Top 10 IPhone Apps that Could Land You in Hot Water

iPhone applications are proliferating like rabbits, but not all of them are great. In fact some can get you into trouble.

By Michael Cooney, NetworkWorld

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IPhone Apps to Avoid (Maybe)

Here we take a look at 10 recent iPhone applications that might land you in a place you don't want to be.

Illegal

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley created an iPhone app that lets the device control a squadron of unmanned aircraft. Thing is, it's illegal, according to the Wired blog and the iPhone Software Developer Kit agreement: "...applications may not be designed or marketed for real-time route guidance; automatic or autonomous control of vehicles, aircraft, or other mechanical devices..."

Silly

File this on under "Just silly." Folks running the Sydney rail system CityRail didn't take too kindly to software developer Alvin Singh developing the Transit Sydney app that shows train and ferry timetable based on CityRail's fixed schedules. CityRail said the application amounted to copyright infringement.

Profanity?

What killed the South Park app for your iPhone? Well, it wasn't a copyright issue, Apple said; it was a profanity issue. You still could get in HR hot water with the app in the future, though, as Apple told South Park Studios their app may work out as standards evolve. C'mon, guys -- it's 2009! I thought Apple was supposed to be cutting edge.

Copyright?

OK, this one isn't cutting edge -- rather it was cutting, um…. Well, it's iFart. And this can get you into trouble any number of ways – for example, I am thinking as a high school class clown the iFart would be an indispensible way to get sent to the principal's office every hour. Anyway, iFart is now brawling with Pull My Finger for iPhone fart sounding dominance and copyright issues.

Bad Rep

Card counting is a no-no in Las Vegas and now it seems if you show up with your iPhone and the card-counting app, well, you could be directed to the door. The app with the bad reputation is Blackjack Card Counter, which sells for $1.99 in Apple's App Store.

Objectionable Content

OK, this one is just silly, but one could see how some folks could get upset at it. Apple said iBoobs represented "objectionable content." Your HR department at work would agree.

Copyright Violation

Jailbreak! Applying software to your iPhone that breaks it free from Apple's application clutches is a violation of copyright laws, Apple says. But that hasn't prevented a whole new industry of renegade jailbreak stores from popping up.

Connectivity

iPhones are trouble for at least some university networks, or at least that's what it appears. The latest: Princeton University users of Apple iPhones, iPod Touches as well as Macintosh PCs are being plagued with Wi-Fi connectivity issues on the campus network. Duke reported similar problems in 2007.

Potential Worry

The iPhone as any sort of major system controller seems like trouble wafting to happen to me. For example, the iPhone apps that can be used as an airplane altimeter and as a way to control a car. Just sounds like potential worry.