Dickens stopped short of calling for some sort of government oversight of the App Store or similar storefronts. "Something like this shouldn't be overly censored, but shaking a baby is definitely wrong, and it takes corporate responsibility to deal with that. I'd expect better of an organization like Apple."

Rob Enderle, an analyst at Enderle Group, said Apple has been inconsistent in how it approves the thousands of applications sold through the App Store. For example, Apple seems to oppose selling applications that undercut its ability to make money through its iTunes application, but it still has allowed a free radio service, , to be sold, he noted.

On the other hand, in another case last year, Apple from Nullriver Inc. for sharing iPhone's cellular data connection with a laptop.

In another example, Enderle noted, Apple continued to allow a "tasteless" application that created flatulence sounds "evidently because it was popular."

He added, "It's not clear to me where the bar is at Apple for applications, and that makes their decisions look very subjective, which opens the opportunity for litigation."