Dear Steve Jobs,
First of all, let me say, I am a big fan. I was not one of the early Apple users who had an Apple product before it was “cool”, but ever since I got my Macbook over a year ago, I am now what they call a “fanboy”. I own numerous iPods and other Apple products, and I have been known to argue the point, specifically regarding the iPhone, that despite its shortcomings, it remains the most advanced mobile platform to date.
However, and I will get straight to the point, your rejection policy is starting to raise some serious questions in my mind, especially after last week’s developments. I know there is a lot of talk about Apple rejecting all sorts of apps, such as Google Talk, and some apps that were deemed inappropriate. Let me clarify off the bat that I am not one of the people who are opposed to censoring apps all together. As a mobile blogger, I use many different phones, and when accessing the Android Market, I see clearly that there is a need for some sort of filtering mechanism when it comes to approving apps. However, the big question is how far do you take it? In my opinion, Apple has taken it too far.
I am referring to an app submitted a few weeks ago to the App Store, an app that monitors phone radiation, and notifies users when they are in a place with high radiation (such as an elevator). The app is called tawkon (you might have heard about it from this post or this post or this post.) The point of the app is not to discourage consumers from using their phones, the same way a speedometer is not meant to discourage people from driving. In fact, the company who developed the app would have to be stupid to attempt and go that route. Let’s be honest, we all hear about phone radiation, we all know it exists, but none of us intend on stopping to use mobile phones. It really is very similar to driving, we all know about the dangers, but we do not stop driving as a result of these dangers. The question is, why not? The answer? Well, the reason I continue to drive is because somewhere deep down, I believe it won’t happen to me. Am I ignorant for thinking that? Not completely, because using the technology built into cars, I can ensure that I drive with the utmost levels of safety and responsibility. As a result, I significantly lower the chances of it “happening to me”.
With cellphones, the radiation is there, and we keep using our phones, why not allow people to use the phones responsibly? The name of the app is tawkon (as in “Talk On”), and from my experience, it’s name really reflects the concept of the app. As mentioned, it does not focus on the radiation in an attempt to get people to put their phones down. It monitors the level of radiation and notifies the user when to activate Bluetooth, use a speaker, turn the phone (phones emit more radiation when held horizontally), or perform any other action to reduce radiation.
As an industry leader who has made a very obvious shift in its latest line of products to becoming a “greener” company, I would expect Apple to lead the way on this issue. Not only would I expect tawkon to be approved by Apple, it would not surprise me to see tawkon in the “There’s an app for that” commercials, explaining that it is the first mobile app to offer full transparency on the issue of mobile phone radiation.
Policy reversal by Apple has happened in the past, and as a mobile user, I would expect the same to happen with any application that gives iPhone users the intellectual respect of having access to this information, and to do with it what we please. Not everyone will like it, rely on it, or use it, but give your intelligent users the choice.
It is important to note that radiation isn’t an issue limited to the iPhone, on the contrary, the iPhone actually emits relatively low radiation compared to its major competitors. Therefore, as a market leader, with a device that serves as an example to the entire smartphone market, I would expect Apple to at the very least to not hide this information from consumers.
It’s up you to you to censor harmful or inappropriate content from the app store, while empowering users with information and tools that improve our mobile lifestyle. Tawkon, in my opinion, is clearly in the latter category.
Thank you for your personal attention to this important issue,
A Responsible Mobile Phone User
I could not agree more !
Apple thinks we are stupid…
Our health isn’t even a matter for them at all, only money.
I have heard the developers are going to release an Android version too, bye bye iPhone…
This app extermination is the last straw for me !
You’ve sufficiently sung the praises of this app, but haven’t provided some essential information, such as “why” apple has rejected the app. I would suspect maybe because the app could be misleading or fraudulent. Last I checked the iPhone doesn’t have a built in radiation detector, so how does the app “detect radiation.” I don’t know why it was rejected, but I can’t condemn apple based on your arguement since we seem to be missing some major details.
