FAST RE-REVIEW: iMiles (for conference-start deadline)
One of the recurring problems with making iPhone Apps for major brands/companies is the issue of timing. Marketing campaigns revolve around fixed dates (magazines going to print, 1-day conferences taking place, etc). Apple provides no avenues for scheduling iPhone app launches. But the authors of iMiles recently went for the tactic of, well, begging (nicely):
I eventually worked out a way and told Phil [Schiller - SVP of Marketing at Apple] what happened.
15 minutes later we received a direct response: “[...] while we don’t ordinarily approve applications out of cycle, I went ahead and reviewed your app and approved it. Good luck in the store and with the conference.”
In this case, the marketing plan was to launch the app in time for the German iPhone Dev Conference (not run by Apple). It’s perhaps surprising that Apple allowed this – the app appears to have no special relationship to the conference, it was merely bad planning by the Marketing people at the development company. However, the app was initially rejected (for the infamous private API’s, sigh) – so, arguably, Apple’s recent (unofficial!) changes to the submission process were perhaps partly to blame.
How can you plan around a process-change that Apple still hasn’t told us has happened?
Generally, this re-review reminds me of a fast review I saw earlier this year, again themed around a conference, but with a stronger justification.
It’s also worth noting that we’re now into December. Last year, Apple sped up approvals for iPhone apps during December, probably (wisely) pre-empting the seasonal surge in submissions, as devs tried to take advantage of Xmas gift iPhones/iPod Touches. So … that could have something to do with this, too.
December 6th, 2009 at 4:32 am
Are developers expected to beg corporate VPs to fast track critical releases? If that is not a glaring problem, I don’t know what is…
The fact that they had to contact a corporate VP highlights the biggest problem with the App Store review process. There is no official two-way communication channel between developers and Apple. In a normal partnership (yes, technically developers and Apple are partners as they both mutually benefit from the App Store sales), there is a two-way dialog and partners *work together* to succeed. Unfortunately, the relationship between Apple and developers is not a partnership at all.
The app submission process is essentially a one-way street: throw the app into a chute whose length can vary from 1 day to months and wait for the app to, hopefully, emerge at the other end. There is no way for developers to engage with the review team before or during the review process, there is no way to prioritize updates (e.g. critical, major, minor, etc.), in practice there is very little hope of getting responses to inquiries after a rejection, there is no way for developers to know up front whether an app is likely to be rejected, etc. In short, there is no dialog. There is no cooperation. It’s “throw the dice” and see what comes up. THAT is a major problem.