Developers waited 2 months for green light

iPhone developer Appsfire has pulled its self-titled app from iTunes following frustrations with Apple's approval process. The original title, which helped users find other popular iPhone apps, was approved and listed last August. The company has since readied a v2.0 update, which has allegedly been awaiting approval for two months.

Appsfire founder Ouriel Ohayon has criticized Apple for failing to return phone calls to help explain the delay. Ohayon further accuses the company of intentionally delaying the process so it can keep control over the app discovery process.

"Was your intent to shut us down by playing the waiting game until the legal team had caught up? The problem remains, in fact we don’t even know what the problem might be since you are not talking to us,” Ohayon wrote.

Although several reports suggest Apple has been improving communication with developers, many of the same complaints continue to arise. Some developers suggest the SDK terms are vague and enforced arbitrarily, with certain apps left for long periods of time without an approval or rejection.

Steve Jobs, speaking at the recent D8 conference, defended the process by citing a quick turnaround time for 95 percent of apps, with most of the rejections based on bugs or violation of SDK terms. Without mentioning any specific cases, the CEO claimed that many developers are lying about circumstances surrounding app rejections. [via TechCrunch]

by MacNN Staff