iPhoney

In late 2009, Swavv iPhone Applications, developer of apps such as Beer Pong and a spin-the-bottle type program, released an app called 'iDroid'.

Now for those of you that don't know, the Motorola Droid is one of the closest competitors to the iPhone. In some cases, it's better than the iPhone. It has a touch screen as well as a sliding QWERTY keyboard which makes texting heaps easier as well as the ability to run multiple programs at once. This is because it runs on Google's Android operating system.



So, in the eyes of an iPhone user, when you see an app called 'iDroid', you would think it would be an app that perhaps enhances your iPhone to be able to do things that a Droid would do. Well, you, kind sir or ma'am, win the prize of being absolutely wrong.

The app looked like this:



Now, when you poked the glowy red eye, did a bright blinding light consume the entire room, and your iPhone magically change into Rosie, the robot maid from The Jetsons? Nope.

A list of bullet points appeared listing superior features that the Motorola Droid possessed compared to the iPhone.

The most useful app in iPhone history? Probably not.

Now, I can't find whether or not Motorola was directly involved with this as a marketing ploy but that's for sure what it was. It was sneaky, snarky and left Apple feeling violated and cold.

Because of this, the app was obviously rejected. It never made it into the store and no one ever got to see it first-hand. You would think this was a failure but it really didn't matter whether or not it was released. People are talking about it. TALKING. That is all you can ask for. It is being written about in blogs and being discussed within technology communites. Sure, if it somehow managed to get approved and distributed among iPhone users, it would have furthered the reach and impact it had, but it still was successful in the respect it became a topic to discuss.

I don't think this information would change existing iPhone users minds, seeing as they've already payed however much it is to purchase the iPhone along with their contract. But, it could be a big decision maker and perhaps the deal breaker to someone who is choosing between getting and iPhone or a Droid.

So, was Apple affected negatively by this app? No. Apple iPhones really didn't take a hit by this except that they might have lost some potential users. The iDroid didn't even make it past the gatekeepers.

In Swavv's case, I'd stop this covert, infiltration business and stick with creating more useful valuable apps like Cow Tip or Monkey Stack.

'Till next time!