Clips

Dear Apple, we get that you're taking away our almost naughty iPhone apps, but why are you denying us the iTouch My Friends app? There's no violence, no sexual content, and nothing sexy other than silly avatars getting dressed up.

You can see a demo of what the iTouch My Friends app does with our very own John Herrman as the guinea pig right below. Note that the developers have actually removed any references to alcohol in an attempt to get the app approved:

<!-- videoId: 28tKarvCvS8 --> newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/28tKarvCvS8&hl=en&fs=1&fmt=22","customParams":[],"width":500,"height":412,"ratio":0.824,"flashData":"","embedName":null,"objectId":null,"noEmbed":false,"source":"youtube"} ); <!-- /videoId: 28tKarvCvS8 -->

In essence you're just making goofy animated videos using your friends' faces—not really different from another app which lets you push similar avatars down stairs. There doesn't seem to be any objectionable content in the app, but this is what the developers encountered while going through the approval process:

We never offered sexual content as part of the iTouch My Friends experience, so we set to work stripping all content from the app that was violent or referenced alcohol. We removed a number of props, effects and movies (including bottles of beer, samurai swords and the vomit effect) that seemed to be against the policy. We added replacement props and movies featuring dances and superhero themes, and resubmitted the application on February 2.

<!-- videoId: oiCrlwzTpkM --> newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/oiCrlwzTpkM&hl=en&fs=1&fmt=22","customParams":[],"width":500,"height":412,"ratio":0.824,"flashData":"","embedName":null,"objectId":null,"noEmbed":false,"source":"youtube"} ); <!-- /videoId: oiCrlwzTpkM --> I love little birds. They are so cute. And they taste delicious and crunchy fried in beer batter. If you want them to wake you up, however, try BirdBox.

BirdBox is a $12.75 bedside bird home with a matching free application that turns your iPhone or iPod touch into a cuckoo alarm clock. You know, because nothing says good morning like "the sound and sight of nesting birds" eating regurgitated bugs and worms. [Luckybite via Boing Boing]

<!-- videoId: gcvN-eVfR4s --> newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/gcvN-eVfR4s&hl=en&fs=1&fmt=22","customParams":[],"width":500,"height":412,"ratio":0.824,"flashData":"","embedName":null,"objectId":null,"noEmbed":false,"source":"youtube"} ); <!-- /videoId: gcvN-eVfR4s --> Since not everyone has the space and pesos to build a full-size home theater, here's an option that only requires an iPhone and the space of a shoe box. Which—in New York—means half of your apartment. [Thanks Gary!]

Meet David Fermin, a pro MMA fighter who apparently forgets that he has an iPhone in his pocket when he swings from pipes, eight feet off the ground. Yeah, his iPhone takes a fall. No, there's no gadget gore.

Whether this clip is staged or not, I just plain want to know why David didn't choose something safer-looking than those pipes for his exercises. They look ready to join the iPhone and its case in clattering to the ground.