Just as I praise 3rd-party innovation on other mobile systems, Apple shows itself less willing to host an open environment.  A developer released a $999.99 iPhone application called “I Am Rich” that did nothing but show a red screen. Some bloggers called for Apple to takedown the program for no reason other than it was significantly over-priced.

Why remove the app? Yes it’s stupid and the eight people who bought it are weird to say the least, but if people want to spend $1,000 on a red screen, who is Apple to say they can’t? MG Siegler of Venture Beat says since the App Store isn’t completely open, Apple shouldn’t have approved it in the first place.  But why? “I Am Rich” doesn’t violate any of the rules Apple laid out: no pornography, bandwidth abuse, or threat to privacy.  The program specifically states there are no hidden features. Anyone who buys the program knows exactly what they’re getting.

By de-listing the program, Apple is expanding its control over what is allowed on the iPhone, proving if it doesn’t like your program, it can and will remove it. Apple also removed BoxOffice, a movie showtime search engine, without notice or justification. Without standard rules on what is allowed on the iPhone, developers may be scared away from getting on Apple’s bad side. Further, it scares away innovation that expands usage and value for the iPhone - no one wants to risk time and money to get banned.

Apple keeps fighting open standards for the iPhone which works now amid the hype. But competition from open systems like Google Android (if it’s ever released) and Symbian will challenge Apple’s concept of top-down control.  The reason Windows Mobile has full flash support in the Skyfire browser is thanks to 3rd-party developers given free-reign to do as they wish on a platform.  If Apple wants the iPhone to really change the mobile space, it needs to let developers do what they do best - develop.