Apple approves third-party email client for the App Store, violates its own policies

Recently we were sent a PR email about an iPhone app called BdEmailer. No big deal, press releases about new iPhone applications show up in our box in large bundles every day -- but this one was different. According to the release, the program is the "the first wide email iPhone app that supports client SMTP." That means, in essence, that it duplicates an exact function of Apple's Mail application on the iPhone and touch. That's kind of a huge deal, because up until this point we've been led to believe that this duplication of functionality is one of the company's red flags when it comes to approval. Now mind you, we're not complaining. The idea of having more apps to choose from for doing things like sending email is a great idea, but Apple... what the hell is going on? You refused MailWrangler and Podcaster for similar reasons, yet BdEmailer passes through your review process, SMTP functionality intact? This means one of two things as far as we can tell -- either you've relaxed your policies on duplicate functionality, or you've gotten incredibly lazy when it comes to approving applications. We're inclined to believe it's the latter, as BdEmailer has a fair share of bugs that need working out, but really, people need some clarification here on what will and won't pass -- and moving the goalpost all the time isn't going to help.

[Dan @ Nov 22nd 2008 12:43AM]

MMS Apps then!

[Cash @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:35AM]

Thats what I was thinking... this means there is hope for that third party MMS app then, yeah?

[jimmy @ Nov 22nd 2008 9:10AM]

hawkman wow what an apple apologist you are!

i'm sure my friends with iphones wouldn't care WHAT an MMS app looked like!

[Jash Sayani @ Nov 22nd 2008 10:53AM]

Wheres the "Duplicates iPhone functionality..." rule gone now....

Never mind, Apple will realize about this in a few days and will remove it after that. Just like they f*cked with NetShare...

[Keith @ Nov 22nd 2008 11:09AM]

Getting the iPhone to send/receive MMS is easy. The hard part is getting AT&T to let them through. On a jailbroken iPhone just install Swirly from the Cydia app configure it and the phone is ready. If you have MMS service on your plan then it will work.

[Dionte @ Nov 22nd 2008 12:17PM]

I can't stop believe that one day we will get one, I'm so full of hope that one day my iphone will have all the basic features, one day

[Yankees368 @ Nov 22nd 2008 12:43AM]

Applications have to be pre-approved for the iphone?

Score one for Windows Mobile. No one tells me what to put on my own phone.

[jay.viz @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:34AM]

Yes, and the developer(s) of the app don't know if it will be accepted till after they submit the *completed* app for approval.

[jared @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:19AM]

no, that's right. any yahoo can make some piece of junk for your mom to install on her phone, and then wonder why it crashes all the time.

[Seriously @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:41AM]

Come on Jared, even you can admit that Apple's appstore policies are ridiculous.

Aw god, I gotta stop responding to imaginary internet people while drunk.

[Yankees368 @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:42AM]

@jared

ok, what about the thousands of quality aps out there, that I willfully and happily install?
Like smms, for my HTC Mogul that did not have picture mail out of the box. A nice developer made a very functional MMS program, that I am sure Sprint would not have approved of, but guess what... it didn't matter.

[who? @ Nov 22nd 2008 3:24AM]

Apple might take out the competition (literally) with their screening process, but I think that what really matters to the general public is that they don't have to worry about trojan apps killing their iPhone.

In addition, it stops obnoxious people like you from buying an iPhone, therefore saving us all immeasurable amounts of time trying to help you learn how to set up your email and sync your contacts (it's the big 'Sync' button that works the magic for future reference).

So why don't you just go ahead and score two for the iPhone: No trojan apps + none of you guys clogging up the iPhone support forums. On second though, why don't you just shove it up you @$$?

[Dave @ Nov 22nd 2008 3:49AM]

Yes score one for Windows Mobile. Now if only I could find that perfect email app to load onto my HTC Touch Diamond. I just switched from using POP3 access to IMAP access and love it. The email on my Desktop Outlook, Laptop Outlook, HTC Touch Diamond, HTC Touch, and my webmail are now always in sync. Why didn't I make the switch to IMAP years ago? But the Windows Mobile app I'm hoping for for would allow me to integrate with the IMAP servers even better. Don't get me wrong I love the current offering. I just want to be able to specify which folder to store my sent messages to after I send them. Am I asking for too much? I guess just having the best mobile OS out there has got me wanting even more.

[Jack Storm @ Nov 22nd 2008 4:26AM]

wow @ 'who?'

You crazy ass fanboy, you!

Stop bringing in your amateur mobile OS to fight with the big boys, WinMo will destroy it in usability and something called freedom, which my ipod touch only gives me when i dont use itunes and jailbreak it and still doesnt hold a candle to my touch pro.

[Hawkman @ Nov 22nd 2008 9:01AM]

Yeah, I wish I had myriad ugly, crap apps to choose between, too. How I envy you.

