Martin Gordon's Blog

I am now a proud member of the elite group of developers who have had applications rejected from the iPhone App Store.

The application I have been working on since a few weeks after the SDK came out is Flickup, a simple Flickr uploader. When Apple announced the July 7th deadline, I pulled an all-nighter that day to finish it up and submitted the app to Apple around 6am in order to meet the 3pm deadline for inclusion in the App Store at launch. When the App Store is launched on Thursday/Friday, my app is nowhere to be found and the status remains "In Review". I sent an email on Saturday to Apple asking why Flickup was still in review and I received a non-response three days later telling me that "In Review" means my application is being reviewed by Apple. I responded immediately clarifying my inquiry and I finally received this response yesterday:

At this time, Flickup cannot be posted to the App Store because it does not allow the user to logout or change the Flickr account that they are using.

In order for your application to be reconsidered for the App Store, please resolve this issue and upload your new binary to iTunes Connect.

This is a perfectly valid critique, and an oversight on my part, but did it really take them two weeks to tell me about it? Would they have even told me had I not emailed them about my app's status? In any case, the time it took to get a decision on Flickup gave me time to fix some bugs, and of course add the required logout functionality.

As an aside, the Flickr Authentication API's Implementation Guidelines merely states, "Users must be provided with 'logout' functionality." The API documentation does not provide any way to revoke tokens and log users out. I had to resort to directing users to their revoke permissions page instead.

In the mean time, the App Store turned one week old and gripes about the review functionality sprouted everywhere, particularly with regard to the ability for people to review an app without actually having used it. This "feature" of the App Store prompted the cheapskates out there to use reviews as a medium to complain about price. Taking this to heart, I spent some time last week preparing a demo version of Flickup that would allow people to sample the app before dropping two Washingtons on the full version. I submitted the demo version on Friday and received a decision today:

Flickup Demo cannot be posted to the App Store because it is a beta or feature-limited version. Any reference to demo or beta needs to be removed from the binary and metadata. Free or "Lite" versions are acceptable, however the application must be a fully functional app and cannot reference features that are not implemented or up-sell to the full version.

In spite of the lightning fast turnaround time, I am still just as angry about this rejection than the last one since there was no prior warning (in program agreements or otherwise) that demo versions would not be allowed. It's hard to believe that Apple isn't aware that people are crying out for demos and trials; going as far as explicitly prohibiting them (while letting all other sorts of crap through) is nothing short of infuriating.

Technorati Tags: iPhone, iPhone SDK, App Store, Apple, Flickup

It always infuriates me when large tech blogs have seemingly innocuous posts on how to get "free" applications or violate EULAs (like CrunchGear did back when Leopard was released by telling advising readers to split a copy of the OS to get it for half off).

It happened again yesterday when Lifehacker linked to an article instructing users on how to get the apps included in the iPod touch's $20 January update for free. Whether or not you agree with Apple's decision to charge $20 for apps that came for "free" on the iPhone, stealing the apps is wrong. If you don't feel $20 is worth it, you aren't entitled to get the apps for free. It's as simple as that.

Technorati Tags: Lifehacker, software piracy, stealing, Apple, iPhone, iPod touch

With 100,000 iPhone SDK downloads, the relative simplicity of the platform and the popularity of the iPhone, there's no doubt we'll be seeing tons of iPhone applications being released as soon as the App Store goes live. But will those apps be any good?

Brent Simmons, author of NetNewsWire, thinks we'll see a ton of to-do lists and Twitter clients. He's right: Apple has failed to provide a to-do list app for iPhone OS (or Mac OS X, for that matter) and people have complained about it since June 29, 2007. Twitter is also the love du jour of techies everywhere and an iPhone app would be much better than the web interface (look no further than Iconfactory's Twitterrific on the desktop for proof). I am personally working on an app that combines the two ;-)

Brent also thinks that the money is in the Cloud. He states that standalone iPhone apps are easy and cheap enough to write and too boring to use. The most interesting apps will be those that sync to the cloud. It's the development, maintenance and scaling of the server apps that will be expensive, and that's where he sees much of the iFund money going. Time to become an expert on NSURLConnection!

