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Fighting sockpuppet reviews on the App Store
In this modern age of information, it's easier than ever to see what people think of a product, whether it be a new lawnmower, a console game, or an App Store app. But it's also easier than ever to try and tweak public opinion, and while there are many official avenues that will accept anonymous opinions, there aren't so many that will help you weed out the legit from the not-so-much. App Store reviews have been controversial from the beginning -- while they can be helpful for buyers, you often have no idea just who's leaving comments or what their real agenda is. Njection, the makers of Nmobile (which we played with a while ago) are having a huge problem with what they're calling "sockpuppet" reviews on the App Store. Someone (they believe this person is in cahoots with their competitor) is posting bad reviews on their app and trying to trash them and their product elsewhere (including in a comment here on TUAW). And unfortunately, as they say, they don't really have much recourse against this behavior -- they've appealed to Apple, who've replied that they'll leave comments up, unless they're offensive or extremely false. Apple's own guidelines for reviewing apps asks that the reviewers deal with apps on their own merit rather than attacking competitors, but that seems to be more of a recommendation than a firm rule. Njection says the comments have kept consumers from trying out their apps, though it seems difficult to actually track how many people haven't tried your app (and why). It'll be interesting to see if Apple makes other changes to the review system if this sort of thing rears its ugly head more often. At this point, it seems devs just have to deal with it by doing damage control when necessary and making their app good enough that "sockpuppeting" doesn't strongly affect public opinion.
First Look: NMobile for iPhone
If you find yourself running into police speed traps often, then you might want to give a new iPhone app a try. NMobile [iTunes link] allows you to locate speed traps, red light cameras, and radar locations. All of these speed detection devices are mapped out on a Microsoft Live map -- this is one of the first native uses of Microsoft Live Maps on the iPhone. If you are using this application with the iPhone 3G, then you will have the ability to use your GPS location in conjunction with the tracking service from Njection. In "Browse Mode," you can check your area for speed traps, red light cameras, and radar devices. The speed trap locations are submitted by users, and can be submitted through the application (or on Njection's website). Red light cameras and radar locations are also submitted by users, and verified for accuracy by the developers. Speed trap locations are only verified by users. In addition to browsing for speed traps, you can also be alerted audibly of upcoming traps -- you can find this under "Alert Mode." In this mode, NMobile will tell you when you are approaching a trap, you will also see how many miles ahead the trap is. Bottom line: this application is solid, but I would like to see a couple features added. For one, you can't get directions in this application like you can in the default Maps app on the iPhone. It would be nice if you could plan a route, and see the speed traps along the way. If you're using this application on a first generation iPhone, you might not get the best experience; however, this can't really be blamed on NMobile; the location data on the GPS-less phones isn't specific enough. You should exercise care and caution while using this application on the road. This application is just a little pricey at $9.99, and is now available on the iTunes App Store. %Gallery-36948%