[jayjay @ Nov 22nd 2008 2:13PM]

A myriad crap apps to choose between? That's almost like the definition of the appstore!

[Brad @ Nov 23rd 2008 7:18PM]

@Dave,

This isn't a limit of IMAP, it's probably on your sever end.

But if you REALLY want your WindowsMobile mail app to do everything, point it at an Exchange Server. You can sign up for one online for like $5/mo if your company doesn't use one. That'll sync contacts, calendar, tasks, and email all at the same time. You'll wonder how you lived without it.

[Tim @ Nov 22nd 2008 12:44AM]

Apple's app store policy is ass.

[who? @ Nov 22nd 2008 2:55AM]

BURN THEM AT THE STAKES! (or are we not allowed to do that now?)

[tiuk @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:48PM]

Stories like this are just further proof that they have absolutely no system in place for deciding what makes the cut. Apps that should get rejected get through, others that are perfectly valid get rejected. It makes no sense.

The only possible explanation is the approval board is a room full of monkeys approving apps at random.

[Deepak @ Nov 22nd 2008 12:46AM]

Hmmm. "Secutiry Note" doesn't inspire a lot of confidence no?

[ducky @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:20AM]

Yeah, I'm sort of hopeful now that Apple has let this through, but there's no way I'm giving this app my email login details, it looks sketchy as hell.

[Ethan @ Nov 22nd 2008 2:40PM]

Maybe they let it through because it wasn't better than mail.app and hence, wasn't embarrassing.

[Valicore @ Nov 22nd 2008 12:55AM]

Apple's policy is the same as it has always been:

We do whatever the hell we want, and you love it.

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:24AM]

I'll reply to this instead of creating my own post, because you're right. People were stupid for taking the app approval policy literally. Apple reserves the right to not approve apps that duplicate their functionality. That doesn't mean they'll disallow every app under the sun. It might mean they disallow nothing. It might mean they allow it today but ban it tomorrow. It's all about control, sure, and you can think that's BS if you want. But don't pretend like it means there will be no "duplicate functionality" apps. It just means there will be no duplicate functionality apps that Apple perceives as a threat to their interests. If you can make a better XYZ app than Apple that sells more iPhones, why would they be opposed to it?

[water.and.sand @ Nov 22nd 2008 2:59AM]

Yes, I do.

(looks around)

Oh, wait. No. No, I don't.
Boo, Apple.

Is it okay to just sit on the fence? Every Apple topic on this site is just filled with perverse hatred.

It's kinda weird to feel anger welling up inside of you because someone you don't know dislikes something you do. What strikes me even stranger though, is when people have perfectly decent reasons for their conclusion, but you can still detect a sense of superiority or prejudice in how they speak.
Just bad vibes, man.

Not just you, almost everyone.

[water.and.sand @ Nov 22nd 2008 3:02AM]

I'm double posting like an idiot.

I just wanted to reassure you that my comment was not aimed at either of the previous posters that I replied to. I actually found the quip amusing.

Just getting tangenty, I suppose.

[Hashbrown Hunter @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:22AM]

@Valicore:
So....Steve Jobs is a dictator?

[Mike @ WannaDevelop.com @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:23AM]

Really? Are you sure about that??

No restrictions... uhh

Right :)

Mike

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:26AM]

Ranked down for comment spam and feeding the troll that everyone knows is wrong.

[iofthestorm @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:39AM]

Yeah, even Engadget recognizes he's a troll so now you can't reply to his posts, or something. Just ignore him, comments like that prove he really is just trolling.

[KarlW @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:26AM]

I work at the Apple Store, and I've had people ask me about this. It's a bit of a shock to hear people who call their whole computer a "CPU" talking about the application development side of things. Nonetheless, due to the publicity the App Store policy has had, there is a lot of confusion. They seem to think the App Store is a place full of con-artists (I Am Rich to blame here), with apps appearing and disappearing every day, from the store and from your phone. Some think you can't sync podcasts (you always could, now OTA with 2.2), and some think Apple's spying on them (CoreLocation blacklist or just paranoia - I don't know)

Apple really need to sort out their policy. It's bad for developers, who spend their time developing an application that gets rejected, and it's bad for consumers, who get caught up in the confusion.

[Valicore @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:54AM]

It's actually a really tough policy for developers. Work a long time on something just to have Emperor Jobs give it the thumbs down because he didn't have his 1:30pm nap.

[who? @ Nov 22nd 2008 3:05AM]

They more than make up for this by providing a super easy to use development kit free of charge, and actually offering to host all of your apps (and advertise them for free on iTunes) for a lifetime price of $99 is a better deal than you'll find anywhere else. Not to mention all that money they doled out to prospective developers for nothing more than the promise of a future app or two.

All in all, I'd say that developing for Apple beats developing for WinMo or Linux in most areas, and is disappointing in only one. The process of of accepting apps into the store. Which is what everyone here is focusing on. Why could that be...?

