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Spotify Wins iPhone App Store Approval
angry tapir writes "Apple has approved a streaming music application from Spotify for use on the iPhone, even though the program will compete with Apple's own iTunes service. Spotify is an advertising-supported music service that lets end-users stream music to their computers free of charge. The service is available in the U.K. and by invitation in countries including Sweden, Norway, Finland, France and Spain. Users can opt to pay for a version of the service without ads." The BBC also has a story on the app's acceptance.
And you two are missing the point aswell. The whole story isn't about how surprised everyone are that Apple accepted it, but that spotify is now actually released for iPhone too. Stop trying to this thread into another "apple is bad, apple dont approve apps" discussion. I would a lot more like to read and discuss about the actual thing, aka spotify, here because its a great system and program.
I hope they get versions out to Windows Mobile and Symbian out soon too, would be great to listen on the road and the 3g internet is practically unlimited and cheap here.
That's not what makes this news. The fact it is competing with iTunes is simply a side issue.
What's significant is that this makes the iPhone a mobile streaming device, with access to a massive library of music. It is not an online radio station. It is having a practically unlimited choice of music available to you, anywhere. For free.
No they've just been found guilty for preventing other people's applications working EFFECTIVELY under Windows by not publishing the full APIs and thus giving themselves an unfair competitive advantage.
Different approach with the same intent.
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
Seems like whenever an story about Hulu/etc somes on all the non-USians come to complain about that.
So can I complain about it not being offered here in the states and how that's so unfair so I'll just download the stuff instead of pay for it?
Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
..._requires_ a Premium account - a normal, free account is not allowed to log in. This is all for understandable reasons relating to how Spotify, when used with a free account, enforces ads that can not be shut off or ignored.
Which I find really interesting from Apple's perspective, because
The application will be free, but will require the user to have a premium Spotify subscription, which costs £10.
means Apple wont be getting its share from the sales on the app store, because those premium subscriptions are bought directly from Spotify's site.
Personally, I think the story here is that Apple has done a 180 with this app & hope that this is a sign of things to come.
The app approval process is just broken. Way back when, Steve Jobs said that there would be limitations to the applications that would be available on the store and I can understand the reasoning as it started out; however, as of late, it's just arbitrary and capricious. It's becoming simply untenable as a development platform because the combination of seemingly arbitrary and conflicting decisions for rejection combined with the ultra slow-motion with which decisions are made -- not to mention that there is zero visibility into the approval process.
I can't run a business like that; I need to have some expectation that I'll see ROI in a reasonable time period and that Apple will act in an equitable manner regarding application submissions. My hope is that Apple is catching on to the fact that they will lose me and plenty of other developers if they don't turn the corner on the disaster that the app review process has become.
But maybe that's just wishful thinking as I head toward week 4 of waiting for my app to be approved... While developer.apple.com flaunts this in my face:
Based on the current volume of app submissions, 95% of applications are being approved within 14 days.
All while Facebook's new app gets approval in about five days...
Thanks.
Notes From Under *nix: blas.phemo.us
I see you make the Japan-fallacy again - that anyone who doesn't praise Apple must be doing so out of irrational hatred.
Are you saying that Rog7 (the poster to whom I replied) was posting a rational critique of Apple? I sure hope not because I didn't see anything remotely rational about it.
Apple is not perfect. There are many things I wish Apple did differently and I am more than fine with someone offering a legitimate and rational criticism of the company or their products. Lately, however, I've seen a growing trend of people hating on Apple because, well, that's what the cool kids are doing. No valid justification - just buying into the FUD.
Would you prefer I point out just how insincere I find it when people hate on Microsoft because they're Microsoft? I think it's the same thing - people offering no solid reason to hate a company other than it's cool to hate the company.
There are many reasons to like Apple and/or Microsoft. There are similarly many reasons to dislike Apple and/or Microsoft. Present those reasons and then a conversation can ensue.
As an example, Rog7 didn't state that he didn't like the fact that Apple has control over what apps are and are not approved on the app store - that he wished the platform was completely open so that stories like this didn't exist. That would be a stance I could understand - you dislike Apple because they aren't as open as you would like. Fine. He implied they approved the app for PR reasons (to avoid bad press) and suggested their track record for app approval was sub-par (not that he disliked _ANY_ app failing to be approved - that their track record "could be a bit better").
So, sorry, but I think those reasons for hating on Apple are irrational. There's no foundation in fact to support them. Sorry if you think that's a Japan-fallacy but it ain't.