Ripoff? Developer Pulls App, Replacement Suspiciously Similar
January 27, 2011
It happened without warning. Uncle Ernie has passed away. While the exact cause of death wasn’t announced, his autopsy revealed a failing liver and kidney, weak heart, and a black right lung. In reality, his maker simply pulled the plug.
Luckily, Uncle Ernie wasn’t a real person, but the creation of developer, Jason Heidecker. In November, he released his $.99 app, Uncle Ernie Says...
With the app, users could receive up to three messages a day from the old curmudgeon. Each one was slightly inappropriate, but all in good fun.
A few weeks ago, we told our readers about it. In fact, we said it was fun. No doubt, some bought it.
This week, Heidecker pulled the app without warning, and stopped sending the messages to existing customers. With it, customers lost $.99 on an app they used for only a few weeks.
Reaching AppAdvice by email, Heidecker said he wasn’t “invested in it’s [sic] success, and personally lost interest in it.”
Besides, according to Heidecker, less than 100 people downloaded it.
In its place, the developer has released Pocket Buddha Says…
For $.99, it sends customers daily words of wisdom. Hmm, this sounds a like like Uncle Ernie, but with less hair and a more pinkish set of lungs.
Developers have every right to pull apps. However, customers who spend money on an app don’t expect it to go away within 60 days. It doesn’t matter if 100 or 100,000 people purchased it.
In this case, pulling an app so soon raises red flags, especially when its replacement is so similar. Is Pocket Buddha Says… going to be pulled too? Of course, only after people spend $.99 on it? Makes you wonder.
For his part, Heidecker says he will issue refunds for Uncle Ernie Says... customers. All they have to do is email him at support@uncleerniesays.com. This is an appropriate move.
What do you think? Leave your comments below.
