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Now this is an interesting bit of news: TUAW is reporting that iPhone and iPod Touch users visiting the Wolfram Alpha site are no longer getting an optimized mobile version. Instead, you’ll receive an ad encouraging you to buy the $50 Wolfram Alpha app, and once you close that ad, you’re presented with the standard version of the site.

While not completely nefarious, I’m not sure if annoying users by removing convenient functionality is the best way to convince people to buy your overpriced app. Clearly, the app was designed for academic and technical types who would have a lot of use for the computation engine, and could easily afford it. If it’s not selling well enough for them, then perhaps they should experiment with a short sale for the app to see if that spurs on more purchases.

I’m predicting that this move will likely not stand. If enough people were relying on the iPhone mobile site for Wolfram to be forced to kill it, their outcry will surely soon be heard. Let’s hope that this is a lesson future app developers don’t follow.

[Source: TUAW]