Last month, we wrote about an iPhone app getting rejected because it featured artwork of President Obama. Specifically, it was Shepard Fairey’s famous “HOPE” image of Obama that Apple found inappropriate stating that it “ridicules public figures”. Of course that’s ridiculous, and the image is hanging in the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian. And now Apple is acknowledging that the rejection was unjust.
The developer, Start Mobile, received the following email from Apple today:
After further investigation, we have decided that Start Mobile Wallpaper Gallery is in compliance with our SDK agreement & PLA. We would like to ask that you resubmit Start Mobile Wallpaper Gallery at your earliest convenience if you would still like this application considered for the App Store. Please let me know once your binary has been uploaded and I will ensure an expedited review.
Regards,
Amy
iPhone Developer Program
There are three important things to note here.
First, this is another example of Apple going back and reviewing a rejection, and realizing they made a mistake.
Second, it’s offering the wronged developers an “expedited review”. Certainly, that’s the least they can do for these developers as some have likely lost quite a bit of money due to ridiculous rejections (though this particular app is free).
Third, while we’re not entirely sure this has just started, the inclusion of App Store reviewer’s names is something that we haven’t seen in emails previously. For example, in the last round of emails Start Mobile got letting them know why their app was rejected, it was just signed “iPhone Developer Program”. Now, we get “Amy”. Of course, maybe Amy is happy to attach her name to a nice email, and perhaps names still aren’t used in rejections, but at the very least this would seem to further humanize an App Store process that has seemed to be run by random robots up until this point.
After months of ridiculous rejection after ridiculous rejection, Apple has seemingly been on a mission get clean up its act. And it has none other than Senior VP Phil Schiller leading the charge, and actually personally handling some of these corrections/misunderstandings. Apple also now has a PR team dedicated to the App Store.
Based on tips we receive, certainly some developers are still upset with the process, but we have noted that the ridiculous rejection emails have seemed to grind to a halt the past couple of weeks. All of this is a very good sign that Apple is correcting the App Store approval process problem that lingered for far too long.
Start Mobile plans to re-submit the Wallpaper Gallery app tonight, and it should be available in the App Store tomorrow, we’re told.
This changes nothing. The App Store is still a fundamentally broken beast and a victim of its own success. It lacks guidelines, rational rules, and is simultaneously the biggest mobile success and the biggest subject of Apple’s ridicule.
Until Apple can fix it, developers can get much more exposure much more quickly with other platforms (WinMo, Android, WebOS, BB) that are specifically positioning themselves as App Store alternatives without the suckage and secrecy and AT&T-network-sucking apologist dismissals.
It almost seems like they encourage worthless apps that do nothing really intriguing or bandwidth intense.
Not to mention, the whole App Store itself is a massively disorganized chaotic mess that leaves me confused and lost inside its labyrinthine structure. Hell if I’ll develop an app that takes customers 100 searches and menus to find, hidden amongst “TOP 100 HOT SINGLES” results abusing the SEO.
Yep, hop right on Android and WebOS and have, what, 2% of the audience? Even less when you take the number of Touch owners into account?
And if Android phones are so “open” when why did Gizmodo run an article just the other day on how to jailbreak (root) an Android phone?
This is really a good approach. “Humanizing” the process is the best way to sort out things. Think this is all Schiller’s work. But will they do the same to Google Voice? And are they planning to reconsider the “ridiculously” wrong decisions they made earlier?
Yes, this is indeed a great move. But how long will it take to clean up things? They have made wrong decisions after wrong decisions…how will they keep a record? Probably they are reading TC? And exploring TC archives?
They are just naming the robots and sending out the mails..
If you look at the mail it is crystal clear it is an automated mail send by robot with a name..
I start to get tired on all this Apple Store news. Ignore them. Sue them. After all do we need them?
I wii keep pay attention to app store.
“Amy” has put her name in emails since at least last July. I have one from her signed “Amy Louv”.
too little too late apple. android is where its at.
This story reminds me of that time that I punched my girlfriend and then said I was sorry.
I love Apple, and the products they make, and actually want to work their one day.
The whole App Store “fiasco” and allowing previously rejected applications to return is in my mind not caused by the developers complaints, or whining but rather the Government’s interest in the issue. Apple seems to be getting in dirtier water every day, at least with the Government, so they’re trying to clean up their act. Either way, we the consumers, win at this time.
[sarcasm] I’m sure this sudden change of heart has nothing to do with the FCC. [/sarcasm]
MG is so desperate for good news about the app store he has to play this tiny little, meaningless app approval large. This should have been cleared up a week after its initial rejection at most. Especially since the story was so widely played. You’d think it would have shamed them more quickly.
