Filed under: App Store
Apple pulls Box Office from App Store
Gizmodo is reporting that Box Office, an app that gives showtimes for your area, along with movie synopses and images from RottenTomatoes.com and other online sources, has been pulled from the App Store.
Metasyntactic, the developer, claims they have received no communication from Apple on the subject, despite emailing Apple about the situation. They also say they communicate regularly with all their data providers, and none have issues with the app.
Late last week, NetShare was mysteriously yanked under the same cloud of secrecy. As we mentioned in last night's talkcast, it's clear that Apple has complete control over what you install on your iPhone or iPod touch.
Gizmodo speculates that something might be going on "under the surface -- an undiscovered security flaw, maybe."
Update: Our commenters are pointing out that this could be nothing more than a name change. The app will be called Now Playing but it doesn't appear to be available in (at least the U.S.) App Store yet. Metasyntactic also hasn't commented beyond their original confusion as to why their app was pulled.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
MadMike said 11:06AM on 8-04-2008
I don't think Apple is "removing" the application. It's either some sort of App Store flaw or Apple is removing the App because of a distribution problem and re-adds it when the problem is fixed.
Reply
What the Frack?! said 11:08AM on 8-04-2008
Hmm... I like the updated v1.2. It seems to work a lot better than the previous version.
When they pull stuff like this, what happens to the people who don't read something like TUAW and they have the pulled software?
Reply
totoro said 11:19AM on 8-04-2008
There was nothing "mysterious" about the removal of Netshare. What was "mysterious" was that it appeared (in the US store, at least) in the first place, without an accompanying tethering contract offer for the iPhone by AT&T
Reply
Duggy Brown said 11:24AM on 8-04-2008
Glad I got Netshare Friday night before it was pulled again?
Theres some rotten going on at Apples App store, all the cloak and dagger and secrecy . Somethings either broken or Apples up to something. I can see where Netshare and AT&T mite be an issue but thats about it.
Reply
Itchy Pajamas said 11:27AM on 8-04-2008
Seems odd that Box Office was pulled. It does the same thing as the Movies app, and probably others. If there's something in the code that presents a security risk, then Apple should notify the developer promptly.
Cloak-and-Dagger is not a good way to deal with all the 3rd party developers who make your business model work. (Or at least how it _should_ work, when you get your App Store and iPhone download/update software working properly!)
Reply
lali said 11:41AM on 8-04-2008
Idon't know about anybody else but that app was very buggy at first and never opened after the update was out.
I'm guessing somebody at Apple got fed up with it.
Reply
spam said 11:48AM on 8-04-2008
Same thing here... the app has never opened after the update. It immediately crashes.
nsinsinsi said 12:14PM on 8-04-2008
You have to delete it from your iPhone and then reinstall it if it was previous installed and it works like a charm. This app is magnificent.
Gates said 11:44AM on 8-04-2008
I read a comment on The iPhone Blog that BoxOffice apparently has been renamed 'Now Playing'.
http://code.google.com/p/metasyntactic/
Reply
KBeat said 11:47AM on 8-04-2008
"it's clear that Apple has complete control over what you install on your iPhone or iPod touch."
Oooo...so ominous. You just arrived at this conclusion? In other news, turns out Apple has locked the iPhone to only one carrier in the U.S.!!
Reply
ocellnuri said 11:52AM on 8-04-2008
Am I the only one that's noticed that Friend Book is missing too? Has that been looked in to?
Reply
robogobo said 11:59AM on 8-04-2008
Jailbreak! Looks like there's still good reason to keep developing apps outside of Apple's sphere of control.
Reply
KBeat said 12:02PM on 8-04-2008
No doubt, as there will be many things Apple will never allow on the iPhone. Someone is bound to be wearing a "Jailbreak if you love Porn!" T-Shirt at the next WWDC. :)
timejumperone said 1:41PM on 8-04-2008
I doubt it. Notice how slow jailbreaked apps are coming out now since App Store was released. Before App Store there were many Apps available to the jailbreaked community (and their updates); now very little.
When developers are paid for what they sell vice waiting for Users to "contribute", they are going to expend their time and resources on what brings them a steady income stream. It's human nature and capitalism.
robogobo said 2:36PM on 8-04-2008
i'd be ok with paying for them. Cmon. It's not like the app store invented paid apps.
Jackster said 12:10PM on 8-04-2008
I think the problems with the app store idea are quickly becoming clear to everyone. If Apple keeps this up then my next phone will be a Nokia.
Reply
TEG said 12:24PM on 8-04-2008
It does look like that BoxOffice has changed names to "Now Playing". There may have been an issue with the old name, as the MPAA is very anal about the usage of those words.
I don't trust the Jailbroken Applications. Whereas those that go through Apple I know won't turn my iPhone into a BOT. Also, I don't see why anyone would need to Jailbreak for Porn, most of the good stuff is in MPG or MPEG4 anyway. All we really need is another media player on the App Store, one that plays WMVs (which suck) or AVIs.
TEG
Reply
Jonathan Wise said 1:51PM on 8-04-2008
I was going to respond to this with a knee-jerk flame about how there has never been any apps in installer.app or Cydia that would do anything remotely like turning your phone into a bot, and that you can't just assume things are any safer because they've got the Apple seal of approval on them.
but then i remembered a few days ago when I installed the new Customize.app from Cydia and was shocked that it required me to register before I could swap out slider images, and subscribe to get other features.
certainly that kind of sliminess has yet to surface on the App Store. On the other hand, there are still lots of fantastic "jailbreak-only" apps that I hope get updated to 2.x...
Anonymous said 12:26PM on 8-04-2008
"As we mentioned in last night's talkcast, it's clear that Apple has complete control over what you install on your iPhone or iPod touch."
They most certainly do not. JAILBREAK. Plain and simple.
Reply
Alex said 12:28PM on 8-04-2008
How about the fact that it was simply just a bug ridden application that couldn't even launch without crashing.
I downloaded it the day it came out and use it quite extensively for a while, and after their update it has become completely worthless. Doesn't even load without crashing.
I just downloaded showtimes instead. It sounds like the developer has more than trademarks and copyright issues to deal with.
Reply