $10 and the copy I purchased is still on my phone, but if I had bought a $30-50 application and then Apple removes it and says it can’t be used, where does that leave users who purchased it?
If an application is approved and put on to the store then I think it should stay. If Apple is not doing a good enough job reviewing the applications, that is their problem and should not be born by the user!
WIth an already overwhelmed 3G network from a firehose of iPhone users, Netshare would increase data traffic while removing revenue. What is it that you don’t understand? The iPhone is subsidized by operators. Nullriver knew the risk.
@Warren:
This does not stop Netshare, or any other application, from being used on the iPhone. It simply makes it so that people who want to use Netshare *must* jailbreak their iPhones, which creates a group of people who will do so solely for that purpose. No issues of lost revenue are solved – just more handsets with unauthorized firmware.
Good decisions are ones that help in anyway, rather than just making you look bad.