Good job!

Congrats!

Not only because molinker was a scamming developer, but also a spamming one. They were cluttering the photography category (among others) with various travel guides and apps filled with only pictures, adding up to more than 200 apps.

Great news .... and a wake up call for other developers who are doing the same thing. The whole padding the review issue has been a pet peeve of mine and I'm very happy that justice has been served! Good work!

Fantastic job SCW and Glyn. Really nice to know that you guys were able to get through to Apple on this. Amazing.

You know being the largest individual beta tester of iPhone photography apps... I have personally worked with some of the most amazingly talented developers & some not so amazing. Yet I have never had to deal with such a shady developers team as Molinker Inc has shown they are & have proven to be (NO I haven't beta tested for them but their cheating ways showed me the dark side to the iPhone game). I didn't set out to unearth such a scam, I was looking at their Night Cam app to decide wether or not I should purchase it or not. And to be honest I don't usually read many app reviews. I am a beta tester so I tend to have a good idea if an app is good or just a flash in the pan. But Molinker sure make flashy advertising when it comes to the examples of their apps. So it's really hard. But then when I see an app that at the time had only been released in the AppStore hours prior has 40-50+ FIVE Star reviews... I had to read what all the hype was about here... I mean nobody else I knew was raving about it. So after having spent some time investigating & unearthing some very blatant cheating I had to step up & bring attention to this immediately. I mean I am always looking at apps I test from a consumers point of view hoping to help a developer fulfill the customers needs. So I had to stand up for iPhone consumers everywhere & stop this very deep rooted scam from taking money out of the pockets of any potential customer, who might purchase any apps from Molinker based on a fake five star review.

I just hope nobody else is that hard up that they wish to jeopardize their reputation for momentary gain.

Take these words of advice... I will gladly Beta Test your app & help you fine tune the app & make it the best it can be. Or be forewarned that if you use any such tactic such as Molinker Inc has done to cheat the public I will bring you down !!!

Patrick (SCW)

iPhoneography: 1

Molinker: 0

Ultimately I'm glad Molinker got caught and was handled by Apple appropriately but honesly SCW I have to say your comment above smacks of a bit of self righteousness. From reading your other posts the main reason you looked into Molinker is because they turned you and a friend away when asking for promo codes multiple times.

Look I know this is coming off as a bit of a troll but I'm just trying to be straight forward so I'm not misunderstood. I understand apps cost money and getting them for free means you can provide the community more reviews. Maybe in the future the reviews can include a sentence at the end about whether or not the app was obtained free via a promo code or not.

@Anonymouse Absolutely NOT I uncovered this the day NightCam Pro was released. For I was about to buy it & as I have mentioned in a comment since I did buy it after my findings as did Glyn here too. I was quite interested in the flawless warm appeal of the Lomo photo they had as an example. I have now almost 1100 (YES one thousand, one hundred) iPhone apps. the percentage of these being freebies via a promo code etc is maybe 10-15%. The rest are all paid for out of my pocket. So that comment you made is incorrect. No Molinker has never given me a promo code nor has the majority of the developers in the AppStore yet I am still buying,Reviewing & Beta testing apps for the make them better for YOU the consumer. So with a comment like that I hope nothing I promote interests you & you buy the opposite!

SCW

For what it's worth, I agree with Anonymouse about declarations of promo codes from reviewers, as well as involvement in beta testing. For example, everyone was raving about Retro Camera and now it's an "avoid for now" app because no one noticed the low res when they were testing it. How many people excitedly bought it as soon as it came out on the strength of the hype from beta testers and videos?

At least the developer has the grace to produce a free app though, kudos to him. If more developers did this, some of the pirating community would stay legal I'm sure. As it is, cracked apps give an opportunity to trial an app first, then buy if you like.

Other than that, it's a matter of writing style and personal preference, some people can write engagingly, some find it more difficult. The true test of an app's capabilities is in the strength of the photos they produce. For this, I for one rely more on some superb iphoneographers who credit their photos with the apps they use, whilst not overdoing it with the (admittedly glorious) number of possible weird effects so that you can properly evaluate the results.

Glyn

I did indeed read your comments, but only after I had already seen the app for sale in the app store. I don't know where you stand with mentioning characteristics of apps before they come up for sale, but others had already lauded the UI and spoken about the app positively while testing, so I don't see why a caveat can't be put out there beforehand as well.

Anyway, I wasn't casting aspersions at you, I was merely speaking up in support of Anonymouse, who made some good points politely in my opinion, and was being somewhat lambasted, again just my opinion.

