I have a few iPhone app developer friends that have told me some interesting stories. Sometimes it is a tough struggle to get an App into the App Store… and even if they succeed, it could be removed at any time. Tracking of sales and other vital statistics have been slowly getting better and better for developers… Yet I know there is some real frustration for developers because Apple holds all of the cards.
Case in point, an app called MailWrangler. The app was written to simplify access to multiple Gmail accounts from your iPhone. Developer Angelo DiNardi has reported that Apple rejected the submission to the App Store for ‘duplicating funcionality’. This isn’t the first time the ‘duplicating functionality’ issue has come up.
In an email received by DiNardi, Apple stated: “Your application duplicates the functionality of the built-in iPhone application Mail without providing sufficient differentiation or added functionality, which will lead to user confusion.”
In reality, Apple’s response is more confusing to me than the MailWrangler app. MailWrangler does something that none of the built-in iPhone apps can do… use multiple Gmail accounts simultaneously while presenting the full Gmail features only available from the web interface. Using the built-in Mail app for the accounts denies you several of Gmail’s features. I’d say that is different enough, wouldn’t you?
Lots of other apps have been rejected for numerous reasons… My only concern is that Apple is applying their standards arbitrarily… and unevenly. The rules need to be clear cut, and I think there is some confusion out there which is causing developers continued frustration.
Read more about Angelo’s struggles here… and be sure to leave him a positive comment. App development ‘aint easy!
[Via: ARSTechnica]