Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple, iPhone
Two views on iPhone OS and the App Store
Most of you will have heard of Fraser Speirs. He's the developer behind FlickrExport and now Exposure for iPhone.This week he's made two consecutive and interesting posts that show what it's been like to be a software developer during the first few days of the Store's operation.
In one post, he complains about the review process imposed on not just every app, but every update to every app that gets submitted to the Store. Things are not being reviewed fast enough, he says: "If Apple can't guarantee a maximum 24 hour review process, they should drop it."
In the second, Fraser reveals that Exposure has been downloaded an average of 3,200 times per day since the Store opened. It already has more users than FlickrExport for Aperture, a much older and better-established product.
"These are crazy numbers," he says. His point is simple: the iPhone as a platform is going to be huge. In fact, it's going to be "Apple's mainstream platform for 2012 and beyond." Now there's a prediction.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Virtuous said 3:24PM on 7-17-2008
Apple will sell every iPhone it can ship, especially now that it's available internationally. iPhones won't be sitting on store shelves like was the case earlier this year. The only question is how many phones can Apple produce.
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Rick said 3:27PM on 7-17-2008
2012? Is that random, or is he actually pulling it from somewhere?
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SubGenius said 3:30PM on 7-17-2008
You don't want to know.
Galley said 3:50PM on 7-17-2008
That's when the world is supposed to end.
http://endworld2012.com/
G said 4:45PM on 7-17-2008
Actually, it's when this particular age ends and another was thought to begin. Now it's obvious what that age will be. I, for one, welcome my new iPhone overlord.
iDev said 3:45PM on 7-17-2008
Allowing people to keep writing negative reviews while taking too much time to approve the fixes/updates is quite lame.
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Tim Dorr said 3:57PM on 7-17-2008
Well, of course the download numbers are high. It's because it's right there in front of every single customer turning on their iPhone.
Makes me wonder why Apple hasn't built something like this for the PC? I think it would be really cool.
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Balls said 4:11PM on 7-17-2008
I think the review process is a good idea. Cuts down on the cruft and potentially damaging apps.
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(01) said 9:22PM on 7-17-2008
I don't disagree with you, but from what I've been reading, people are having problems with app crashes, and there's definitly some...questionable apps present on the store.
I realize the store has only been live for a week, and I'm much more excited to see what's going to be coming down the pipes in 6 months or so, but there's some definite improvement that can be done (props to Apple for fixing the name-tricking in the app store so quickly).
Jeff said 4:14PM on 7-17-2008
I'd rather have a longer review process than the crap-ass Palm Conflict System Shit that I experienced for three years. They shouldn't drop it if 24 hours is not achieved. That is just silly and not thinking of the user.
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Big John said 4:19PM on 7-17-2008
Doesn't the later observation explain the former? The App Store is getting wrecked right now. Everyone wants in on the early action. Things are going to be a little backed up. Deal for a little longer, early adopters.
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dgraham said 4:24PM on 7-17-2008
You guys realize that Aperture is a prosumer tool right? It's like saying 'Oh my god! More people bought tires for Honda Civics last year than for BMWs!' There are a lot more people with iPhones than Aperture...
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Terf-Work said 12:16AM on 7-18-2008
Plus, isn't Aperture a program for macs only? There are PC and Mac users who can have iPhones. It's really not that hard to believe.
dexfx.sf said 5:38PM on 7-17-2008
I am among the happy-for-the-approval-process crowd. I was just talking with a friend about it who asked if I wasn't worried about getting malware, spyware or a virus on my phone from apps. Given the approval process, I feel confident if I download an app; sure, it might be a little buggy, but I really doubt anyone would get malware through the process.
I'm sure it's frustrating for developers to have to wait, but come on, it's better for users, and in the end, THAT is better for the developers.
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Raven Muffin said 8:54PM on 7-17-2008
I think Frasier was talking more about the review process as it applies to updates, rather than the initial app.
Generally an update is a minor tweak, so it shouldn't have to be reviewed as thoroughly as the first one.
In these early days, updates are very necessary for many apps, and developers are being frustrated that users are hassling them for not issuing them even when they have been submitted.
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ChrisAM said 3:55AM on 7-18-2008
Quote: "he complains about the review process imposed on not just every app, but every update to every app that gets submitted to the Store. Things are not being reviewed fast enough, he says: "If Apple can't guarantee a maximum 24 hour review process, they should drop it."
This guy must be living in cloud fucking cuckoo land. Name one other company who provides you a marketplace where you can submit an application and have it certified in less than a month let alone 24 hours.
Take xbox live or PSN for example. code is submitted and even once the final builds are submitted they stay on partnernet for weeks, if not months, until they are certified.
At the rate applications are submitted to apple you would expect the turnaround time to be quite extensive considering that they will have to check various things, language, copyright infringement etc etc before allowing the application to hit the store.
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James Donevan said 7:09AM on 7-18-2008
Speirs' comment on a 24 hour review turnaround is nonsense and marks him as incredibly naive.
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Unregistered said 1:47AM on 7-20-2008
I agree with comments 10, 14, 17. I would rather put up with a delay caused by the review than to have malicious code snuck in under the guise of an update (international dialer, anyone?). I bet if Apple didn't review the updates throughly and some major outbreak happened due to users all updating to a malicious app, there'd be plenty of cries for blood.
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