Apple removes $1,000 featureless iPhone application

(Post updated at 1:04 p.m. with Heinrich's response about the validity of the negative review.)

(Post updated at 8:45 a.m. with response from Heinrich about compensation from Apple.)

Eight iPhone owners have joined an elite clan: Their Apple gadget is running a program that cost nearly $1,000.

When the iPhone first hit the market in June 2007, those who paid the $499 entry price -- and signed the two-year AT&T contract -- owned a status symbol. A year later, we have the iPhone 3G, Apple's speedier, sleeker and, most important, less expensive smart phone, which introduced a section for downloading third-party applications. Now that the phone is affordable enough for a wider audience, a new status symbol has emerged: a seemingly useless application called I Am Rich.

Its function is exactly what the name implies: to alert people that you have money in the bank. I Am Rich was available for purchase from the phone's App Store for, get this, $999.99 -- the highest amount a developer can charge through the digital retailer, said Armin Heinrich, the program's developer. Once downloaded, it doesn't do much -- a red icon sits on the iPhone home screen like any other application, with the subtext "I Am Rich." Once activated, it treats the user to a large, glowing gem (pictured above). That's about it. For a thousand dollars.

Apple apparently had some problems with I Am Rich. After initially approving it for distribution, the company has since removed it from the store. Heinrich, a German software developer, has yet to hear back from Apple concerning the removal. "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," Heinrich said in an e-mail with The Times today.

But Apple couldn't pull it down before curious aristocrats -- eight of them -- had purchased it. Six people from the United States, one from Germany and one from France dropped a grand for the gem in the first 24 hours it was available, Heinrich said. That's $5,600 in revenue for Heinrich and $2,400 for Apple, which collects 30% of each sale for "store upkeep."

In the e-mail, Heinrich said there seemed to be a market for the program. "I am sure a lot more people would like to buy it -- but currently can't do so," Heinrich said. "The App is a work of Art and included a 'secret mantra' -- that's all."

A possible explanation for its removal: A screen shot of an App Store review that has been circulating around the Web recently, showing a user's complaint that he purchased it accidentally. "I saw this app with a few friends and we jokingly clicked 'buy' thinking it was a joke, to see what would happen. ... THIS IS NO JOKE...DO NOT BUY THIS APP AND APPLE PLEASE REMOVE THIS FROM THE APP STORE," it read.

I Am Rich isn't the first software that has been removed from Apple's store. Box Office, a movie showtime resource, and NetShare, which let users connect a computer to the Internet using the iPhone's 3G wireless data service, disappeared without a trace. Apple did not respond to phone calls for comment.

UPDATED: In a follow-up e-mail, Heinrich said he had not yet received his $5,600 check from Apple, which has a policy of paying developers at the end of each calendar month. He's unsure how the app's removal will affect the payment process.

"I've got e-mails from customers telling me that they really love the app," adding that they had "no trouble spending the money," he said.

UPDATED: Heinrich confirms the validity of the review pictured in the screenshot, and Apple has refunded his and another buyer's money. "I don't want to collect money from people who did this by accident and I am glad that Apple returned the money for two orders," Heinrich said.

-- Mark Milian

Milian is an intern at latimes.com.

Images courtesy of Armin Heinrich

Comments

[Stupid Mac User]

"umm...where is the evidence that the people who bought this are mac users?"

Read the original story. "I forgot my wife had iclick activated"

[iPhone App Store: 1000 dollar App was sold 8 times]

8 individuals bought 'I am Rich before Apple pulled it off from the App Store. Todays article of latimes.com reports comments from the developer. Also read Our Most Useless App Ever post HERE. Apple apparently had some problems with I Am Rich. After initially approving it for distribution, the

"you realise that using an iphone makes you a mac user, so you can all stfu

irly !!
Posted by: aixsir |"

You're stupid fool

[asdf]

"For serial though. Those 8 people bought something useless as a status symbol and now those 8 people are the only in the world to have it. Just got a lot bigger of a status symbol than they expected/paid for."

hahahahahahhaha

[Mabus]

Yes... Another sign that the end is near.

[MacShill (Chris McCaw)]

Aw, Bill Gates or some rich celebrity should have have bought the application so it'd have at least *one* purchase. Give Steve Jobs a great big F.U.

[SoGnarly]

Where can I buy an "I am poor" program and how much would it cost? har har

[malachi pearson-mccaw]

I'm just waiting for the "smackthedeadbaby" app.

