Launched as an Android App, Evi made its iOS debut in Apple's App Store in mid-January. But after a little more than a month, its days may be numbered. It is certainly highly aggressive for Apple to pull an app from the store. The usual process is to reject the app (in writing) and allow the developer to fix. However, it appears Apple’s line is essentially that fixing Evi isn’t an option.
Pulling it will also leave almost 200,000 Apple users who have already purchased the app without the ability to get updates.
Evi is still up on the Apple app-store now but it’s likely it won’t be there for very long.
William Tunstall-Pedoe, CEO of Evi developer True Knowledge, told TechCrunch that he received a phone call on Friday from an Apple representative named Richard Chipman, who apparently handles some of the calls about apps on the chopping block.
Chipman reportedly told Tunstall-Pedoe that Apple was going to remove Evi from the App Store since it was too similar to Siri.
The app not surprisingly appears to violate rule number 8.3 from the App Store Review Guidelines (PDF), which states that: "Apps which appear confusingly similar to an existing Apple product or advertising theme will be rejected." Tunstall-Pedoe wasn't shy about revealing his thoughts to TechCrunch.
"I don't think it takes too much of a leap of the imagination to realize that 'confusingly similar' is code for 'competitive with,'" Tunstall-Pedoe told the site, "and that all the user and press reviews along the lines of 'now you don't need to buy a 4S--you can download Evi', 'better than Siri' etc. have resulted in a change of heart from Apple about allowing its users to get the app."
Evi has several assets. Its voice recognition is solid--it was quite adept at understanding all of my questions. It can handle math, language translations, historical facts, and a host of other tasks. You can even help the app learn by giving it a thumbs up or thumbs down, depending on how well it responds to you.
But compared with Siri, Evi does not quite compare.
Unlike Siri, Evi can't interact with your iPhone. You can't tell it to make phone calls, send e-mails, or set up an appointment. And rather than display the answers to your questions directly, it sometimes suggests a Web site where you have to hunt for the information yourself. It also misses the boat on simple questions. When I asked Evi was time it was, it directed me to a Web site for Time magazine.
Often, the app has a tough time communicating with its back end, displaying the message:
So when the app is on target, you can easily dig up a wealth of facts on history, science, travel, cooking, and a variety of other topics.
Though many users still prefer Siri overall, Evi is useful for tracking down certain information. And of course, Evi works on any iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad running iOS 4.0. So at 99 cents, it's not a bad option for iOS users who can't run Siri.
Any iPhone users who wants to give Evi a spin should probably act quickly, though, as its life on the Apple Store could soon be cut short.
Tech Crunch
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