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Author of I Am Rich iPhone App Sold Eight Copies

Friday, August 8th, 2008 at 2:35 PM - by

The author of the infamous "I am Rich" iPhone app has reported that he sold eight copies before it was yanked by Apple, according to the L.A. Times on Thursday.

The German developer, Armin Heinrich, put the I Am Rich app on the App Store for the highest amount allowed, US$999.99.The app does nothing and is apparently harmless. However, it did include a "secret mantra." All it does is prove to everyone else that the owner is rich.

I Am Rich

Mr. Heinrich reported that a total of eight people purchased the app before Apple, for no known reason, pulled it from the App Store. Six in the U.S., one in Germany, and one in France will go down in history as possibly the only elite eight to possess the iPhone app.

The total revenue for Mr. Heinrich will be US$5,600 since Apple takes 30 percent of all sales. However, the expected check from Apple, which should have arrived at the end of July, did not according to Mr. Heinrich.

"I am sure a lot more people would like to buy it -- but currently can't do so," Heinrich said in an e-mail.

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Aug 08, 2008 4:36 pm

Anyone can recreate that image, how does it prove you are rich and not just ok at Photoshop?

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TosaDeac said:

member since 05 Feb 2008 with 16 posts, unranked , send him a message or view his profile

Fri Aug 08, 2008 5:19 pm

He hasn't gotten his check because those 8 people are trying to get their money back from Apple! They probably hit BUY on accident and only will realize they did so when they see their credit card bill!

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Aug 08, 2008 6:45 pm

There's an iphone wallpaper recreation already on Flickr. "I'm Rich Bitch!"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14188575@N07/2741125654/

Apple is still trying to figure things out with the AppStore. It's so new it's like the wild west. One of the morons who bought the i am rich app is all pissed about being called an idiot. Un freakin real!

http://www.iphonesavior.com/2008/08/i-am-rich-buyer.html

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Aug 08, 2008 7:37 pm

Whoever bought that shouldn't be allowed to have children

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brett_x said:

member since 24 Jan 2006 with 322 posts, unranked , send him a message or view his profile

Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:15 am

You guys all missed the point. All it is is a status symbol. Some people do have $1000 to throw at something that will do nothing but prove they have $1000 to throw at something. This is no different than buying designer clothing. I would never spend $500 on a pair of jeans, but some people would.

I think it was ingenious for a developer to come up with the idea in the first place. If Apple allowed the App to remain on the store, this could have become a trendy status symbol.

I'm actually a bit disappointed that Apple pulled this app from the store. It goes to show that the App Store is not a free market. I can see if the application did something harmful, but it didn't. So who is Apple to judge? Should Apple also not allow people to make gold and diamond-encrusted iPhone cases? ( http://www.case-mate.com/phones/apple/golddiamondiphonecase;jsessionid=0a0016431f430ef824c4b6e140fea446efaa09fb073c.e3eSc3eMbxuPe34Pa38Ta38MaNv0 ) As long as the application was clearly described (which, admittedly, it wasn't), it should be up to the consumer to decide if it sells or not.

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