Apple has a problem. It's a problem the company has created for itself. It wants full control over all content on its portable devices, and now the company has it -- warts and all.

Apple has decided to ban "some" apps from its iPhone/iPod touch/iPad App Store and leave "some" other similar ones there for everyone to purchase. We're talking about apps that show women (and men, occasionally) in various states of undress -- mostly shots of women wearing bathing suits or underwear.

The catch here is that key word, "some". It seems that if small company made an app that allows the user to, say, wipe clean a dirty window to reveal a woman in a skimpy bikini, then that app has been removed from Apple's App Store. Same for the app that lets the user unscramble a jumbled photo of a similarly clothed actress.

On the other hand, if a large corporation produces an app for the annual Sports Illustrated "Swimsuit Issue" showing women in various poses wearing skimpy bikinis, then those kinds of apps stay. Similarly, Playboy's app featuring and endless stream of scantily clad bunnies is still sitting pretty in Apple's App Store.

You get the point? Money talks!

The man in charge of this -- or, at least, the guy taking the heat -- is Phil Schiller, Apple's Worldwide Product Manager. Schiller's is one of the names that always pop up when there's a discussion of Apple execs who would be in-line to take over if and when Steve Jobs steps down.

The New York Times quotes Schiller as saying that Apple now believes a small number of app developers have submitted work with "objectionable content." He said Apple was getting an increasing number of customer complaints from women and parents.

The Times also quotes Schiller as saying that the Sports Illustrated app was different because it comes from a "well known company, was previously published material available broadly in a well-accepted format." I'm not sure I would have taken that path, or used the term "broadly".

This is a dangerous tightrope that Apple now has to navigate. I understand that the company has to make its App Store products friendly for everyone but, at the same time, not exclude large portions of the app buying public.

This is the same Apple that, through its iTunes store, sells TV shows and gazillions of movies and videos to watch on its devices. Some of those offerings include late-night cable shows such as "Californication", "Tell Me You Love Me" and plenty more.

Then again, how about some of that "music" Apple sells that could never be played over the radio? How does Apple justify that when it's also busy banning apps with pictures of women in swimsuits?

Apple says it has parental controls in place that should keep youngsters from being able to buy and download any App Store content deemed inappropriate. So what's the problem? If that system doesn't work Apple should fix it, rather than make small app developers victims while big media companies are allowed to keep selling racy content. All of these apps in question, including those like the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit app, could be restricted to buyers of an appropriate age.

But, I also want to know about the parents' role in all of this. If they've given their youngsters an iPhone or iPod touch or plan to give them an iPad, then they have a responsibility to know what their kids are doing with those devices. They should not be able to put all the blame on Apple. If you wouldn't let your child buy inappropriate items from a local store then why would you let them do so online?

If women or anyone else, for that matter, finds these apps offensive they shouldn't buy them either.

Google seems to be taking a slightly different approach with Android applications. At least, at this point, Google is taking a hands-off approach with developers. Google doesn't screen apps beforehand but will remove offenders if they violate corporate policies. It's a similar system to YouTube's.

It should be very interesting to see how Apple continues to handle its ambiguous app policy -- and customer feedback -- going forward.

Contact Gary Krakow via email or follow @GaryKrakow on Twitter