[aixsir]

" " wrote: You're stupid fool
why is that, because I use the most advanced OS that you never heard of or will come within a thousand feet of in your lifetime? or because you fail to see both the truth and sarcasm in my message. stop flame baiting kid. /im not posting anymore in this thread, subsequent posts by this name are void/

[h]

Who needs protecting from their own stupidity by a company like Apple? Do you?

Posted by: Nick | August 07, 2008 at 09:24 PM

exactly!
who buys any piece of software without at least googleing it first, especially if you're going to pay a grand for it, and _especially_ if you think its a joke.

its alll about personal responsibility
...or the lack there of.

[orangebits]

You can still get the full effect for free. Just visit http://www.orangebits.com/iamrich on your iPhone and add it to your Home Screen

[jib]

Now that no one can buy it anymore, the people who already have it can resell their phones (with I Am Rich installed) at a profit to even stupider richer people, thus proving that maybe they weren't so stupid after all. :p

[bluepuma]

We would not have gotten this comment (*SARCASM*):

"I saw this gun with a few friends and we jokingly pulled the trigger thinking it was a joke, to see what would happen. ... THIS IS NO JOKE...DO NOT PULL THE TRIGGER OF THIS GUN AND PLEASE REMOVE THIS FROM THE GUN STORE,"

[Praveen Bhat]

I think it was indeed a joke, but one that you buy for a grand. One can only hope that it was funny though!

[Hello refund]

I don't know what some of you are going on about. You can return anything these days. So what if the person bought it by accident, apple has a great return policy and AT&T nor MAC would want the bad publicity.

[orgyfinger]

1 app = $999.99 = iMconceited

[erichansa]

Some people will buy anything. Maybe there is a chance for lava lamps to make a comeback. Well, maybe not.

[Kevin]

I wonder why people are so quick to label these 8 people as stupid? Depending on their level of wealth, $1,000 may be relative to most people spending $1. Think about it: someone with a net worth of $100 (read: me) might spend $1 on an application as a joke, right? Well, that's the same as someone with a net worth of $100,000 spending $1,000 on the I Am Rich application. Maybe some of you just don't agree with spending money in order to gain status. Most people seek status through some means (their profession, their spending, even philanthropy). If you found these people, they'd probably tell you they did it for "fun." A lot of money spent for fun's sake is not exactly "well spent" (weekend in Vegas, anyone?) Anyway, I'm continually surprised how quick people are to judge and label others. More than likely, many of you probably unconsciously (or consciously!) wish you had the discretionary income to splurge so "stupidly." Cheers!

[Marcelo Pena Costa]

This is awesome.

And we see how apple is becoming a real Big Brother.
Well, we all have to agree they provided us amazing stuff with iPhone.
But everything comes at a price, I guess.
If you really look deep at it, the only big difference (despite being cheaper)
found on the 3G iPhone from the previous one are the applications.
The possibility of downloading apps. wouldn't be launched without another consumerist and epic launch from Apple. So to me, that was the real purpose of releasing this new generation of iPhones and it was what enabled the manufacturer to dramatically low the prices.

The old good Apple is dead.

[Daniel Oliveras]

Some people like to spend their money in absurd things (to the eyes of the others), 1000$ for a piece of art is not that much.

Take for example the oil “Black Square” of Kazimir Malevich

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazimir_Malevich

If the application is correctly described and the buyer is aware of what is acquiring, I see no problem. Everybody is free to spend his money on whatever they wants.

[anarkast]

I am able to purchase apps with one click if it is within a certain time limit after my last log in. This REALLY annoys me because I've ALWAYS used the shopping basket. Now I have to make a list of the apps I might want, decide which ones I can afford including checking if there is a free app that does the same thing! Then go back and purchase the ones I want! This is driving me crazy. Several times I have purchased an app to find out later there was a free equivalent (leading me to only download free apps unless absolutely necessary). I can see how you could get this app by accident. I took a look at this app on the Danish Store, after hearing about this on "digg", Yet again, I would never have clicked purchase ... but sadly, someone had to find out if it was a joke or not...

[Sachin Balagopalan]

Not so funny after all ! The guy is actually making some money after all

http://tinyurl.com/6ppvpm

[aixsir]

Nah just kidding

[tsu.R]

The iPhone is NOT a Mac, therefor an iPhone user isn't necessary a Mac(intosh) user.
The iPhone runs OS X, not Mac OS X.!

[cory]

"Six people from the United States, one from Germany and one from France dropped a grand for the gem in the first 24 hours it was available"

- i wish i had that kind of money and time on my hands to waste