Pocket Informant for iPhone Broken, Removed from App Store, Fix Coming Very Soon [iPhone Applications]
Pocket Informant “ one of the leading PIM apps for the iPhone “ has been removed from the App Store temporarily, due to a major bug that left the app unable to launch. The app fails to launch because of a bit of code for beta expiration (on January 15, 2010) that accidentally got left in the release version.
So if you try to launch PI you should see this web page:
There is a forum thread about this at the WebIS (publisher of Pocket Informant) web site, in the Pocket Informant for iPhone section. Here ‘s an excerpt from a post by Alex Kac, WebIS ‘ CEO:
We have royally screwed up on this one guys. We had put in a long time ago a beta expiration that was accidentally built into the release version of PI and we never removed it. That is what you are seeing.
I am submitting a new build to Apple right now with this fix. I really can’t say anything to apologize more on this than writing this note. Its a royal messup on my end and a royal mistake. One of the biggest we could make. I have removed PI from sale from Apple’s site until its approved. All I can ask is for your forgiveness and understanding in this.
The update that will fix this issue is already with Apple, and ever since the beginning of the new year we ‘ve been seeing reports of Apple ‘s approval process being much quicker, so hopefully this one should be out any moment.
A few things to note about this situation:
Like many former Windows Mobile users, I ‘ve used Pocket Informant for many years. It ‘s always been a superb app, and WebIS have a deserved reputation for excellent support. Alex is known for being continually on their forums, helping to resolve issues along with the rest of his team. If any publisher deserves a bit of slack on a mistake, it is Alex and WebIS.
Sadly, this also highlights one of the areas where the App Store approvals process is badly flawed. As has so often been suggested, there needs to be some sort of separate, streamlined process for urgent updates like this one for established, trusted developers like WebIS. In this case, they ‘ve owned up to their mistake, produced a very rapid fix for it, but they have little to no control over when that fix is available to their users.
For more information on this issue, see the WebIS forum thread on it here:
http://www.pocketinformant.com/Forums/index.php?showtopic=16120
Alex has been very honest about this massive fail , good on him for that at least
Absolutely!
I have used Informant on both Windows Mobile and iPhone, and it is an excellent product. However, after this screw-up I will be even more faithful to Webis than before, for the simple reason that they have acknowledged their mistake, and taken full responsibility. How refreshing it is for someone to own up rather than passing the buck! This is the first stage of any learning or development process, and it bodes well for future Webis applications and updates.
Thank you Webis – you made my day (although i'm no longer sure which day it is)!
Let's hope that the people at Apple get their finger out.
Nicely said, and I agree. Alex and his team handled this about as well as you can possibly handle a very bad situation. Oh, and great timing on the comment – the updated version is out now in the App Store:
http://tinyurl.com/ydypzzz
Pingback: Pocket Informant for iPhone- Keeping up with a fast moving target « Just Another iPhone Blog