Apple Pulls Popular French App From iTunes Store

In a swift move last week Apple pulled AppGratis from its iTunes App Store despite reports that the app was earning $1 million a month.

The app works by gathering paid apps from Apple’s app store and making them free to users for a single day. Revenue comes from a fee charged to the Apps that are featured.

According to Tech Crunch, the Paris-based developer may have run afoul of a rule Apple added to its iOS developer guidelines in October that reads: “Apps that display apps other than your own for purchase or promotion in a manner similar to or confusing with the App Store will be rejected.”

In other words, if it’s not yours, leave it alone.

The Silicon Valley Business Journal speculates that Apple may have been concerned about legal issues that could arise over the app using products from other companies or developers.

Tech Crunch reports that AppGratis, which has about 7 million users, recently closed a $13.5 million round of funding.  

Proposed ‘Spaceship’ Campus Grows More Expensive

In other Apple news, the Cupertino-based company’s plan to build a futuristic “spaceship” corporate campus is sputtering.  

Bloomberg Businessweek reports that the budget needed to build the massive four-story ring-shaped building has mushroomed from just under $3 billion in 2011 to almost $5 billion today.

As a result, Apple is working with its lead architect Foster + Partners to cut $1 billion from the budget. It also hopes to trim costs with its general contractors and subcontractors through negotiations and upcoming bids.

One of the reasons for the budget increase is that the scale of the project has changed. The building initially was designed to house about 6,000 workers. Apple now hopes to be able to accommodate 12,000 or more employees in one place.

At 2.8 million square feet, the building would be two-thirds the size of the Pentagon. It would be built on the former Hewlett Packard campus which is bounded by I-280 to the south, Wolfe Road to the west, Homestead Road to the north and North Tantau Avenue to the east.

Initial plans were to break ground for the project in 2012 and move in by the end of 2015. Instead, Bloomberg Businessweek reports the date has been pushed back to 2016.

Dubbed Apple Campus 2, the company submitted revised plans for the project to the City of Cupertino last November.  

A secret mockup?

Meanwhile, rumors abound that Apple is already building a secret mockup of part of its “spaceship” campus at a secret Cupertino location.

In a recent report, Silicon Valley Business Journal said it has photographs of the site where there is a mysterious cube structure several stories high. The structure is draped in a white tarp and access to it is restricted by a tall fence around the the site.  

SVBJ speculates that this is where engineers and contractors working with Apple are testing building techniques and materials that will be used in the final project.

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