But the best is:
>the ridiculous rejection emails have seemed to grind to a halt the past couple of weeks.
Curiously, a couple weeks ago is when the FCC announced its intention to look into the app store. Not mentioning this makes him either a bad reporter or hopeless apologist.
It’s hardly a secret that MG is Apple’s fanboy extraordinaire. I agree about the “grinding to a halt” hyperbole. A while ago I stopped expecting any kind of real journalism from anything that MG craps out. It is, however, quite entertaining to read his near-religious Apple chanting.
The Apps store is a mess, In Canada we can’t even get Skype on the App Store.. Work that one out.. Apple snuggles up with Rogers and say’s we will block this so you don’t lose call revenue.
Does the word CONSUMER not mean anything to Apple.
However I still buy their products.. I must be mad.
Timely!
iPhone is very fantastic as i helps you download many things through that phone.
hmm FCC, sorry not buying into the PR they are trying to pull this is 100% to do with the FCC, nothing to do with them trying to right some wrongs…
Apple should buck up before its image is tarnished.
Half their luck! We have had an app in review for 16 WEEKS. 10 emails later and we’re none the wiser as to the issue. Meanwhile we get to watch 4 similar apps making sales a plenty.
Not that it should matter but this isn’t our first spin around the block either. We have had 2 apps in the top 20 Utilities worldwide for 6 straight months, so rightly or wrongly felt oblidged to give Apple the benefit of the doubt. But 16 WEEKS with no communication is a real slap in the face and recent responses to those that ‘go public’ kind of makes a mockery of our faith that our patience would be rewarded.
If iPhone were to support Flash (which is the industry standard for rich media on the web), loads of great apps could be created while now developers have to learn a native SDK that cannot be used anywhere else. Speaking of wasting resources …
Apple always has been xenophobic related to other platforms and technologies and I’m actually surprised there are developers going along with this sectarian policy.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Apple products, but it is high time they start to act responsibly.
I’m sorry but Jesus Christ gives Hope. Not Obama. Nor any other man/women.
Sorry to spoil this, but isn’t this image also at the heart of a copyright/fair use fight between the AP (& the photographer that shot the image) and Shepard Fairley.
Surely approving the Obama app would be lefting the app store not righting it?
I’ll get my coat.
It’s been a long time coming but it’s still welcome news.
God Bless you, Amy. :p
Freedom of speech is an important part of American life. Private entities can censor to some degree. In this case the censorship was wrong and they made it right. That’s a good thing. The fact that people would want to have Obama on their iPhone is a bad thing. It shows their lack of intelligence.
What Apple needs to do, first of all, is publish strict and LOGICAL TECHNICAL specs as to what is acceptable as an app on the iPhone.
Second, Apple needs to commit to upholding these specs in spite of any carrier influence! [If the carrier becomes Verizon, and if Apple wants to loosen the spec, tough $$$t.] Make the specs correct. Now.
Third, app censorship should not be censored for non-technical reasons! “The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen.” (Tommy Smothers)
Apple has tried to avoid politics by rejecting these types of apps, as harmless as they are. It will be very interesting to see how they handle apps that deal with other major political figures that aren’t Left wing or Democrat.
No, I’m not a conspiracy nutcase. Jobs himself admits to being Democrat leaning and it’s certainly not a leap of faith to assume that the majority of people that work in Apple (at least in California) are going to more readily identify with the Left.
So will that color their opinion of apps that are favorable to the Right? I think it will and that will be dangerous to Apple.
that is until shepard fairey finds out that start mobile is using his copy written images in there app.
I said this last time:
“paul – July 3rd, 2009 at 11:02 am PDT
It ridicules because Obama is a joke. That image has transformed into what was supposed to be a real message of hope into a ‘wink-wink, nod-nod’ message of NO hope. It’s the same effect as rolling your eyes… the ‘yeah right!’ of images.”
Man, was I ever right! Just look at the Joker poster that’s caused such a stir…
I think it’s good that they allowed it in — now more people can roll their eyes when they see it.
good job JD
You can Obama-ize-Yourself on Facebook at http://apps.fac...ma-ize-yourself. Even if this app is inspired to the work of Shepard Fairey, it is an original work!
Apple should review its response time to avoid misunderstanding.
the app was re-submitted to apple on friday morning at 8 am and went live on iTunes at 10:01.
http://itunes.c...allpaperGallery
another START MOBILE free art gallery application for the iPhone was approved with similar speed:
http://itunes.c...allpaperGallery