'Not Supported on This iPhone'

Don’t you just hate it when you come across an interesting (looking) app, download it, wait for it to be installed, and realize it’s not compatible with your iPhone / iPod? I know I do. A good example is Mr.Nathan Peterson’s Bluetooth Photo Share application, which, according to its maker, is compatible with every iPhone rolled out by Apple. Actually, it’s not.

Going by the app’s description, Bluetooth Photo Share (which, otherwise, should be a very handy application) works with first-generation iPhones. The requirements specifically call for "iPhone and iPod touch (2nd generation)," as well as OS 3.0. Knowing I was good for these specs, I went on and installed good-old Nathan Peterson's app on my first-generation iPhone (running OS 3.0.1).

When I tried to connect to another device via Bluetooth, it displayed the following message: "Not Supported on this iPhone." There’s a screenshot just above this paragraph depicting the particularly frustrating moment from my experience with the app. Click on it for a larger view.

Now, I’m not a developer or anything like that, but how do you craft an app knowing it’s not going to be supported on the first Apple iPhone, yet still allow it to run on that particular device model? The app basically rubs it in your face that Apple has been so ignorant as to not include Bluetooth file transfer as a standard. Even worse, how do you, as a developer, simply forget to mention this "slight" compatibility issue in your app’s description?

I would really like to say that developers should just try to be fair, or more careful, and post the restraints their apps come with, so that people like me don't waste any time downloading an app and testing it just to see it doesn't work.

I think I’ve stressed this just about enough, but I really don’t understand why Bluetooth Photo Share was not set to recognize the device type before the user attempted to show off their new handy app that allegedly allowed the iPhone to share photos with other phones. Now I'm not even sure who I'm more upset with - this developer, or Apple.

Anyway, as I was posting my negative review of the app (hitting the keys as hard as my fingers could endure), I also noticed that developers Nathan Peterson and Edwin Calo had a Bluetooth Fart app approved in the App Store. They describe it as the perfect tool to break the ice when you’re on a date. Indeed, there’s nothing better than breaking wind over an expensive bottle of Chardonnay. This should really ensure the continuity of our species, don’t you agree?