Top Paid App Gets Pulled Off App Store

Yup, the top paid app just got pulled, but it is not what you think.

iShoot, currently the number one paid app in iTunes, is alive and well but, sadly, another paid app hasn’t fared so well.

First, a preamble. Some of you may already be aware that I write all the way from the Asian archipelago known as the Philippines. Being an iPhone enthusiast based outside the "US and A," more often than not I would find myself stuck in a rut. Given my situation, it was particularly difficult to deal with the iTunes Store. First, the Philippine iTunes Store comprises the App Store, the App Store, and the App Store. That’s right. No music, no movies, no podcasts. Just apps. So if you don’t possess an iPhone or an iPod Touch, our local iTunes Store is definitely not the place to shop. Then there’s the issue of promo code redemption. Promo codes can only be used with US iTunes accounts in the US iTunes Store, so it’s no wonder a ‘Redeem’ link is nowhere to be seen in the Philippine version of the store. Lucky for me though, I am within reach of a US-funded account and I was able to create a US iTunes account. Never mind that the Pandora Radio app is practically useless where I’m at due to some license restrictions. I am now able to purchase music, download podcasts and redeem codes for apps that I review on WOiP from the US iTunes Store. Happy times indeed. But every now and then I would find myself checking back on our local store, if only to see what my neighbors are currently into.

Usually, I would take a look and see that the most downloaded apps are more or less the same as those in the US store. Just recenty, however, I was surprised to find a homegrown app called iManila at the top of the paid apps list. Named after the ubiquitous small letter I and the capital of the Republic of the Philippines, "iManila gives you easy acccess to an online phone Yellow Pages directory for finding shops, restaurants, businesses, and bars in the Philippines." At $1.99, it’s a no-frills app that basically lets users search and store (bookmark) contact information of local establishments.

I had the chance to engage in an email correspondence with the developer of iManila and sole member of MangoCode, Greg Reichow, and he told me he initially made the app for his personal use. The old saying, necessity is the mother of creativity, applies to Greg, an expat, as he found Google Maps to be rather poor in its coverage of the Philippines and thus set out to build an app that would help him find numbers and addresses of businesses of interest in Metro Manila. Following the suggestion of his friends, he put up iManila in the App Store. Little did he know then that his simple yet useful app would be a big hit among Filipino iPhone and iPod Touch users.

iManila works well mainly because it draws its search results from luk4.com, one of the largest online directories in the country. This foundation, however, would ultimately contribute to iManila’s "downfall." Just I was about to post my special review of the app, Greg sent me an email to "stop the press." He said he didn’t want me to write a review on an app that’s no longer available. Just like that, iManila was pulled off from the App Store. But who done it? This time, it’s not the long arm of Apple that done it. As it turned out, it was Greg himself. Presumably, Greg arrived at his decision following a heated comment thread at yugatech.com, a local technology news and review blog. While some commented on how great and useful the app is, others were keen on pointing out the legal mumbo jumbo surrounding the manner in which the app retrieves the information it displays. In the end, Greg deemed it unethical to use these data without the permission of the folks at luk4.com and immediately made iManila unavailable.

Greg assures those who were able to download iManila that its removal from the App Store does and will not affect its functionality in any way. He also says he has plans of integrating movie listings and road maps in iManila, when he finally establishes an agreement with the aforementioned Web site or another provider to support his controversial, former most downloaded app. And to think he would have been content if 10 people downloaded it.