RSSLatest trend: Announcing iPhone apps before they're approved
By Tim Conneally | Published August 24, 2009, 12:58 PM
Now that it's a known fact that Apple rejects something in the neighborhood of 88,000 iPhone apps a year, companies are getting wise and publicizing their applications before Apple has a chance to finish reviewing them.
RealNetworks has submitted an app for its subscription music service Rhapsody to Apple for approval. The application will let subscribers access Rhapsody's 8 million song database for streaming over EDGE/3G/Wi-Fi. Though it hasn't passed Apple's review yet, Real is already publicizing the app.
Last month, Spotify did nearly the same thing, announcing its subscription music app before it was approved or rejected by Apple.
The main difference between Spotify and Rhapsody is that the former has an offline playback mode that can cache up to 3,333 songs, Rhapsody will not support playback unless the user has a wireless connection.
Both companies could be standing on thin ice with Apple since their services compete directly with iTunes, so calling the media's attention to the situation is a defensive tactic which has already proven useful. The Federal Communications Commisson's investigation into Apple's iTunes App Store approval policy was based solely upon all the attention brought to the rejection of the Google Voice app.
apple definitely going to reject this app, at least the first time around.
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|I hope so.. Maybe they can get a forth Federal Investigation?
It's always fun to watch how company's get out of this stuff..
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|companies not company's
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|This is a pretty awesome strategy...making Apple look like the bad guy. Making Apple look like a big bully. Making Apple look like ... Microsoft!
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|i like this move. either apple lets the app go no problems or it forces apple to give a reason why it was rejected. and if they give a mealy mouthed legalese pr department response for rejection it will bring more heat upon them.
apple is the monopoly no one knows about because until now, they weren't large enough for people to notice. and now that they are getting noticed for all the wrong reasons with the feds taking a hard look on them, i think they are almost forced to let these apps pass. this kind of thing happens when you will not allow a second independent and supported app store to operate.
the endgame will come the second a reputable company releases an app on cydia. i hope this day comes sooner than later.
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|WOW.. they reject over 88,000 apps a year?? Thats pretty amazing amount of apps.. Why do people make apps for it to get rejected?
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|Why would apple ever allow something to complete with iTunes.. that does NOT make sense..
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|i would agree with you, but only if apple only rejected apps for violating their tos and/or had programming flaws that needed addressing and no other reason. they don't do this. they claim duplicate functionality for some apps while they let multiple apps which do the same thing to stay available. remember when opera couldn't get their browser for the iphone/touch released when they said apple claimed duplicate functionality, and then several other browsers were released by other people some time later? or when it was found out that an official google app made use of code that they were not supposed to have access to for a function that violated apples terms and the app store still let it be out anyway? apple has a serious double standard. if they applied the same standard across the board most of the people would have no problems.
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|This is dumb.
Want to compete with iTunes? Come out with something better. Work with manufacturers to get it on their phones by default.
Trying to force Apple's hand, or worse; begging the FCC to *tell* Apple what they can and cannot do with their products, is just plain absurd. Make your own phone/app store, ffs.
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|you should mail a letter or maybe just post to th eu ec about that and tell them to make there own windows 7 and that they cant tell ms what they can and cant do with there windows 7 that they make build paid for and printed lol
maybe firefox and chrome and the big O should compete on there own merits and make there own OS's to include there browers with
i hope that you can see i was joking LOL
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|Sorry, not a big letter writer. But you're more than welcome to it. ;)
Seriously: Google is already making their own OS. What's stopping Firefox and Opera from doing the same?
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|Money? Resources? Expertise in such field? Inability to compete against MS on that turf? Not a logical investment?
There are plenty of reasons why they wouldn't develop their own OS. Choose your battles.
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|@Herro
And that is Apple's fault?
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|Never said it was.
PS: Two 'e's
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