Apple Removes $1000 "I Am Rich" iPhone App From Store

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 8, 2008 - 9:31am.

Cupertino, Calif. - Apple (NASD: AAPL) has removed a $999.99 application for its iPhone called "I Am Rich" from its online App Store, but not before at least eight people purchased the otherwise useless application, the Los Angeles Times reported. The application's description in the store read: "The red icon on your iPhone or iPod touch always reminds you (and others when you show it to them) that you were able to afford this. It's a work of art with no hidden function at all."

"I have no idea why they did it and am not aware of any violation of the rules to sell software on the App Store," Armin Heinrich, the German programmer who developed the application, told the Times.

The application garnered about $5,600 for Heinrich and $2,400 for Apple, which takes a 30% cut of revenues from iPhone application sales.

CNET noted that other developers are unhappy with how Apple has removed their applications with no warning or explanation.

They include the developers of NetShare, which allows the iPhone to be used as a laptop modem, and BoxOffice, a movie showtimes application.

In related news, CNET reported on the launch of a Google Translate application for the iPhone. The Web-based service can translate between 24 languages.