Of Course You’ll Keep Developing For The iPhone

Developers like Frasier Speirs and Dave Winer are protesting Apple’s rejection of some iPhone applications, and saying they will no longer develop on the platform (let’s leave aside the fact that as far as I know Winer never developed for the iPhone in the first place).

The problem is that Apple rejects the applications only after they’re built and ready to roll into the app store. And recently Apple has moved beyond rejecting applications on technical grounds or simply because, in Apple’s opinion, they add no value to the community. Now Apple is explicitly rejecting applications because they are competitive with Apple applications.

So first off, I agree that it’s unacceptable for Apple to reject applications on discretionary grounds and without any “clear and unambiguous rules,” as Speirs puts it, as to what will and will not be accepted. In a happier world, developers wouldn’t waste their time building applications that can never be used by iPhone users. But none of that matters – developers will keep on building new applications even with the very real risk of rejection at the last moment hanging over their heads.  Read More

by Michael Arrington