I can't help but agree. One app I'm working for will tie into a web app we've written internally - the API isn't currently there, but it will be. Blossom (as we call it) won't be the most revolutionary iPhone app out there, but it is a good testing ground for client-server iPhone apps. I've got ideas for other apps too, and the thing they have in common is that they all tie back into the Cloud. The 1st iPhone "SDK" (web apps) was far from perfect, but if it did anything, it helped developers focus their attention on where it should be - the Cloud.

Technorati Tags: iPhone, iPhone SDK, Apple, iPhone OS, Cloud, cloud computing, Cocoa Touch, development, Brent Simmons, NewsGator, NetNewsWire

The MacBook Air is selling well, Ars Technica reports, with many stores reporting stock shortages and long lead times.

As Railsdaddy David Heinemeier Hansson mentions, this probably comes as a surprise to geeks all over the blogosphere, who were largely focused on the shortcomings of the tech specs - the relatively slow processor, shortage of ports, etc, and not focusing enough on the design and feel of it. Whether it takes 20 minutes or 30 minutes to convert a movie to iPod format is largely irrelevant, what is more noticeable (and therefore more important) is the general feeling of delight (or despair) one feels when using any device. Remember the awe people experienced when flicking images back and forth on the iPhone? Similar experiences abound on the MacBook Air - the feeling of not feeling like you're carrying a laptop, the feeling of not feeling like there's a computer under your keyboard - these are the specs, emotional specs, if you will, that are causing people to buy MacBooks Air. Indeed, the MacBook Air is just another in the long list of examples that prove that Apple is destroying the competition when it comes to emotional specs.

Technorati Tags: Apple, MacBook, MacBook Air, emotional specs, tech specs, design

In a stealth update this morning, Apple introduced new models of the iPhone and iPod touch with increased storage. Both lines received new models priced at $499, the new iPhone having 16GB of storage (double the previously available 8GB) and the new iPod touch having 32GB of storage (double the previously available max of 16GB). None of the other specifications have changed.

Introducing new models with increased storage space seems like a logical move on Apple's part. The new models have practically no R&D costs and might bump up demand for the devices while Apple prepares the 2nd generation iPhone, which many speculate will be released this summer. Of course, Apple hopes that the 8GB iPhone will go the way of the 4GB iPhone. That is, that almost everyone will be willing to spend the extra $100 to double the capacity of their phones.

Something interesting to note is that the iPod touch now has the same storage capacity as the low-end 5G iPods that were discontinued last September (albeit at double the price) and that the price points and storage amounts echo that of the 3rd generation iPods, which came in at 10/15/30 GB for $299-$399. Given another doubling of storage and the iPod touch will be closing in on the iPod classic's storage capacity. Meanwhile, Apple has kept around the $299 8GB iPod touch, most likely in an effort to hit all types of iPod buyers and signaling that the touch is definitely set to become the mainstream iPod sooner or later.

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPod, iPhone, iPod touch

I was planning on writing about the Apple TV that I'm planning on buying soon, but instead I got caught up on iPhone Web Clips. Right after I installed the new iPhone update, I went to add my three favorite mobile sites, Twitter, Google Reader, and Facebook to my home screen. Suffice it to say that I was pretty disappointed when the three icons looked like white squares with some specks of dirt, thanks to their mobile-optimized design. I tried for about 10 minutes to come up with a way to write a page that will prepend the icon link to the mobile sites and give me custom icons, but nothing came out of that exercise.

Today, I came across a post by Paul Robinson linking to a solution to this by Matt McInerney. The solution is rather simple, and involves a few lines of Javascript to redirect visitors to the intended site after 2 seconds, enough time to hit the "+" button in MobileSafari and bookmark the page. I created pages for the three sites noted above, bookmarked them and then changed the redirect timeout to 0 seconds and voila, custom icons!

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPhone, Web Clips, Mobile Safari, JavaScript, redirect

Enabling third-party applications on your iPhone has never been easier. Just visit jailbreakme.com on your iPhone/iPod touch (hereafter "iPhone"), and thanks to a TIFF exploit in MobileSafari, the website will jailbreak the phone and install Installer.app. As an added bonus, the process will patch the exploit it used to hack your iPhone in the first place. And who said all hackers were bad?

