Apple Wants Android Mention Deleted from App Store Entry

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screengrab-flash-of-genius

It is pretty clear Apple has declared a silent war on Google. CEO Steve Jobs allegedly has mocked the Mountain View, Calif. company’s well-known “Do No Evil” mantra and even blames the Internet giant for trying to “kill” Cupertino’s iconic iPhone. However, that animosity appears to have spilled over into Apple’s iPhone App Store approval process. Apple asked a developer to delete mention Google’s Android in an application’s description.

In an email to the developer of “Flash of Genius: SAT Vocab” developer Tim Novikoff, Apple wrote “it would be appropriate to remove ‘Finalist in Google’s Android Developer’s Challenge!’ from the application’s description.

Apple wrote that the edit was required to “avoid an interruption in the availability” of the flash card application.

The note from Apple said the app’s description, which also includes other usual promotional material, “contains inappropriate or irrelevant information.” However, the company is likely not objecting to the developer mentioning inclusions in Newsday or various iPhone design books.


After removing the offending Google Android mention, Novikoff said he plans to contact Apple about a way to mention his top 10 finish in the Android developer contest while not raising any red flags.

The Android Marketplace is the App Store’s nearest competitor, with at least 20,000 apps. Apple recently announced it had passed the 3 billion App Store download mark.

[Via Silicon Alley Insider and Flash of Genius Blog]

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