We just got a lawsuit from the iFart guys. Joel Comm, the guy who hired a developer to create iFart, has posted it to his site, blogged about it, and is generally trying to boost his apps sales from it.

I think people generally get suspicious when you’re quiet and don’t respond, so we’ll reluctantly post our side of the story here. Let me apologize in advance to the people of America for being involved in this ridiculousness!

Here’s the timeline:

1. Our app is the first one of its kind to get into the app store. An Apple rep personally called me and told me it would be first because of the hassle of the rejection. We’re happy.

2. There’s a huge rush of media attention around Apple’s acceptance of these new apps, and we happen to be at the forefront. At the height of it all, I’m interviewed on MSNBC. Strangest. 15 minutes of fame. Ever.

3. Because of the PR from the rejection, our app is downloaded over 50,000 times in less than a week, and becomes the second most popular paid app in the store. We’re floored and a bit embarrassed. We start buying gold things in anticipation of riches.

4. A friend of mine alerts me that another fart app, iFart, has been spamming him on twitter. My friend had mentioned our name on twitter, and immediately got spammed by Joel Comm saying “if you like Pull My Finger, you’ll love iFart!” We’re surprised.

5. I start looking into Joel Comm’s “marketing” and uncover some weirdness. It follows:

a. He’s spamming our friends on twitter.

b. Someone posted fake reviews on iTunes, slamming all his competition. Then, they posted fake reviews on iTunes, praising his app. To top it off, they manipulated the helpful reviews section so people would see their fake reviews first.

d. All the media buzz was about Pull My Finger, not iFart, so he issued a press release with our name in it (so it would rank high in google news). But when you clicked on OUR name in his press release, it took you to HIS site.

e. His app description page carried a quote that said “Way better than Pull My Finger!” from a website called “WorldVillage.com. This means when people searched for us in iTunes, they found him and when then they saw the quote they figured they should buy his instead of ours, based on this third party review site. He didn’t disclose that he actually owns worldvillage, and wrote the review himself.

He actually admits to doing these things on his own site, here: http://www.joelcomm.com/ifart_mobile_takes_pull_my_fin.html He doesn’t think what he did was wrong. He calls it “Guerilla Marketing.”

We just say “it stinks.”

OUR OPINION: I talked with a well known iPhone consultant about this (I’ll leave his name out, for his sake!) at MacWorld in January, and he said we should expose Joel Comm for these dirty tactics. We didn’t want to make a big deal out it, since the whole thing is so silly. He said, rightly, that it’s not just this app, but the fact that the developer is using dirty tactics to bury his competition, and that means bad things for all honest devs if it’s left undefended. It’s true… we estimate he cost us about $500K in sales. His app leapfrogged ours immediately after he started doing these things. That happened to be Christmas week. He sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of his app in the next month, in the spot he kicked us off of. We talked to our attorney, and decided to try to end this swiftly by asking for 1/10 of our estimated lost sales, plus attorney fees. $50K is about one week in the top spot in the App Store. We thought that was about right.

Hey, if Joel says that his tactics didn’t affect sales, why did he use them in the first place? And why does he claim to be an “internet marketing guru” while using tactics that he says didn’t actually do anything to us?

So, we’re very sorry this got out in the open. We sent a private letter to Joel asking him to stop, and repay us for lost sales. Now he’s made it public. Maybe making it public is another “internet marketing guerilla tactic” thingy of his. We’re just ready for Joel Comm (and every other “internet marketing guru guerilla expert buy-my-book-and-make-millions-online guy) to go away. Please.

Thank you!

If you have a bit of difficulty with the new lighter function on Pull My Finger, don’t fret. Try these things to get it to work best:

0. As with any new app, restart your phone when the app is first installed or updated.

1. You need 2 devices with noise apps installed. One of them MUST be an iPhone with a “Mic Input” to “hear” the noise. The lighter listens for a noise and explodes when it hears one. It won’t work with an iPod since there is no Mic Input. All the other functionality of PMF will work for you, however.

2. We wanted to make sure it didn’t go off at every little noise, so we made the noise “threshold” rather strong. In other words, crank the volume all the way up on the noise device, and put the speaker right next to the Mic on the iPhone with the lighter going.

3. Light the match. Wait a second or two. Play a noise into the mic.

4. If it doesn’t work, it wasn’t loud enough. Try again. Trust us, you’d rather have it exploding too little than too much. Also, please be patient, this is advanced new technology here.

5. Yes, those things above should work. Leave a comment or email us if you have problems. Enjoy!

The original Pull My Finger, now introducing a revolutionary new feature…

The flatulence revolution has begun. Our iPhones can now fart. It is truly an exciting time for technology.

But we, being pioneers in this exciting new field, asked ourselves the obvious question… “What’s Next?” Are we going to settle for apps that simply make noises? Or apps that allow you to set timed or motion sensitive sounds? Is that really all we’re looking for? The answer, of course, is a resounding “No.” So we went to back to the drawing board, and came up with something that has never before been attempted.

Sure, we added “Prank” functionality, so you can set noises to go off based on a timer or motion sensor. We even added a new “Tap Toot” prank, that shows a fake iPhone homepage and makes a noise whenever your unsuspecting victim tries to tap an icon to use the phone. Funny? Yes. Very funny indeed.

But then came the eureka moment. With all the buzz about “social networking,” we thought, what’s social about flatulence? Isn’t that kind of anti-social? Yes, it is, unless you find yourself at a unique social gathering, where the men gather in flatulence comparison, and the greatest noisemaker reigns supreme. And at these gatherings, when the excitement reaches a fever pitch, what happens next?