Technorati Tags: iPhone, jailbreak, TIFF, exploit, Safari, iPod touch, hack

From the Apple Hot News weblog (for lack of a better term):

Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February.

I knew this had to come eventually, it was just a matter of when. The timing of a February launch is a bit strange only because a demo of the SDK (Software Development Kit) at January's consumer-oriented Macworld is inevitable. What was Apple's reason for waiting so long?

We are working on an advanced system which will offer developers broad access to natively program the iPhone’s amazing software platform while at the same time protecting users from malicious programs.

I don't think needing to digitally sign every app is in all parties' best interests. Developers have another hurdle to cross to get apps out there, Apple needs to expend resources validating every app, and consumers lose out due to both of these additional costs. I don't see Apple blocking out unsigned apps completely, and I don't want responsibility to be placed on users to determine the safety of an app. Instead, I think we'll see Apple restricting what APIs an application has access to based on their signed status. This could be an extension of the new Sandboxing feature in Leopard:

Sandboxing
Enjoy a higher level of protection. Sandboxing prevents hackers from hijacking applications to run their own code by making sure applications only do what they’re intended to do. It restricts an application’s file access, network access, and ability to launch other applications. Many Leopard applications — such as Bonjour, Quick Look, and the Spotlight indexer — are sandboxed so hackers can’t exploit them.

The news item is short on details, so all we can do is speculate at this point. What is certain, however, is that this is undoubtedly good news, and the first good press the iPhone has gotten in a while.

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPhone, SDK, development, open, sandbox

Erica Sadun, TUAW's resident iPhone hacker/developer, reports on the difficulty of jailbreaking the new iPod touch. An iPhone update is expected sometime soon to add iTunes WiFi Store functionality, most likely a few of the UI niceties present on the iPod touch, and hopefully some long awaited applications (Tasks and iChat, I'm looking at you).

If the iPod touch's (or perhaps OS X 1.1's) ability to be jailbroken is any indication, then iPhone owners should enjoy their third-party apps while they can. Now, there may be a technical reason for the new sync scheme that prevents jailbreak, but a more likely culprit is a political reason: AT&T is upset. First, by introducing the iPod touch, Apple offers a way to bypass a cell contract for those wanting most (but not all) of the iPhone's features. Second, Apple's inability to keep the iPhone locked down for any significant amount of time (whether intentional or not) has paved the way for software unlocking, providing yet another way to get iPhone features without an AT&T contract. Depending on how large a fee (if any) Apple collects from AT&T for new iPhone contracts, Apple is largely indifferent as to whether they sell an iPod touch or an iPhone. It is unlikely that Apple would lock down the touch but not the iPhone and it's not unreasonable to conclude that our time spent sipping on Cocoa will soon come to an end.

Technorati Tags: iPhone, iPod touch, jailbreak, OS X, unlock, hack, Apple, AT&T

Less than a day since Steve Jobs announced that the iPhone would drop $200 to $399, Steve himself has posted an open letter to iPhone customers in which he states that Apple has decided "to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store."

This is an excellent move by Apple and quite possibly the best way they could have handled the PR nightmare that would have been the 250-500 thousand $599 iPhone owners. While it's not exactly $100 in my pocket, it is exactly $100 more than I would have expected to receive. Store credit doesn't cost Apple as much as face value, but it goes a long way to satisfy those customers that felt wronged (again, I don't consider myself in that group). In addition to the PR boost, Apple could also benefit from the incremental sales this $100 store credit would generate. As a prime example, I was looking to sell my iMac in anticipation of the refresh and to take advantage of the free iPod deal. Not having easily found a buyer and realizing that I didn't really need a new iMac, I gave up on the refresh. This newly-found $100, however, might just be enough to relight that fire under me and get me to buy a new iMac: Apple wins.

I applaud you, Apple. With actions like these, you will no doubt win many customers for life as you won me so long ago.

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPhone, price cut, Steve Jobs, open letter, Apple Store, PR