Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has come under fire many times in the past for the way it handles its application store. French developer AppGratis has attacked the company with a new petition after its Application was barred from the store indefinitely. In order to sign the “petition” users are told to go here.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) argued that the software, which offers users a deal on a single third party application every day, could be confused with the official application store, conflating the credibility of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) itself and the application offered on AppGratis. AppGratis disagrees with that argument.
In response to its removal from the App Store, the company set up an email address for users to email if they disagree with the removal of the application from the App store. The address has already received more than 600,000 messages of protest. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may have a problem on its hands.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) maintains tight control of the applications that users are able to access on the App store for several reasons. The most important of these is the 30 percent margin the company takes on every sale. Another prominent reason is insurance that users get a quality experience, and spam is kept to a minimum.
AppGratis had its application removed from the App store earlier in April. The company has ran a successful campaign protesting the move, harnessing a great deal of a demographic where hatred of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) policies is widespread. The firm’s own intentions are also in question however.
According to some analysts, AppGratis is not simply offering deals on applications. What it actually offers is popularity to app developers. Developers who make a deal with AppGratis were likely to see downloads boom. This put their software at the top of the download charts, increasing exposure and sales many times. When it was pulled, the service had 12 million users.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is usually inflexible when it comes to its own standards. When a genuine mistake has been made the company has been known to change its mind, but it seems unlikely that a petition, particularly in support of a service like AppGratis, will have the company running.
Whether or not AppGratis is effectively a spammer, gaming the App Store system is up for debate, but Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s control of the App store is not. Regulators seem alright with the business model for now, and, though that may change, a petition will hardly be effective in bringing change.
