Apple criticised for arbitrarily pulling iPhone apps

If you were at the GDC Mobile conference in San Francisco earlier this year, you might've heard chairman Robert Tercek warning developers about the perils of seeing Apple as a cuddly, welcoming alternative to mobile operators.

Well, it looks like some developers are finding that out first-hand. VentureBeat has a report on an app called Box Office, which offered movie listings.

It's been pulled from the App Store seemingly without warning. Developer Cyrus Najmabadi has explained his side of the story thus:

"Apple pulled the app yesterday without giving my any notification that they were doing it, or what their justification was for removing it. I've tried to contact them about the issue, but it's been a complete dead end."

Box Office isn't the first app to be pulled in this way. Already one mobile game - Aurora Feint - has been removed from the App Store due to a security issue, which has since been corrected.

Meanwhile, 'tethering' app NetShare has been pulled down twice, causing confusion among users.

Apple is within its rights to remove apps from the App Store if they violate its terms and conditions, of course. But claims that it's happening with minimal (if any) communication with the developers involved is a concern.