I’ve been saying Apple is evil for quite a while now, but this isn’t just evil. This is kicking puppies (TV Tropes warning) evil. Even if you apply Hanlon’s Razor, in my opinion, incompetence doesn’t adequately explain this, although that’s running rampant here, too.
Apple has filed a few patent applications for mobile applications as of late, and for one of those applications, application number 20100190510, Systems and Methods for Accessing Travel Services Using a Portable Electronic Device, they decided to shamelessly rip off a third party developer’s iPhone app, “Where To?” And, no, they didn’t get permission from the developers.
What the fuck, Apple?
What the fuck?
Now, let’s say that FutureTap fights this in court. Let’s say that they can even win against Apple’s legal budget. Now, their business model is based on selling iPhone apps. We already know that Apple’s app approval process is extremely arbitrary. A win against Apple likely guarantees that their apps will get permanently banned from the App Store, killing their business.
With this, Apple’s sending a very, very clear message to developers: Develop for the iPhone, and you work for us, not for yourself.
Source: GigaOm
UPDATE: I’m retracting this post, as I see that I’m in error. I’m leaving it posted, but please see this post.