
Bitcoin users smash their iPhones after Apple bans Blockchain from App Store - blottsie
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/bitcoin-iphone-smash-apple-blockchain/
======
nwh
This is most likely a ploy by _blockchain.info_ , if you pay attention their
app conveniently got "banned" [0] after they announced their new HTML5 wallet
service just a few days before [1]. Their app broke the rules by being on the
store in the first place, and has been untouched for years up until today? Too
coincidental.

Given the constant connection between _blockchain.info_ and Kyle Drake on
reddit and their blog, I would put money on the new _blockchain.com_ service
using at least part of his CoinPunk frontend. They're pumping it up far more
than is reasonable for something which is, after all, a competitor to their
web wallet service.

[0]:
[https://twitter.com/blockchain/status/431219726333648896](https://twitter.com/blockchain/status/431219726333648896)

[1]:
[https://twitter.com/blockchain/status/429934616082804736](https://twitter.com/blockchain/status/429934616082804736)

~~~
ivanca
You know that apple has been baning every bitcoin wallet app right?[0]

[0][http://www.pcworld.com/article/2095060/apple-removes-
blockch...](http://www.pcworld.com/article/2095060/apple-removes-blockchain-
last-bitcoin-wallet-app-from-mobile-store.html)

~~~
nwh
They always have, these just happened to slip through the net. If it were a
real effort by Apple they would have all been done simultaneously.
Blockchain.info evaded the reviewers by presenting them with a version of the
app that did not allow spending (allowed) and then changing the server behind
it to re-enable the sending features. This is certainly breaking the rules,
which is why they didn't update their app again- they knew it wouldn't work a
second time.

If it was a systematic ban, there wouldn't be some left —
[https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/coinjar-for-
iphone/id7252098...](https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/coinjar-for-
iphone/id725209873?mt=8)

> _Sadly, Coinbase, Gliph, and CoinJar have all been sacrificed on the altar
> of innovation._

Interestingly enough, nobody bothered to check this before putting it in their
blog post.

------
trekky1700
Rather than smashing $500 into oblivion, wouldn't it be better to sell it and
donate the money to some worthy cause, you'd probably be able to get better
publicity coverage for that too. I can't help but feel disgusted with people
smashing their iPhones out of rage over an app, throwing away hundreds of
dollars, while many families can't even afford to eat. Sig, first world
problems.

~~~
diydsp
Red herring fallacy. Why are you typing and reading this instead of
volunteering right now?

It's a symbolic protest. Baudrillard noted the opacity of Americans to
perceive symbolic protest. It points out that Apple will no longer have the
privilege of revenue from these particular devices.

~~~
sanswork
I think in the general population you'll find a lot more people who would be
so annoyed at the people smashing their phones that their message will be
drowned out with anyone they might possibly be trying to influence.

People won't see this and think "Apple is bad for blocking these types of
apps" they'll think "I can't believe those guys smashed perfectly good
phones!" and the message is lost.

As for the lost revenue they only revenue Apple will be losing is future
iTunes store purchases. Should they give the phone away to someone that was
going to buy one they will probably cost Apple around $300 in lost profit.
Given Apples take from the iTunes store it would take a very long time for
most users to hit that level of profit. So it's not even effective as revenue
denial.

------
coldcode
Why is this even on HN, this is a non story. What next, a story on people
tossing their phones because Flappy Bird is too hard? What Apple does or not
do when a app breaks the rules is not really hacker news I want to read and
I'm an iOS developer.

~~~
bdhe
I think you're missing the bigger picture. This is not _just_ about an app
breaking rules. It is a story about how bitcoin, something that was virtually
unheard of just a few years back, is now able to rile up people's emotions.
This points to, at least in part, how serious people are taking this thing and
raises several questions. 1) Is this something that was the doing of the
developers of the app to gain publicity? We often see stories on HN about
other apps being banned by the lines of Apple/Google and there's little
recourse but to raise a PR stink. 2) How the owners of bitcoin, and a
community like /r/bitcoin has _really vested_ interests in keeping bitcoin
popular because of how much it has become an investment vehicle over a means
of currency.

~~~
sanswork
I'd say 2 is the bigger issue. I can't say how sick I am of seeing people
recommend bitcoin as a solution for every problem when 99% of the time it will
not help at all.

