4 ms·

NDrive GPS App Disappears from Apple App Store

46 points by asmithmd1 16y ago

sadiq 16y ago
If that turns out to be the case, it's interesting to contrast the two different approaches in transparency that Apple and Google took in using their kill switches.
- masklinn 16y ago
  Turns out it isn't the case.
zyb09 16y ago
This is seriously weird, I hope Apple has a good reason for this that goes beyond 'we don't like this kind of apps anymore'. While Google also used it's kill-switch recently, it was against malicious software, while this App doesn't look particular harmful.
- jrockway 16y ago
  It's harmful to the $7.99-a-month-for-GPS model. (Of course, GPS navigation is already 100% free on Android. But only hippies and communists use Linux, so...)
  - blhack 16y ago
    I'm not sure why you're getting downmodded...this is exactly why they pulled google voice and exactly why they won't approve a grooveshark app.
- username3 16y ago
  1.8 GB for 30% of $2.99? Is there a file size limit for free apps?
jgrahamc 16y ago
This article is a perfect time to lament the poor quality of many of these 'news' sites. Nowhere in the story does it say that Slashgear made any attempt to contact Apple and ask about this situation. Apple has an entire media department that you can call and ask (http://www.apple.com/pr/ http://www.apple.com/pr/). The worst case is that Apple will give you a no comment, or we'll get back to you. That you can report. But here all we have is a sentence wasted burbling And considering that NDrive isn’t the only GPS application available on the iPhone, or within the App Store proper, we’re not sure why Apple would choose now, or this app, to pull that lever. At the start of the article they claim That would mostly be because Apple hasn’t had any reason to use it. Is that true? Did they ask Apple? If you follow the blog chain backwards you'll come to someone who did call Apple, and has a possible explanation for why the application was removed: it appears NDrive may not have fully licensed the map data used in the application. The entire article would be much more interesting if they'd called Apple and asked them a few questions. And then called NDrive and asked them about the map licensing, or called Teledata and asked them. You know, actually done some work towards the article rather than 'reporting' rumors. Also, they need someone to look over their copy. Several customers are reporting that the application called NDrive, which was developed by a small team to be a GPS alternative. What did the customers do? Also, I'm pretty sure this small team did not develop an alternative to GPS. That would have required launching and maintaining a large number of satellites. And then subsequently pulled from customer’s iPhones as well. One customer or many? Some months ago I wrote a blog post about baggage tags used on airlines (http://blog.jgc.org/2009/08/whats-on-baggage-tag.html http://blog.jgc.org/2009/08/whats-on-baggage-tag.html). In it you'll see documented the work it took (with a little help from a friend) to get the answers I wanted. And the other day I was writing something that appeared on The Times' web site and needed information about the status of the BT site at Goonhilly (http://timesonline.typepad.com/science/2010/06/sea-sand-sun-and-science-a-geek-holiday.html http://timesonline.typepad.com/science/2010/06/sea-sand-sun-...). I simply called BT's media relations and they were very, very helpful. They even got me an answer on a day when half their staff were off on a training course.
- tomjen3 16y ago
  While it would be a benefit to this story, I don't see why anybody should have a duty to write both sides of the story on their blog - I properly would have written to Apple, but if they didn't give a good reason I can't fault the guy for not posting it.
arn 16y ago
This is not true. People still have the app. See: http://www.razorianfly.com/2010/07/08/did-apple-just-use-the-ios-kill-switch/ http://www.razorianfly.com/2010/07/08/did-apple-just-use-the... [Update] – Multiple users are reporting to us via Twitter and in the comments section that NDrive is still present on both their iPhone and respective computers, therefore we’re filing this one under: “Apple has -not- used the iOS kill switch … yet”.
RexRollman 16y ago
So when Apple ganks an application like this, do people automatically receive a refund?
- frou_dh 16y ago
  It doesn't concern the kill-switch, but I still have the tethering application, NetShare, that was quickly banished from the App Store and still installs and works fine.
  - jokermatt999 16y ago
    They didn't use the kill-switch on that at all, did they? I thought that was just banned from the app store, but not removed.
yardie 16y ago
There is a long gap between stuff that gets pulled from the Appstore and stuff pulled from off your iPhone. In the later, stuff gets pulled from the store all the time. Either it's broken, violates a license agreement, or is malicious (ie. steals stuff from your addressbook). I've yet to encounter an app that was taken off the iPhone. I do have apps that were taken from the appstore. Which is why I found this article a bit unconvincing. "Users reported...." How many? 1? 10? 10000?
logic 16y ago
The kill-switch URL isn't exactly secret: https://iphone-services.apple.com/clbl/unauthorizedApps https://iphone-services.apple.com/clbl/unauthorizedApps Note the lack of any applications being listed there. Seriously, this is an easy one to verify; a reporter wouldn't even need to call Apple for a response. I'm no Apple fanboy, but there doesn't appear to be much to see here.
risotto 16y ago
Pure speculation but maybe NDrive is improperly licensing and distributing the map data?
EdwardCoffin 16y ago
It's possible this may be due to false advertising. I bought the Canada maps version on June 16 for $4.99, and it turned out to be a two week evaluation edition, something that I did not see anywhere in the app description before purchasing it. Something on their support page made reference to a spurious expiry message, so I thought this message might be a mistake; I wasn't sure until it actually did expire at the end of the month. By the time I'd noticed they'd pulled it from the store. The app was still on my iPad, and is still in my iTunes, so I don't think Apple killed it with the switch.