Someone pulls out a lighter.

Friends, allow us to electronically pull out a lighter.

Yes, it’s true. Now, with Pull My Finger, Professional Edition, you can enter “Light” mode. A simple, unassuming match will adorn the screen. Flick the match to light it, and a single flame flickers innocently. But ask a friend to launch a fart app on his phone (compatible with all fart apps, not just PMF… even iFart Mobile), and make a noise. Then delight as your match ignites into the famous blue flame of glory, and vanishes as fast as it appeared. Then, reflect in wonder as you realize the history that has just been made. We will look back on this moment as a landmark in our time. You remember where you were when Kennedy was shot. You remember the moment we had our first African American president. And you will forever remember THIS moment as well. Man has just entered that moment in history where he can electronically light his own electronic farts.

Match Notes: iPod Users: All of the original functionality of Pull My FInger will work for you. In this update, you will also be able to use the prank function. However, since iPods have no mic input, it will not let you use the light function. WE REPEAT, THERE IS NO LIGHT FUNCTION FOR IPOD USERS. We understand this is simply not acceptable, but since there is no sound input for iPods, there is simply nothing we can do about it. We recommend that you write to Steve Jobs (steve@apple.com) and request mic inputs on iPods so that your device too may perform this much needed function. Thank you and goodnight.

Tips for getting it to work properly: We designed this match to work just like it would in real life. You must have a loud piece of flatulence emanating very close to the match. Far away will not do, nor will quiet noises. Crank up your other iPhone loudly, put the speaker right next to the microphone on the lighter iPhone, and Pull The Finger. Sometimes the sound is just too weak to produce a flame. Ahh, failure, just like in real life. Sometimes, however, the sound will be just right, and the match will ignite in an ever so brief flame of glory. When this happens, friend, it will all be worth it. Hint: See if it works with actual bodily noises…

Available in the App Store here.

The one, the only, the original Pull My Finger.

Featured in the LA Times, Miami Herald, MacLife’s Top 10 Apple Influencers of 2008, Wired Magazine, The Guardian UK, CNET.com, and many others. (Thanks MacRumors, Ars Technica, and all the great Mac sites and fans who believed in our grand cause!)

Hundreds of thousands of people viewed the demo. Thousands cried out for its availability in the app store. Petitions were formed. Candles were lit. And now, in Apple’s Infinite Graciousness, they have allowed it to be available to you!

Throughout the annuls of time, man (and woman, but mostly man) has used this noisome pestilence to cause laughter, shock, and awe to those in their immediate surroundings. Advances in technology brought new ways to deliver the package. The hand under the armpit was good, but the invention of rubber brought the whoopee cushion, and new heights were reached. Then came the electronic version, and the whoopee cushion was no more. However, we asked ourselves over and over, why must I always carry a phone, iPod, AND electric fart machine? Can’t something be done to converge these oft carried items?

Today, friend, innovation has struck again. Now you can have your choice of sounds with you always, waiting and ready for when the perfect moment arrives. Tap a character’s finger, and it plays a unique sound. Some people say this is no big whoopee, but we think it’s a work o fart.

Some of the features include:

- 18 high quality sounds
- 18 unique, well-designed cartoon characters
- Random Mode for when you want a nice surprise
- Chorus Mode to play a continuous loop
- Vibrates for realism! Wow!

Note: V. 1.1 is coming to the store and it fixes the sound problem a couple folks have mentioned. Sorry for the inconvenience… thanks!

Available in the App Store Here.

The simplest applications are sometimes the most useful. Not often. But sometimes.

Have you ever thought… “I wish I could write a sticky note and save it as a wallpaper”? Of course you haven’t. But now that we mention it, wouldn’t that be nice?

Just think of all the things you could use it for:

- “Front of Mind” Reminders… see it whenever you unlock your phone
- Notes to Self
- Quick shopping lists that you can view without even unlocking your phone
- Things you want to memorize
- Notes of self-encouragement
- Sappy love notes from your (geeky) spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend/significant other/better half/life partner/what have you

Also, you can email the note, assign a note to a contact and see it when they call, and do anything else you can with a photo. The possibilities are literally finite.

Proud owners of this app move through several phases:

1. 1.99 for this? It’s so simple! It should be .99 cents!
2. Hm. 1.99 isn’t so bad I guess. I’ll use it every now and then. And really, 1.99 won’t even buy a red bull, so it’s not a big deal.
3. Wow. I’m amazed at how much I am using this app! This is neat!
4. OMG!!! This is the most useful app ever! I use it more than any other app on my phone! It is so stable and the colors are pretty! I love it!

Please wait to review the app until you have reached phase 4.

For a full demo, please visit www.air-o-matic.com

*******UPDATE******* Thanks so much for all the review love! We’re glad everyone likes the idea so much!

You asked for new features and we’re listening… Version 2.0 is here (”Wow, those guys work fast!”). Included in the new version is (drumroll please):

1. Save your stickies! Yay!!!
2. Change the font style! Whoopee!
3. Change the font size! Hooray!

“What about setting the wallpaper from within the app?” you ask eagerly. Well, unfortunately Apple won’t let any 3rd party apps set wallpaper. This is the best we can do for now. We promise, cross our hearts, hope to die, stick a needle in our eye, that we’ll add it as soon as Apple lets us! Thanks again for all the love! BTW, if you cut out stars from your review because we can’t set the wallpaper from within the app will you please, in your gracious understanding of Apple’s limitations, update it with your new, heavily star-laden review? Pretty please? With a cherry on top? Thanks so much!

Ha! Check out this photo from someone who’s wanted this functionality all along!