"I'm having issues with chargebacks on my service, how can I lower
chargebacks?"

"Use bitcoin no chargebacks!" (Thanks, but that doesn't help with the majority
of people who want to use credit cards)

"Which cc processor should I use?"

"Use bitcoin! It has almost no cost unlike credit cards" (Thanks, but that
doesn't help my problem and you're ignoring the costs/difficulty of putting
money into and pulling money out of bitcoin).

etc, etc.

The community as a whole seems bent on spamming it everywhere at the moment
and I am seeing a lot more backlash to it in various online forums I frequent.

------
tomswartz07
> Trading in an iPhone 5 for a Nexus 5 makes little sense, economically
> speaking. Apple no longer offers the iPhone 5, but you can pick up an
> unlocked version of the 32GB model on eBay for around $500. The Nexus 5,
> which is only available in unlocked mode, will cost you $400 for the 32GB
> version.

I'm kind of confused as to what the author is trying to say by this. It seems
to say that it doesn't make sense to trade in an iPhone 5 (which doesn't do
what you want) for a Nexus 5 that is cheaper and does what you want. How does
that not make sense?

~~~
atburrow
I believe his logic is that you can sell an iPhone 5 on craiglist for $500 and
use $400 of that to buy a Nexus 5, and pocket the $100 difference. What the
author doesn't understand is that the $100 difference is what these guys are
throwing away to send a message about how they feel about the decisions Apple
has made about BTC.

~~~
gress
Which would make sense if they understood apple's decision, but since they
don't it's just a tantrum.

------
colechristensen
Apple making decisions about bitcoin apps in it's store is hacker news.
Childish smashing of iPhones is not.

~~~
1qaz2wsx3edc
Why is this silly or immature? I mean, sure it's a ploy for attention on the
issue, but a protest is not immature or silly. Can it be funny, amusing? Sure.
Childish? I think that's a stretch. This is an important point that has long
been criticized of Apple, a closed garden is not a benefit to consumers. Sure,
the quality issue will always be there, but the outcry & reparation of that
should come from the consumers, not the other way around. I'm not saying Apple
shouldn't have the ability to remove certain apps, but it certainly shouldn't
have the ability to pick & choose. Plain and simple Apple is becoming
increasingly anti-competitive.

~~~
colechristensen
Breaking something expensive when you don't get your way is the act of a
petulant child.

Detailed discussion of Apple policy is welcome, giving attention to the noise
of 'fuck Apple' and shattered iPhones is not.

The App Store is a store. Breaking things because your sense of entitlement
doesn't allow a retailer to pick what they sell is not something I, and (I
believe) the majority of HN viewers want to see.

~~~
1qaz2wsx3edc
I think you're missing the point, that they didn't break it for free, like a
child smashing their gameboy for example. The broke it explicitly for a trade
& too protest. This has little to do with entitlement.

------
LukeB_UK
Smashing your iPhone to protest Apple after they already have your money. Not
sure how this really effects Apple...

~~~
lukeschlather
Apple loses the passive revenue stream (30% of app purchases.)

~~~
meepmorp
Apple loses a teensy bit of revenue from the (perhaps) couple hundred people
who'd do this. It's a rounding error for them.

If it makes the BTC folks feel better to pitch a fit, fine, but let's not
pretend it's anything more significant than that.

------
uptownhr
The real issue is apple banning bitcoin? for what reason? Anyone know?

~~~
prezjordan
Can you make transactions from this application? My guess is that Apple wants
a cut of it.

~~~
captainmuon
Then they could just demand they get a cut of every transaction. Also, you can
do homebanking on your iPhone (I assume, I use Android), and Apple doesn't
want a cut on every wire transfer you initiate.

If I had to guess, I'd say there is just a gentlemen's agreement between the
powers that be and Apple (and other companies) to keep Bitcoin down.

~~~
threeseed
As someone mentioned above Coinjar is still available on the store.

It is far more likely that Apple simply doesn't want to be associated with
Bitcoin wallets which historically have a very high likelihood of people
losing money.

------
badman_ting
Well, I guess everyone is passionate about something.

I would submit that there are more deserving things in the world, but then
again that is true of things I care about as well.

------
TrainedMonkey
For some reason I can't keep myself from thinking this is marketing trick...

------
veritas213
"Users" Lol..1 guy threw his 3GS in the grass.

