"Apple has a majority of the market share in smart phone app sales."
Uh, no they don't. They provide the store for the aforementioned sales. They provide the market. That's different from being the dominant player in it.
It's amusing, how all of you are failing to define Apple's monopoly.
The app is widgety. Sorry dev, you should have known the risk you were running.
Like screensavers, photo frame apps are widgety. The same thing goes for dashboard apps. A photo frame with a dashboard? That's double-widgety! What was the dev expecting?
Apple wants to own their UI. That's their area, and they don't want 3rd party devs crowding it. Hopefully they can do a better job communicating the difference between widgets and legitimate apps.
It's better that Apple kill the app early, than let it linger on. It makes their position clearer to other devs, who will hopefully avoid making the same mistake. It also spares the dev from sinking more time and energy into his dead-end.
This is the App Store, folks. Where the money happens. Apple owns the game; you have to think hard about their interests and point of view. They're trying to steer the ship in a certain direction, and you need to do your best to understand where it's going.
The written policies can only go so far, because this market is more dynamic than their rule makers can keep up with. With the app approval process, Apple is trying to implement their platform marketing strategy at the ground level--app by app. That's not freakin' easy, folks. Think about it.
If Apple had a monopoly, they could sit back and relax, and let their app market sort itself out. But no, competition is fierce. To survive, they must take the product to the next level. Make it more perfect, more marketable than the competition. That's why they're worrying over these app approvals. They're proactively managing the developer base, to keep them in line with their marketing strategy.
Whine if you want to. But the dev had a point: the Android market is just not there yet, revenue-wise. Maybe it will get there next year, or the year after. Maybe. In the mean time, smart money is on iPhone OS.
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"Apple has a majority of the market share in smart phone app sales." Uh, no they don't. They provide the store for the aforementioned sales. They provide the market. That's different from being the dominant player in it. It's amusing, how all of you are failing to define Apple's monopoly.
The app is widgety. Sorry dev, you should have known the risk you were running. Like screensavers, photo frame apps are widgety. The same thing goes for dashboard apps. A photo frame with a dashboard? That's double-widgety! What was the dev expecting? Apple wants to own their UI. That's their area, and they don't want 3rd party devs crowding it. Hopefully they can do a better job communicating the difference between widgets and legitimate apps. It's better that Apple kill the app early, than let it linger on. It makes their position clearer to other devs, who will hopefully avoid making the same mistake. It also spares the dev from sinking more time and energy into his dead-end. This is the App Store, folks. Where the money happens. Apple owns the game; you have to think hard about their interests and point of view. They're trying to steer the ship in a certain direction, and you need to do your best to understand where it's going. The written policies can only go so far, because this market is more dynamic than their rule makers can keep up with. With the app approval process, Apple is trying to implement their platform marketing strategy at the ground level--app by app. That's not freakin' easy, folks. Think about it. If Apple had a monopoly, they could sit back and relax, and let their app market sort itself out. But no, competition is fierce. To survive, they must take the product to the next level. Make it more perfect, more marketable than the competition. That's why they're worrying over these app approvals. They're proactively managing the developer base, to keep them in line with their marketing strategy. Whine if you want to. But the dev had a point: the Android market is just not there yet, revenue-wise. Maybe it will get there next year, or the year after. Maybe. In the mean time, smart money is on iPhone OS.