iPhone eReader Eucalyptus Given 17+ Rating By Apple
10:57 am, July 3rd, 2009, Craig Grannell
Take note, readers: eReaders apparently offer frequent/intense mature/suggestive themes! Well, at least this one does.
On Twitter, Eucalyptus author Jamie Montgomerie says his app is now saddled with a 17+ rating, a change he made after Apple requested that he do so. (And, oddly, the app is referred to as a game on its App Store page warning section.) You may recall that the app caused controversy when Apple rejected it, primarily for it enabling you to download the text from Kamasutra. Apple later relented, but now the app has all sorts of warnings on the App Store, as shown above.
Again, the problem isn’t so much Apple’s decision—although it seems heavy-handed for a text-based eReader that only grabs content from Project Gutenberg—but a lack of consistency. At the time of writing, Free Books (App Store link) is rated 12+, while Stanza (App Store link) is rated 4+, despite it providing access to Project Gutenberg and a bunch more content.
Here’s hoping Apple soon starts levelling the playing field for all, because it’d be a huge shame for a great piece of indie software to lose sales due to having a rating none of its similar competition has.
Eucalyptus is available for $9.99 on the App Store and comes recommended if you can deal with the kind of mind-warping infrequent/mild alcohol references, infrequent/mild profanity, infrequent/mild horror themes, frequent/intense mature/suggestive themes and infrequent/mild sexual content that Apple argues you’ll find in the text of classic out-of-copyright novels.
Posted by Craig Grannell in News | Comment on this article
So, Safari would be a 17+ app, too?
Iggy, on July 4th, 2009 at 5:20 am
17+! You’ve got to be kidding! Apple’s treatment of this app and its developer has been really shoddy–and this just continues the travesty.
By this reasoning, Safari should be rated XXX+ and locked out from just about everybody, pending FBI review. After all, it provides direct access to pornography–videos and photos–which are far more salacious and objectifying than 19th century novels!
Really liked your final paragraph. What is Apple scared of?
robinson, on July 4th, 2009 at 5:29 am
stop blaming apple for the “rating system” FUBAR.
As the Giant Sweating Monkey would declaim: the problem is with “DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS!”.
these apptards are the ones who are creating stuff that cusomers want to buy – damn those entrepreneurs!
If the devopers would just stop trying to ACTUALLY deliver “Information at Your Fingertips” (thanx alot Bill Gates for giving away yet ANOTHER idea to Steve Jobs!), then they could go back to making idiotware for symbian/palm/blackberry/broken sharp glass/whatever …
And after all, wouldnt we all really be better off going back to counting on
our fingers & toes?! –
what apple is REALLY trying to tell us with their constant clusterf*ck’s at the AppStore is that we shouldn’t be trying to read ebooks – or anything else that is going to start giving us funny ideas!
It’s for our own good really.
Be happy, Dont worry.
Zahadum, on July 4th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
What is Apple scared of? Lawsuits and the govermint. Apple has been on the losing end of each enough to know the stakes.
Danny, on July 5th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Apple has been rumored for years to working on it’s new NEWTON. An e-reader device (picture an ipod touch scaled up to 8 inches by 5) to compete with the Kindle. Rumors even have apple changing the name of it’s laptops to MacBooks to free up the name Ibook for the device. This is an obvious c**k block by apple to not undercut it’s new device by enabling e-reader apps on the AppStore. Why would you spend $400.00 on a NEW IBook tablet/e-reader when you vould spend $10 on an app that gave you the same functionality on you Iphone/Ipold touch?
Craig, on July 5th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
@Danny – If Apple’s ’scared’ of lawsuits, why the inconsistency? Stanza is 4+, despite enabling access to everything Eucalyptus can access and more modern tomes (which have more ‘edgy’ content).
@Craig – But Apple’s not blocking these apps, nor is it ‘restricting’ all of them. This one, for whatever reason, is marked 17+, but Free Books (which enables access to the same content) is 12+ and Stanza is 4+. It makes no sense at all. And it’s not like there’s really any subjectivity involved (like with some violent games/movies) – these apps provide access to the same content, but aren’t rated the same.
Craig Grannell, on July 6th, 2009 at 8:42 am
All of this would be solved by firing the policymaker who instituted this nonsense.
Think different, Apple. Fire the ‘genius’ who thought this ratings thing up.
I hate to say it, but $appl needs sjobs. For times like this. It’s happened before, it happening now, and it’ll happen again.
This isn’t the first time that Apple has had a great idea and then squandered it on internal politics or rudderless/inconsistent management.
Drunken Economist, on July 18th, 2009 at 6:48 pm