MailWrangler banned from App Store

These days, and looks like for the next day so forth on since the launch of App Store, Apple loves to pull software developers' fingers and at the same time show its unlimited power over apps distribution in App Store. Just a week ago, Apple uses this line to reject Podcaster: "...it duplicates the functionality of the Podcast section of iTunes."

And now, Apple is using the same kinda line to ban the entry of MailWrangler: "… Your application duplicates the functionality of the built-in iPhone application Mail without providing sufficient differentiation or added functionality, which will lead to user confusion. …"

Wait, what's MailWrangler? Here's the explanation from Angelo DiNardi, the maker of MailWrangler himself: "Basically this app enabled a user to add their GMail accounts (standard and Google Apps For Your Domain) which they could load and switch between them quickly. It embedded Webkit in to the app and logged you in to the accounts automagically."

"Using just the Apple Mail application you aren’t able to see threaded views, your google contacts, archive (quickly), star, etc without going through the hassles that are present when using Gmail’s IMAP on the iPhone," Angelo continues to explain the background reason why he created MailWrangler.

And here's his response when Apple banned his app: "This is an interesting claim since although handing email, my app is simply directly loading and showing Gmail inside of an application. How you can confuse Gmail with Mail.app I’m not sure."

But then Angelo comes up with a good solution for this sore sort situation, and even good enough for other App Store software developers as well who share the same fate like his: "I guess I should just write another flashlight or glowstick application to actually get published. That’s the only apps Apple seems to want in the store."

Now who's pulling whose finger? I'd say; let's pull Apple's finger altogether by jailbreak our iPhone and install all the apps we want. I know I will, if I finally get me hands on an iPhone, like: never! ~LOL~ I blame Apple for not bringin iPhone to my country...

Sources are from Angelo DiNardi blog, via iPhone Atlas.

[blogged with my Treo 750v]