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App Store Spam - 28 identical apps, one developer
21–30 of 34 posts
Re: App Store Spam - 28 identical apps, one developer
#22Apple's been fairly lax lately with its checking. A friend's game that we were able to get crashing on launch 100% of the time passed through the original submit process without a peep. The same friend, just for kicks, submitted a deliberately broken app that didn't crash but showed a blank screen after launch. It also got approved without incident. It's like Apple just ran automated tests, but no human ever saw it.…
It's hit or miss. Once I made a free app that displayed a picture of a cartoon cow and made a "Moooo" sound when you turned the phone upside down. I had a toy like that as a kid. Okay, don't judge me -- but I thought I would be a fun quick idea and any kids (and even some adults) to whom I've shown the prototype loved it. I had an artist draw the cow, and bought rights to a sound I really liked. The app was rejected…
I had a toy sheep like that as a kid, so it seems like a legitimate app to me, sorry to hear it was rejected. I noticed those fake fingerprint scanners -- at least two of which were consistently in the top 100 -- last year when I was creating an app that performs real 3D scanning. I thought "Surely if a fake fingerprint scanner is so popular, something that actually takes a 3D scan of your face would be even more popular." I was incorrect. (Though my app has done just fine -- it's just that those fake fingerprint scanners are disgustingly successful given what they are.)
Re: App Store Spam - 28 identical apps, one developer
#23I can understand how 28 identical apps does seem like overkill.
But what's the difference between this and Colgate releasing hundreds of different variations of toothpastes every year? Or Unilever utilizing multiple brand names to sell thousands of different variations of soap and shampoo. It's all pretty much the same product, just marketed differently. This is just a classic sales technique to increase sales and keep customers coming.
Re: App Store Spam - 28 identical apps, one developer
#24Apple's been fairly lax lately with its checking. A friend's game that we were able to get crashing on launch 100% of the time passed through the original submit process without a peep. The same friend, just for kicks, submitted a deliberately broken app that didn't crash but showed a blank screen after launch. It also got approved without incident. It's like Apple just ran automated tests, but no human ever saw it.…
Damn, my Nixie Clock Radio app must have hit the zealous end of the pool. I was rejected 3 times, pretty much validly really, with 6 - 10 day review cycles. Yes, it took around a month to get in and accepted, during which I removed features, simplified others, and added and added and added resilience.
On the bright-side, the app is now pretty bullet-proof, works correctly with the AV panel controls, handles interruptions tidily etc., etc.
I'm totally grateful to the App store reviewers for being such hard-asses.
Re: App Store Spam - 28 identical apps, one developer
#25Apple's been fairly lax lately with its checking. A friend's game that we were able to get crashing on launch 100% of the time passed through the original submit process without a peep. The same friend, just for kicks, submitted a deliberately broken app that didn't crash but showed a blank screen after launch. It also got approved without incident. It's like Apple just ran automated tests, but no human ever saw it.…
Which category?
Re: App Store Spam - 28 identical apps, one developer
#26It seems to me that there is a large luck factor involved. I submitted an app a month ago, and it just got approved today.
The reason for the delay?
My service is invitation only. I had a 'login' and a 'request invite' screen in the app. The 'request invite' screen accepted the email address of the user requesting the invite.
Apple said 'We do not permit invitation only apps on the app store. Please remove the request invite button'. I tried arguing with them, citing popular apps (like pinterest) which behave identically.
But to no avail. I had to remove the button before they approved the process.
Apple were really thorough. They actually logged in using the credentials I provided and played with the whole end to end service.
They even called me to explain their original rejection.
So I was both impressed by their thoroughness, and miffed by their lack of standards.
On the whole, I don't like this approval process. It seems whimsical and is not good for the small-guys: sometimes they land hard on us, or at other times let total crap in, which devalues the trust people have on non-popular apps in general.
Re: App Store Spam - 28 identical apps, one developer
#27Apple's been fairly lax lately with its checking. A friend's game that we were able to get crashing on launch 100% of the time passed through the original submit process without a peep. The same friend, just for kicks, submitted a deliberately broken app that didn't crash but showed a blank screen after launch. It also got approved without incident. It's like Apple just ran automated tests, but no human ever saw it.…
Damn, my Nixie Clock Radio app must have hit the zealous end of the pool. I was rejected 3 times, pretty much validly really, with 6 - 10 day review cycles. Yes, it took around a month to get in and accepted, during which I removed features, simplified others, and added and added and added resilience. On the bright-side, the app is now pretty bullet-proof, works correctly with the AV panel controls, handles interrupt…
I have had the exact same experience, though my rejections were more legalese like: "we don't accept invitation request screens in apps".
But it did take 3 rejections spanning a month before I got through.
Re: App Store Spam - 28 identical apps, one developer
#28To those wondering "why"? He's creating artificial crowding in a very niche market, which will ultimately deter competitors, effectively creating a monopoly for him in that niche.
Re: App Store Spam - 28 identical apps, one developer
#29Few years back, I found a bunch of News Apps from a single Developer - http://brajeshwar.posterous.com/one-devs-news-iphone-apps
Re: App Store Spam - 28 identical apps, one developer
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's hit or miss. Once I made a free app that displayed a picture of a cartoon cow and made a "Moooo" sound when you turned the phone upside down. I had a toy like that as a kid. Okay, don't judge me -- but I thought I would be a fun quick idea and any kids (and even some adults) to whom I've shown the prototype loved it. I had an artist draw the cow, and bought rights to a sound I really liked. The app was rejected…
I had a toy sheep like that as a kid, so it seems like a legitimate app to me, sorry to hear it was rejected. I noticed those fake fingerprint scanners -- at least two of which were consistently in the top 100 -- last year when I was creating an app that performs real 3D scanning. I thought "Surely if a fake fingerprint scanner is so popular, something that actually takes a 3D scan of your face would be even more pop…
I just bought your app out of curiosity. That is a very interesting concept -- would love to see how you keep innovating further! Good luck! It took a few tries/a darker room to get just the right effect. I don't actually know much about image processing -- I figured you would try to detect the face/cheeks/nose and "extrude" those when rotated, but it seems like it's doing something more sophisticated.