The App Store review process is riddled with mystery. An app like Tweetie is initially banned because of a technicality while an app like Babyshaker somehow frolics into the app store unscathed. While Apple quickly rectified both of the above mentioned mistakes, it makes you wonder what sort of criteria Apple employs in making its app store decisions.
Given the large number of iPhone apps submitted to iTunes on a weekly basis, it’s understandable that Apple might only give applications a cursory glance. This type of review process, however, can easily lead to app store mistakes – some programs are wrongfully rejected while some, such as Babyshaker, are mistakenly accepted.
The following example, though, illustrates how developers can take advantage of Apple’s apparent blind eye when it comes to reviewing iPhone applications.
Recently, 3 college students created an iPhone app that essentially worked as a soundboard filled with a variety of bodily sounds. The app, which was called “CrudeBox”, employed a slimy green UI and contained sounds like “Wet Fart”, “Peeing”, and “Burp.”
The app was unceremoniously rejected by Apple, though that might also have been because a previous version of the app included a sound of a male reaching, how shall I say this, the peak of pleasure.
Nevertheless, the developers of “CrudeBox” decided to tinker with the app’s name and UI for the hell of it. They changed the name to “PrudeBox”, and in place of slimy green icons they put lovely pictures of dandelions.
The result? Acceptance into the app store!
The lesson? Apple can’t possibly give every app an in-depth review, so if your app is initially rejected, changing the name and tweaking the UI might be all that you need to get your app up and running in iTunes.
via CrunchGear
Sun, Apr 26, 2009
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