Apple bans Page 3 from iPhone app

An iPhone newspaper browsing application that saw The Sun banned by Apple because of its Page 3 content could be granted a reprieve - thanks to the impending release of firmware version 3.0.

The 59p Newspaper(s) app was approved for sale by Apple last week. It lets iPhone or iPod Touch owners read from a selection of "the 50 best" national and international papers.

The Sun was originally intended to be one of those 50, but its presence was “removed by Apple”, according to the developer, Makayama Media. Apparently, the Mac maker did not feel the tabloid’s infamous topless shots of buxom blondes and brunettes to be appropriate for iPhone owners.

When Apple announced last week that downloads from its App Store has topped one billion, it confirmed that “the iPhone OS 3.0 release will also add... expanded parental controls for apps”.

It transpires that Apple told Makayama that it “would be appropriate to resubmit your application for review once this feature is available”, allowing punters to decide for themselves what content they see in their papers.

So the assumption is that if The Sun makes it into Newspaper(s) as a result of firmware version 3.0’s expanded parental controls then the floodgates will swing open for more people to submit raunchy iPhone apps. ®