Virtual boobs, fart simulators, fake beer guzzlers ? I once thought these were tasteless app ideas for the iPhone. But these all look like high-brow entertainment next to an Apple-approved app called Baby Shaker.
What the Baby Shaker is all about is basically what the name implies. When the little simulated baby in the app cries, the user shakes the phone until red Xs appear over the baby's eyes, indicating that it was successfully silenced.
I don't know what's more unbelievable ? that someone had the nerve to create such a disgusting app or that Apple approved it. The company apologized for it (acknowledging that it was ?deeply offensive?) and promptly removed Baby Shaker from the App Store. But the question is, how the heck did it get accepted to begin with?
The company already had a bad rap for a questionable App Store approval process that flummoxed developers and customers alike. Now, it just seems like there's no criteria at all ? just someone back there throwing random darts at a list of candidates.
The pendulum on my love/hate relationship with Apple has definitely swung in the negative direction. In fact, I?m nearly ashamed to admit being an Apple customer ? so much so that I was tempted to turn in my iPhone over this debacle.
All this took place, oddly enough, last week, just as Apple celebrated its 1 billionth app downloaded from the App Store. Although I was previously envious of the winner, 13-year-old Connecticut native Connor Mulcahey, and his $13,000+ worth of prizes, I (almost) feel sorry for him. Instead of a fun, exciting 15 minutes of fame, his big win gets linked to a nasty situation involving simulated baby murders.
Meanwhile, plenty of other Apple-related news came through the wire over the weekend, including another rumor about iPhone coming to Verizon and two new devices that may or may not debut from the company (which I'll cover in a separate post). I do wonder if any of it was leaked intentionally from Apple's PR folks to distract from the Baby Shaker situation. If so, then it was a smart business move ? but it certainly doesn't give them any humanity points.
