Some guy made a program for his iPhone called "Pull My Finger" now you can guess what it does, I'm sure. He submitted it to the App Store, then was told by Apple:

"Hello Developer,

We've reviewed your application Pull My Finger. We have determined that this application is of limited utility to the broad iPhone and iPod touch user community, and will not be published to the App Store.

It may be very appropriate to share with friends and family, and we recommend you review the Ad Hoc method on the Distribution tab of the iPhone Developer Portal for details on distributing this application among a small group of people of your choosing.

Regards,

Victor Wang
Worldwide Developer Relations
Apple, Inc."

What gives Apple? When did you decide to judge what's good and bad in terms of style and taste for the App Store? There's loads of junk on the App Store, yet this well designed app is rejected, seemingly simply because it's about farting. Not cool Apple, not cool at all.

Source: MacRumors iPhone Blog: Apple Rejecting Apps Based on 'Limited Utility'

Well, there was that issue with the "I am rich" app which many of the community said it should have never made it onto the store. I think they need to give the developer an opportunity to show why it should be on the store.

Not that I've got anything against fart sounds but thank christ I say...

There's too much useless crap in there already, and it's only been 2 months. Imagine the state of it in a years time. Maybe apple's finally realised it quality over quantity.

I'm sick of sifting through page after page of crap to find something good, and the reviews don't mean squat as 9 times out of 10 they're written by people that haven't even purchased the app.

Sorry for the rant...

Its a bit difficult to really determine what a useful app is over a crap app. The $99 annual fee should be enough to deter the useless apps. It takes a bit of an effort to not only create an app but to get one onto the store is a really annoying. I'm sure it'll get better

Maybe not. It only takes 150 people or so to buy your 99c app to get your money back. Everything else is profit afterwards, so your crappy app makes some cash. Not being able to try and buy makes a big difference here, as people are likely to plonk down a couple of bucks to try it out. If its crap, they have only lost a couple of dollars. The fly by night developer wins though :-)

pull my finger, nice one Beavis. about as useful as the airhorn one i loaded up the otherday,

Who needs a fart app when you can just blow it out you'r arse,baked beans anyone?

If only they did that more often.

I think Apple are in a very difficult situation. There's some apps they're definitely going to have to block (porn, profanity), but they've been letting through some crap too. Damned if they do, damned if they don't.

I'm not upset at all that this guy's stupid joke hasn't polluted the store further.

Would be good if Apple would have some sort of credibility status in terms of the apps. All new developers should probably be put into one side of the app store, and only be allowed into the other side if they meet certain criterias.

May be he will put it up on Android Market as google will not be so restrictive.

Booo! I'd love a fart app. Can't beat a bit of toilet humour!

I think the issue here is not that Apple decided this wasn't good enough for their store.

The issue is: Developers have NO way apart from Ad Hoc which is a pain in the ass, to distribute this stuff, and Apple made NO mention of the fact they will be vetting apps for "limited utility".

Developers could work months on an app, which they find useful and helpful, only to find that Apple is closed minded, ignorant and doesn't understand the target audience.

Apple needs to develop a "terms of sale on App Store" and say "This is what makes Apps unsellable on our store."

Developers have no protection from the wrath of iTunes management because there is simply no way around them.

If Apple are going to be controlling, up themselves bastards like this, then they should shut their mouths, and treat developers with just an ounce of respect. This is simply pathetic.

As I'm sure was the case with this app

You never know... it could have been a new developer that didn't understand how to do things well...

is it fair to do this to them? They could get crushed and not develop again...

Oh, and the farts? Well, they are useful. Their like nipples... why did God make men with nipples? We don't know, but they must be important for some reason :S

Why did God make farts? We don't know but they must be important for some reason...

Why do farts smell?

So that the hearing impaired can enjoy them as well.

For those of you that share my deep appreciation for the ancient art of recreational farting or just have children in your lives here is a great site-

MISTER NICE HANDS .COM

I would love to have this on the iphone.

How many bible readers and tip calculators does Apple think we need?
And yet no fart generators, tethering apps, or TomTom, poor form form Apple, poor form.