Apple is evil. Get used to it! They used to be an awesome HARDWARE company, but now they are a DRM/ content provider. As soon as the iPhone came out, they cemented their move in that direction.
I agree with Jadon, why did Apple reject this app? If I came across this app in the store I’d assume it’s a scam because the iPhone doesn’t have a radiation detector the last time I checked.
Also, (sorry Brett) Apple has been a hardware AND software developer since the original Macintosh. And almost all music on iTunes is DRM free thanks to Steve Jobs (and others) pressuring the music industry (http://drp.ly/z3690).
This is such an important issue. All sell phones have to meet a certain standard for radiation output, and the info and levels can be measured in the device with software programming.
lol. The only “green” apple is concerned about is the colour of your money.
I hate Apples policies but this is a terrible example. It’s a fluff app that plays on the fears of an urban legend.
http://health.discovery.com/centers/cancer/top10myths/myth8.html
If Apple refuses to distribute, then try Cydia or Rock! I will purchase this app albeit i rather have my money going to Apple.
I love apple / mac. I’m sure they’ll reverse this policy
The author really nailed it, I was thinking the same thing !
It isn’t another boobs app, It can be a life saving app…
This is just dumb of Apple. The fact that there is so much buzz about the radiation issue (no pun intended) means that even if there really isn’t a problem, people will think that Apple has something to hide, and therefore could cause damage to Apple’s reputation. If there is a real problem, that’s even worse.
I have an iPhone, and my kids have iPods, and I have been terribly disappointed by the customer service that Apple offers. It seems to me that they are a technology company that makes amazing user interfaces, but doesn’t know how to interface with people. Sounds like they could use a lesson in reputation management.
“hilzfuld”, you need to send it (for real) to Apple !
Steve must read this…
I’ll get the housekeeping out the way, and state that this decision does not surprise me because it’s bad for business.
I have spent the last few years studying EMF, Microwaves and Radio Frequency (RF) and their effects on human health. It is from this research and my own experiences surveying the day-to-day environmental influences that we are bombarded with that I say hat’s off to Tawkon. I will fully support their applications, and anxiously anticipate they’re availability on Blackberry devices.
Back to the housekeeping bit. I really believe mobile appliances present a ripe opportunity for location-based software mapping of environmental influences such as Microwaves and RF. Perhaps even EMF. I know they will never be able to fully replace the metering equipment I currently use, however the use case of having a light-duty measurement tool on my Blackberry is quite strong given that I already carry it around with me everywhere.
To your point about Apple’s “greener” approach to manufacturing consumer electronics, I’ll link share Greenpeace’s post on the topic of the iPhone and allow you to draw your own conclusions. I certainly wouldn’t want to make it seem like Apple is the only manufacturer lagging behind – here is an interesting report on how some of the top consumer electronic manufacturers rate in this regard (make sure to see the meter graphic).
Finally, I’ll share some common sense approaches I’ve used to offset the environmental influences of the mobile devices I use. I keep my device turned off overnight. I make sure the brand or model I use has a feature to turn off the radio signal without needing to power-off the entire device – this just makes it quicker to establish a signal on the ready without the wait for a power-on boot-up.
During the day, I keep the radio signal off, and restore the radio connection on an hourly basis to check for emails/voice-mail. I use the speaker phone on the device when answering calls, and if I carry the device at the hip, the radio signal is always turned off. I don’t listen to music unless the radio signal is off as it will radiate to my ears (wired or wireless), and of course this because I’m super-cautious about any radiation referring to the noggin (and yes, I’ve tested this to confirm the assumption).
Rena’s point about reputation management is certainly one I can appreciate at a professional level, though I would ask that some thought be put toward what I described above about modifying my own phone use, and what it would mean if an application like Tawkon influenced a similar prudence and awareness en masse, and you may begin to understand my opening statement about it being bad for business.
Hat tip to hilzfuld for advancing this important discussion.
Joseph
@RepuTrack
I agree with the author, can’t see why Apple censored the App. They should let people decide for themselves if they want it.
These kind of applications definitely have a place in today’s uncertainty regarding cell phone radiation.