[KarlW @ Nov 22nd 2008 3:40AM]

Apple are getting the benefits of the App Store just as much as developers. The App Store is one of the key selling points of both the iPhone and IPT. It's advertised heavily online, on TV and in store.

You'd expect the SDK to be free (besides, people would just jailbreak it if it wasn't). Also, it's not a one-off $99 fee; it's also 30% of the sale price. Also, I think people focus on the rejection issue because (a) it's very important and (b) the rules are poorly defined and not applied consistently.

Apple do a lot of great stuff. I really admire some of the things they come out with. This issue, however, has been poorly dealt with and requires clarification. I know customers are already demanding it.

[Boards of Canada @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:05AM]

its not a cpu?

[Quikboy @ Nov 22nd 2008 9:25AM]

@who? : To develop iPhone apps, you need Mac OS X. To have Mac OS X, you need an Intel Mac. That's pretty costly if you don't already have a Mac. $99? Sheesh, I wouldn't necessarily call it advertising. It's not like iTunes Store advertises music does it? That's like saying people go on iTunes to look for advertisements. If you've been taking weeks to make an iPhone app, and Apple says "NO", then I'd feel pretty darn angry.

That's the beauty of WinMo. You can develop almost anything you want, with less hassles. I'm careful enough to determine if an application is safe or not, and I don't need a company to baby me through it. Also, a lot of things rejected on the Apps Store aren't dangerous. Do you really think Flash is going to kill you? I'll make the call myself. If you like being controlled, go with Apple's iPhone.

[who? @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:34PM]

@Quikboy

Ever seen an iPhone commercial? That's advertising, and most of the new ones show multiple apps being used on the phone. As for flash- Apple is in talks to integrate a mobile version into Safari; it can't be implemented as an ordinary app for maximum performance.

WinMo is a shoddy OS that is nearly impossible to use and whose default browser crashes more often than I run into you Windows fanboys. Like you. Yeah. You. You suck. Shut it, freak.

[Mark @ Nov 22nd 2008 2:32PM]

@who: "They more than make up for this by providing a super easy to use development kit free of charge, and actually offering to host all of your apps (and advertise them for free on iTunes) for a lifetime price of $99 is a better deal than you'll find anywhere else"

Raheeeeally? The Android dev kit is also free and super easy since it's a plugin for eclipse(which can be used in Windows, Mac or Linux by the way) and hosts all apps for a lifetime price of $25 on the android marketplace so.... ya I'd say that's a better deal. Oh, and if you don't want to pay the $25? You can just host the app yourself on another website and people with the G1 can still download it.

[Mike10010100 @ Nov 22nd 2008 8:42PM]

@who?

Wow. That's the longest continual bash of a certain product that I have seen in a long time. Not only did you manage to hurt the reputation of a product, but the person you replied to will probably die lonely and never love again, living with the knowledge that he was called a "freak."

NOT.
YOU.
ASSHOLE.

[pomotaro @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:31AM]

one android...to rule them all...

[who? @ Nov 22nd 2008 3:10AM]

Yeah, right. The problem is that all of the features on there have been offered by other devices first. It begs the question: If there was nobody sewing a suit for them to follow, would they be able to come up with any new, unique, and useful features in future models?

I doubt it.

[Boards of Canada @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:10AM]

No no its fit! The ruling ring came last, stealing all the knowledge from the others.

Anyway... Steve Job start to look a bit like gollum no? just put a turtle neck to gollum... see!?!

[John @ Nov 22nd 2008 1:05PM]

-1 for not knowing how to use the phrase "begs the question".

[holycow @ Nov 22nd 2008 2:06AM]

If they are allowing them now, then I would very much like the GMAIL application. Like the ones they have for Symbian and WM.

Oh and please allow OPERA to be in the AppStore! I'll pay 20$ for it if I have to just do it please.

[h0mi @ Nov 22nd 2008 2:34AM]

If opera doesnt crash 1000x times a day like Safari does, I'd pay premium prices for it.

[who? @ Nov 22nd 2008 3:15AM]

If safari is crashing for you, then you must use it for some pretty hard-core sh*t. I've only had it crash once, and that was because I was playing around on version 1.1 (or similar) and the .tiff file hack.

[Boards of Canada @ Nov 22nd 2008 5:16AM]

Developers will turn to android. Because its a robot.

[holycow @ Nov 22nd 2008 9:26AM]

@h0mi
I used to have Opera on my Nokia, and whereas the default browser used to crash (or not load pictures due to the lack of RAM), Opera worked liked a monster. No crashes what so ever and loaded everything (including pictures) quicker than the default browser.

[moe @ Nov 22nd 2008 2:37AM]

jailbreak if you want mms. as for email i just forward all my other email addresses to gmail.