46 points by asmithmd1 16y ago

sadiq 16y ago

If that turns out to be the case, it's interesting to contrast the two different approaches in transparency that Apple and Google took in using their kill switches.

masklinn 16y ago
Turns out it isn't the case.

zyb09 16y ago

This is seriously weird, I hope Apple has a good reason for this that goes beyond 'we don't like this kind of apps anymore'. While Google also used it's kill-switch recently, it was against malicious software, while this App doesn't look particular harmful.

jrockway 16y ago
It's harmful to the $7.99-a-month-for-GPS model. (Of course, GPS navigation is already 100% free on Android. But only hippies and communists use Linux, so...)
- blhack 16y ago
  I'm not sure why you're getting downmodded...this is exactly why they pulled google voice and exactly why they won't approve a grooveshark app.
username3 16y ago
1.8 GB for 30% of $2.99? Is there a file size limit for free apps?

jgrahamc 16y ago

This article is a perfect time to lament the poor quality of many of these 'news' sites. Nowhere in the story does it say that Slashgear made any attempt to contact Apple and ask about this situation. Apple has an entire media department that you can call and ask (http://www.apple.com/pr/ http://www.apple.com/pr/). The worst case is that Apple will give you a no comment, or we'll get back to you. That you can report. But here all we have is a sentence wasted burbling And considering that NDrive isn’t the only GPS application available on the iPhone, or within the App Store proper, we’re not sure why Apple would choose now, or this app, to pull that lever. At the start of the article they claim That would mostly be because Apple hasn’t had any reason to use it. Is that true? Did they ask Apple? If you follow the blog chain backwards you'll come to someone who did call Apple, and has a possible explanation for why the application was removed: it appears NDrive may not have fully licensed the map data used in the application. The entire article would be much more interesting if they'd called Apple and asked them a few questions. And then called NDrive and asked them about the map licensing, or called Teledata and asked them. You know, actually done some work towards the article rather than 'reporting' rumors. Also, they need someone to look over their copy. Several customers are reporting that the application called NDrive, which was developed by a small team to be a GPS alternative. What did the customers do? Also, I'm pretty sure this small team did not develop an alternative to GPS. That would have required launching and maintaining a large number of satellites. And then subsequently pulled from customer’s iPhones as well. One customer or many? Some months ago I wrote a blog post about baggage tags used on airlines (http://blog.jgc.org/2009/08/whats-on-baggage-tag.html http://blog.jgc.org/2009/08/whats-on-baggage-tag.html). In it you'll see documented the work it took (with a little help from a friend) to get the answers I wanted. And the other day I was writing something that appeared on The Times' web site and needed information about the status of the BT site at Goonhilly (http://timesonline.typepad.com/science/2010/06/sea-sand-sun-and-science-a-geek-holiday.html http://timesonline.typepad.com/science/2010/06/sea-sand-sun-...). I simply called BT's media relations and they were very, very helpful. They even got me an answer on a day when half their staff were off on a training course.

tomjen3 16y ago
While it would be a benefit to this story, I don't see why anybody should have a duty to write both sides of the story on their blog - I properly would have written to Apple, but if they didn't give a good reason I can't fault the guy for not posting it.

arn 16y ago

This is not true. People still have the app. See: http://www.razorianfly.com/2010/07/08/did-apple-just-use-the-ios-kill-switch/ http://www.razorianfly.com/2010/07/08/did-apple-just-use-the... [Update] – Multiple users are reporting to us via Twitter and in the comments section that NDrive is still present on both their iPhone and respective computers, therefore we’re filing this one under: “Apple has -not- used the iOS kill switch … yet”.

RexRollman 16y ago

So when Apple ganks an application like this, do people automatically receive a refund?

frou_dh 16y ago
It doesn't concern the kill-switch, but I still have the tethering application, NetShare, that was quickly banished from the App Store and still installs and works fine.
- jokermatt999 16y ago
  They didn't use the kill-switch on that at all, did they? I thought that was just banned from the app store, but not removed.

yardie 16y ago

There is a long gap between stuff that gets pulled from the Appstore and stuff pulled from off your iPhone. In the later, stuff gets pulled from the store all the time. Either it's broken, violates a license agreement, or is malicious (ie. steals stuff from your addressbook). I've yet to encounter an app that was taken off the iPhone. I do have apps that were taken from the appstore. Which is why I found this article a bit unconvincing. "Users reported...." How many? 1? 10? 10000?

logic 16y ago

The kill-switch URL isn't exactly secret: https://iphone-services.apple.com/clbl/unauthorizedApps https://iphone-services.apple.com/clbl/unauthorizedApps Note the lack of any applications being listed there. Seriously, this is an easy one to verify; a reporter wouldn't even need to call Apple for a response. I'm no Apple fanboy, but there doesn't appear to be much to see here.

risotto 16y ago

Pure speculation but maybe NDrive is improperly licensing and distributing the map data?

EdwardCoffin 16y ago

It's possible this may be due to false advertising. I bought the Canada maps version on June 16 for $4.99, and it turned out to be a two week evaluation edition, something that I did not see anywhere in the app description before purchasing it. Something on their support page made reference to a spurious expiry message, so I thought this message might be a mistake; I wasn't sure until it actually did expire at the end of the month. By the time I'd noticed they'd pulled it from the store. The app was still on my iPad, and is still in my iTunes, so I don't think Apple killed it with the switch.