Redbox puts the kibosh on community-developed iPhone app

Davis Freeberg over at Zatz Not Funny has a detailed post this morning on the takedown of the Inside Redbox Mobile app for the iPhone, which was removed from the App Store at the request of Redbox. If you've never heard of Redbox (I hadn't myself before this morning), it runs DVD rental kiosks in hundreds of supermarkets and other retail locations -- you can walk up, rent a movie from the vending machine, and then return it to any other Redbox kiosk.

It's not 100% clear why Redbox objected to the iPhone app; could be a trademark issue, could be that the tool made it too easy to track and use free movie promo codes that ordinarily would require a bit of research. Since most of the functionality is accessible via the redbox.com site anyway, it's fair to ask why Redbox wants to make things more difficult for its customers. Perhaps the rental company has its own iPhone app planned, or it just wants to sort out a few issues with the Inside Redbox developers before giving the green light.

If you used the Inside Redbox app, let us know about your experience.