Null River sends word that Apple has officially responded to them (at long last) and the response is sadly what we expected:
Looks like Apple has decided they will not be allowing any tethering applications in the AppStore. As such, NetShare will not be available in the iTunes AppStore. We are seeing a lot of similar reports from various developers who's applications were abruptly removed and banned from the AppStore without any violations of the terms of service. This is all unfortunate news for the iPhone platform end-users.
Of course, this also bodes ill for PdaNet and any other folks looking to create tethering apps. Just ain't gonna happen, folks.
The App Store cancellation / banning / NDA / mystery is starting to approach critical mass. Dave Winer nails the real issue here: there's no way to app developers to find out whether or not they're going to even be allowed to sell their app via the App Store until after they've put all the work into creating it. Developers are all sitting "Before the Law," hoping the gatekeeper will suddenly become reasonable and rational. For tethering apps, at least, that hope is in vain. We're still holding out hope for Podcaster and, well, for a lot of others.
(Netshare and Winer links via Daring Fireball)
Reader comments
Netshare Officially Banned from the App Store
I have a hard time feeling sorry for the developers of this app. I mean seriously, it's a tethering app. AT&T would offer tethering itself if such a thing was going to be allowed.
They had to know there was a 95% chance it wasn't going to be allowed when they developed it.
I am not saying anything about whether or not AT&T should offer tethering, but absent a specific approval before hand, you had to expect that such an app would be banned.
To use a sports analogy, they threw a hail mary and it got batted down, it should have been expected.
The thing is that the the EULA for the SDK did not say tethering apps were not allowed. PDA Net really shouldn't be allowed but it is, mainly because the BB is not reliant on an "App Store" to install applications.
I think developers should be able to submit their idea and then get that approved before they work on an application.
This is another example of why the "app store" model is a problem - Apple can ban your app for any reason or no reason at all. More freedom, please.
any way I can get my $10 back? I lost netshare after the 2.1 update.
So for the people who do have Netshare before they took it off the app store will they put the app on the blacklist and turn the app dead?
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I upgraded to the 2.1 firmware and I still have Netshare and I can access it too. I haven't jailbroken my iPhone 3G yet so I'm not sure if it will let me use the app but I'm sure it will since it's still on my iPhone even after the upgrade.
AT&T is only one of the many providers and some other ones do allow tethering (e.g. Fido with their 6GB/mth data plan). I don't see a reason why AT&T's disapproval for tethering should affect other countries and their respective App Stores.
Get your money back!!! You gotta be kidding!!! No freakin' way Netshare would have ever been allowed as a tethering app. Some now ex-Apple employee must have been napping the first time around it slipped through. This is all about AT&T making every dime back from having phone sex with Apple.
Lucky you didn't own the first Mac 128 when it first came out. On every hardware upgrade from 128 KB to 512 KB to 1 MB, they'd change the System ROMs and that would break games (always the worst), apps and peripherals. I think many of the developers couldn't even afford to rewrite and redistribute their applications, so all support abruptly ended and that was it. Damned if I could get my money back and we're talking $100+ and not some skanky $10. I guess that's why I don't get rattled over some pissant minor changes. I'd already lived through the doozies of early ancient Apple revisions.
Why should netshare not be allowed in other countries, where tethering is not forbidden by contract?
Here in Germany you even get a second phone from t-mobile to enable tethering with your 3G-Connection! (additional costs of course).
So, if the Appstore is able to handle this, netshare should be officially allowed in Germany....
Regarding the other Apps, which got banned recently... Apple should consider publishing the reasons for banning the apps - who knows, maybe we'll agree ,-)
I'd imagine that of the carriers that do allow tethering with the iPhone, the carrier wants to control it.
Remember AT&T had to have its arm twisted to allow the iPhone unlimited data. AT&T's 3G network is barely making it right now as is. You start allowing millions of users to run their laptops off 3G with unlimited data and the whole network is going to crash. Get realistic people. Bandwidth isn't magical.
then ban it for the yanks and let us in Canada and the rest of the world download the app. Data is data if you pay for it you should be allowed to use it any way you see fit.
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for a fact or anynoe else for that matter. hes a businessman selling a product wtf u want him to say this new iphone isnt really all that great but please buy it so i can buy my 10th home