How is it that application such as this get approved and ones such as the one Orb.com is trying to release get delayed or rejected (they’ve been waiting on approval for several weeks now)?

AND get this! 4 apps just came out in row that do the EXACT same thing! All version 1 and all but 1 is the same price! The apps are in the productivity and give users the ability to write emails in landscape mode… Mind you a good idea but I thought Apple was supposed to minimize duplicates? (*cough Sudoku *cough)

Regarding the fart application, I believe Apple was completely proper in not allowing it. As an example, 99.999% of people would consider it “rude, crude, and socially unacceptable” to sit in church at a funeral and use an application like that. It’s something you just DON’T do. Arguments about “pushing the envelope”, “cutting edge”, etc etc just don’t wash in some situations, and if Apple doesn’t want their phone to be a part of acting like that, that’s just fine with me!

Resolved: Apple is right to curate the App Store
http://counternotions.com/2008/09/15/app-store/

Apple needs to either let every app in, be obscenely selective (and consistent with what they let in or not), or preferably just allow app downloads from any Web site and leave people on their own to figure out what’s good and what’s not.

First, the App Store is the most successful software distributor in the world. The number of apps in the store is growing and growing. It started out with 500 apps, and now there are over 3,000 apps in just 2 months. It went from 30 million downloads in the first month, to 70 million downloads in the second month. Developers on-board the app store are making money. Some are making a lot of money. And the potential for making a lot of money is there.

Second, Apple has provided general criteria for approval. However, Apple also has flexibility in determining what gets approved and not. The general criteria are NOT rigid criteria. Developers are very creative. As a result, Apple has to have flexibility to meet this creativeness. The creativity of developers may, for example, results in applications which are in very bad taste, which may inadvertently cause consumer mistakes such as buying something at an excessively high price. Despite the application meeting the general criteria, Apple has the right to say the App should be disapproved.

Third, it is important for the App store to maintain fairly high quality in its App collection and consumer experience. This is a huge selling point of the App store in comparison to the experience on other platforms - such as Windows Mobile and Palm - where crap apps run amok. Apple needs flexibility in this case - over and above the general criteria - in what gets into the App store.

Fourth, Apple does not have to specify explicitly the process for its criteria over and above the general criteria. The reason is that it is taken on a case-by-case basis. It is highly subjective. And it needs to be.

Fifth, if a developer’s app is disapproved, then modify it so that it may be approved. Differentiate it from what Apple is doing. For example, there are other podcast apps available - not just the one which was disapproved. What made them different and approvable? Why not add the capacity to create your own podcast within iPhone then give it the capacity to upload it to your website. This would make it very different from what Apple is doing. What about not only being able to download a podcast, but other media - such as news video, etc. Then it would not be only a podcast app, but a general media app - such as a browser for general media. Add links to Google Video, etc. Differentiate yourself.

Sixth, the iPhone development environment is the best environment for developing mobile applications. The App store is THE best mobile application store. These are compelling reasons a developer may want to develop for the iPhone. There are tens to hundreds of thousands of iPhone developers. The current 3000 apps are just the tip of the iceberg in what the App store can become. As such, the FEW COMPLAINERS can go ahead an leave. Go ahead, develop for Windows Mobile or Palm or Nokia or Android. The one’s that are left will benefit. As a consumer and developer, I am highly satisfied what the App store. The quality of apps is amazing. I have friends who have downloaded over 100 apps. I have paid for and downloaded more than 40 apps already. This is a highly successful venture. Good riddance to those who aren’t helping the process.

However, I can understand the point of view of the serious developer - Apple must be very clear on the criteria it uses to screen apps. If Apple were to provide explicit feedback for each rejected app, then at least the developers would have a chance to remedy any problems and the community would have an understanding of what Apple was doing behind the scenes.

But I guess the Apple brand was also built with a generous helping of opaque ‘mystique’.

As for the farting app, give me a freaking break. I am GLAD Apple isn’t letting these waste-of-space apps into the app store. it’s already TOO CROWDED, especially with those damn “e-books”, and it would be far far worse if apple let the fart app through- giving a clear signal that you can do ANYTHING. That $1000 ruby app was a good example of another useless app that was rightfully pulled. In fact, I wish apple would be a lot more selective in what apps make it. I don’t want to have to download 10 different sudoku apps before finding one that’s decent, same goes for dozens of other categories.

Just my.02 of course, I don’t expect everyone to agree. Can’t please everyone all the time.