@smudge I personally didn't out right say it has low res at first for the simple fact & many others (Glyn included) can backup is that I tried endlessly to convince the developer to NOT release this version & that it MUST support full resolution saves. But even after testing 2 different beta version & the first being rejected by Apple. Again I sent many emails again stating perfect let's get this to a full res app & then resubmit. But unfortunately the developer isn't easily persuaded & as many Japanese developers & users think tiny easy to share photo options are best & I for one might even be more outspoken than Glyn when I say... NO Full Resolution is a MUST! So when the app was released Glyn & myself were not even told & found out for our selves when we too saw it's release in the AppStore. BUT on that day when I announced & promoted the app I posted the following as well.

QUOTE:
Now I had yet to mention before But... Everything about this app(s) screams F'n awesome! The UI is bar none the best I have seen in a photography app (BC) got nothing on this UI. The filters, textures & frames etc all are absolutely brilliantly done. It honestly just kills me to announce that be for warned it's a low resolution app 320x480.

Please in the KINDDEST way let the developer know that you want a FULL RESOLUTION Retro Camera App & that a tiny screen sized photo of 320x480 will not be acceptable.

All the hard work gone into this app just seems entirely wasted on such low res.

Please though be kind for the developer is a very nice man & just needs to see that updating it's resolution is what is best for this app.

Thank you
END QUOTE

So nowhere was I being deceiving at all I actually went above & beyond trying to get the developer to see the light so to speak. As well made him aware that he will possibly have tons of complaints, negative review & poor ratings due to this major flaw in it's low resolution.

So I am not sure where you seem to have been misled but you might have followed the wrong story. As well like you said you purchased it prior to seeing even Glyn's review stating low res... nuff said.

SCW

*sigh*

never mind.

as a matter of fact I haven't bought the app. But I suspect others did, being unaware of your reservations.

I still stand in defence of Anonymouse and his opinion. Which is what this was all about originally.

PWND!

i meant PWND as in "iphoneography PWND molinker"

@scw while I appreciate all the work you do for consumers, I too also noticed all the 5 star reviews which led me to to believe something was wrong. We all are not close to Glyn or have access to bigwigs at Apple therefore, had an average Joe Blow made a complaint it may have slipped thru the cracks. I am literally dripping with sweat from all the hot air blown my way. OK we get you have 1100 apps. We get you beta test. But to be the self proclaimed largest beta tester is like saying Kathy Ireland is a super model. Come on!!!! Your reviews in the App Store reek of day old fish. They could all be a little less wordy and more to the point. Even Glyn's reviews on this blog are simple and to the point. I am in no way saying that your reviews are false. I just believe they are a little full of yourself and your newfound iphoneography knowledge. Every good app can not be "stellar". I totally agree with anonymouse, lose a bit of the self righteousness and your hard work will be appreciated a little more.

I am just glad that a cheater got caught. No reason to skewer each other, I think scw statements were more of giving a background of himself and less about tooting his own horn. Although I would be proud if I uncovered a massive scale scam.

I think the full res debate is cultural as much as it is ease of use for the user. Overseas it seems that quickly and easily sending a little snapshot is what the market wants. We here in the US have not had the ability to send MMS messages for 2 years. So the majority of my photos were archived. I also come from a photography background so I, like many other serious photographers, I want every pixel I shoot in the finished product. The lowly little iPhone is the camera I use most. I can produce images in a restaurant as easy as going home to dl, process, and all that. On the other hand, saving and working at full res does slow the app down a bit. That makes all the slick moving/looking apps loose a little luster at first glance. I for one will gladly take a little delay in saving for full res. at the least they should have the option for me to decide. The app lo-mob had one of the best ideas with this, although it is not full res. In the settings you can set the res for saving, posting, emailing. simple and brilliant.

No apps were harmed in the making of this post.

FULL DISCLOSURE

I consider scw a friend. I speak to him almost daily, He has in fact given me promo codes, as has Glyn. I feel that has not biased me in any way. I even disagreed with Glyn about a feature in his own app. I also do not like the effect of the above mentioned app lo-mob, but they did get many things right, and I am very interested in the forthcoming update.

@Glyn Please accept my apoligies

wow... interesting how everything in life gets a little off track.
@stellar... as @catmouth said & is absolutely true... I was & am giving a background about myself when stating things like that not trying to come off better than anyone. And actually I AM the "average joe" & I think Glyn would agree he is as well. I just try to surpass that & seek out ways to get things done or in this case the attention of the powers that be "Apple".
When I review an app in the AppStore which honestly is more rare than common. It is just my opinion about an app at that time. If I am very psyched about it & impressed yes "Stellar" might be used. As well 80% of reviews I have done are for Apps I personally PAID for. So I am in no way trying to make anyone think an app is better than it is at the time. Though a week later an even better app that does the same effects could just as well be released...

As well I'd like to point out that my "background" is NOT in photography. I gained all my current knowledge from Trial & Error with an iPhone & personally can't take a good photo with an average digital camera to save my life. I am all self taught & like it that way... learning is life... IMHO

No feelings were hurt nor bashed in the making of this post!

Cheers SCW