App Store News: Apple Clamping down on Emoji iPhone Apps; Purges Reviews Submitted by Non-Customers

In case you were not aware, for the past month or so, iPhone developers had released iPhone apps which used a loop hole in iPhone's SDK to enable Emoji emoticons which were introduced in iPhone firmware 2.2 and strangely available only to iPhone users on Japan's SoftBank network. Apple has clamped down on such iPhone apps which exploit the loop hole.

In another App Store related news, Apple has purged all reviews from the App Store submitted by non-customers.

To be honest, I first heard about Emoji icons when we had reported that Emoji icons could be one of the features in iPhone firmware 2.2 as the beta version of iPhone firmware 2.2 had revealed emoticons in a single artwork file in the UIKit.framework.

I am also quite surprised by the popularity these emoticons have gained.

Gary, from Typing Genius, e-mailed TUAW to report that Apple was clamping down on iPhone apps that were using a loop hole in iPhone's SDK to enable Emoji emoticons. According to Gary, Apple has removed Emoji-only apps such as Emotifun and iEmoji from the App Store and asked iPhone developers of apps which do more than just Emoji (like Typing Genius) to provide an Emoji free update immediately.

So if you want Emoji icons enabled on your iPhone, you should grab one these iPhone apps before they release the updated version (without Emoji) or simply use one of the tricks we had published, one trick doesn't need any hacking while the other trick needs a jailbroken iPhone.

Though Apple is quite right in clamping down on iPhone apps trying to use a loop hole in iPhone's SDK, I have been intrigued by Apple's decision to restrict Emoji emoticons only for iPhone users in Japan. Though I understand they are extremely popular in Japan, I can't understand why Apple didn't leave this feature open for everyone. Any ideas?

Apple Purges Reviews Submitted by Non-Customers:

When the App Store was first launched back in July 2008, it was possible for users to post reviews of an iPhone app even without buying the app which was raised as major concern by many iPhone developers as they felt competitors were taking advantage and gaming the system by posting bad reviews about their competitors apps.

After three months, in September 2008, Apple rolled out a change which only allowed iPhone and iPod Touch users who had bought the iPhone app a chance to post reviews.

However, as per Macworld, Apple has now taken the next step, it has recently purged all those customer reviews which were submitted by non-customers prior to the change in policy.

As a result, many iPhone developers have observed that their iPhone apps have significantly fewer reviews but in most cases with higher average rating.

I think its a good move by Apple to ensure that the reviews that are available on the App Store are more authentic though some might complain that Apple should have done it immediately after the policy change back in September 2008.

So what do you think about the Apple's decision to remove Emoji iPhone Apps? Have you bought them? Do you read the reviews on the App Store before buying an iPhone app? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

[Image via Cult of Mac]