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App Store: I'm out

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Re: App Store: I'm out

#31

Post by dcurtis »

curiousgeorge wrote: post #18
liscio wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple has other evangelists on the payroll already. Some examples: User Interface, Graphics and Media, Developer Tools, Frameworks. These evangelists have often helped developers shed more light on bugs against Mac OS X which are blocking the shipping of apps. Also, they're often a great first-line contact at Apple for getting help from Apple's engineers outside of WWDC. To get an additional App Store contact that co…

I know of applications that have been rejected not because they sucked, but because they were similar to ones that already existed. It's bad for long-term innovation, but maybe it's good for the platform by not confusing users. I personally feel it's legitimate for open platforms to arbitrarily restrict default visibility, but not for them to restrict distribution.

Wow, I wasn't aware that they were denying apps that are "similar" to other apps already approved. That eliminates the evolution that comes with capitalism. Very bad.

Re: App Store: I'm out

#33

Post by carterschonwald »

axod wrote: post #29

This is getting a little boring. Obviously Apple are going to reject apps that are a little too close to their existing apps, or might cause offense, or dumb down their product. They built it, they own the ecosystem, so they get to decide. Don't like it? Write a webapp instead.

I agree, complaining about it won't change it unless apple has a genuine economic incentive.

personally, I don't see whats particularly troublesome about the current policy. Granted, I'm focusing moreso on cooking up apps that are genuinely distinct in functionality to minimize the need to focus on marketing to begin with.

Re: App Store: I'm out

#34

Post by shimi »

andreyf wrote: post #26
samwise wrote: post #12

Their tune will change in a couple months when android comes out.

A friend who played with the new Android device say that there's no way it's comparable to the iPhone... but yes, this one device isn't what Android is about.

I played with both.

Android looks like a serious threat. The big question is how will google treat the Android developers.

Phone vendors don't like developers massing around with their devices, users do like it.

The vendor that will reach the finish line first will be the one that will produce a stable product with a solid API where 3rd party software won't damage the phone performance.

If my theory is correct at the moment RIM (Blackberry) are in front.

Re: App Store: I'm out

#36

Post by netcan »

axod wrote: post #29

This is getting a little boring. Obviously Apple are going to reject apps that are a little too close to their existing apps, or might cause offense, or dumb down their product. They built it, they own the ecosystem, so they get to decide. Don't like it? Write a webapp instead.

I'm not so sure. I think it is substantial. Duplicating the devices' core functionalities could be a substantial area of development.

It was never 100% clear that Apple would bar that. It still isn't.

Re: App Store: I'm out

#37

Post by henning »

axod wrote: post #29

This is getting a little boring. Obviously Apple are going to reject apps that are a little too close to their existing apps, or might cause offense, or dumb down their product. They built it, they own the ecosystem, so they get to decide. Don't like it? Write a webapp instead.

That's stupid. If someone makes a better podcatcher than Apple for the iPhone, the iPhone does podcasting better than before which sells more iPhones, which makes Apple richer. I don't see why it's such a threat.

Any time you implement a feature for a product you have to do it in a way that can't possibly please everyone. If you let your developers implement alternative versions, it's conceivable you could get close to pleasing everyone, which makes your product better because it then covers obscure use cases that you can't afford to deal with. It becomes as if third parties are developing the product for you for free.

Re: App Store: I'm out

#38

Post by netcan »

benjamincanfly wrote: post #10
jmtame wrote: post #5

After the first paragraph of reading this, all I could think of was "holy crap, this person has really just written every excuse in the book NOT to write iPhone apps." There are a million excuses to not diet and exercise, to not do a startup, and to not do anything in life. Your job as an entrepreneur is to work around the obstacles. Give Apple an app that they can't afford to reject. Don't do anything stupid that wo…

You have a great go-get-'em attitude, but the issue isn't remotely similar to the question of whether or not to diet and exercise. It's more like, "Should I spend huge amounts of time and effort on diet and exercise in order to enter this bodybuilding competition, only to be disqualified at the last minute because I look too much like the competition judge's nephew?"

There is a bit of truth in it. Not necessarily the comparison to a diet, but still.

Becoming indignant & saying 'I'm out' is not useful. There's a potential snag here. It is a man made snag that's unfair, unreasonable or whatever. But that doesn't mean the opportunity isn't there. It's not really more of a reason not to develop then any other reason that isn't unfair: too hard, too much competition, etc. The only difference is emotional.

Re: App Store: I'm out

#39

Post by benjamincanfly »

netcan wrote: post #38
benjamincanfly wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have a great go-get-'em attitude, but the issue isn't remotely similar to the question of whether or not to diet and exercise. It's more like, "Should I spend huge amounts of time and effort on diet and exercise in order to enter this bodybuilding competition, only to be disqualified at the last minute because I look too much like the competition judge's nephew?"

There is a bit of truth in it. Not necessarily the comparison to a diet, but still. Becoming indignant & saying 'I'm out' is not useful. There's a potential snag here. It is a man made snag that's unfair , unreasonable or whatever. But that doesn't mean the opportunity isn't there. It's not really more of a reason not to develop then any other reason that isn't unfair: too hard, too much competition, etc. The only di…

The difference is that it's unpredictable, based on Apple's whims. If they said "Hey, here is a list of apps we won't accept from third party developers because we consider them to be competitive," that would be one thing. But as it stands, we don't even know where the line in the sand is, because the line is based on Apple's best interests, not those of the developers. Dozens of developers have released apps that duplicate (and improve upon) the functionality of the built-in Notes app, but when someone writes an app for podcast streaming (which the iPhone does not already offer, but which I'm sure they're planning on adding eventually), Apple nixes it. It's not just difficult, it's demoralizing.

Re: App Store: I'm out

#40

Post by rokhayakebe »

martythemaniak wrote: post #27
rokhayakebe wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is not apple. The problem is the entire mobile industry About 5 years ago I set out to do my first mobile startup. Using RSS to SMS to provide near real time traffic updates. In the beginning the problem was to get a shortcode and SMS gateway provider. No possible way for a startup with little money to directly hook to the carrier gateway. Then I said forget it, let's morphe it a bit and distribute games…

This is a critical point that too many people here miss. If Apple wants its phone to be a "smartphone" and compete against another smartphones, then it will be compared to its current peers, NOT against cheapo feature phones and definitely not feature phones from 5 years ago. When you do start comparing the iPhone to its current competitors, none of what you said makes sense. To go over it quickly. -You can use SMS g…

In simple words. There is no standard in the mobile industry for application developers. You have to tackle iphone and bb differetnly. You have to tackle ATT and Verizon differently.

My point is not that Apple is more open than others. That still does not make it standard.

Yes you can build apps that polls a server etc..., but again when building apps, there is no standard. Iphone apps do not work on Symbian phones. What kind of open is that?

BB is not truly open either. Maybe this has changed by now, but we could not get to collect SMS. How open is that?

The point I am trying to make is that developers should not be suprised where there apps are shut down by the SMS gateway provider, or the carrier, or Apple, or BB, or ......

Developers should focus on applications that they can write once and can deploy everywhere.

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