This has to do with consistency in the interface, and really has very little to do with the app store itself. Any mishaps in the experience of an app on their platform translates into a bad experience on the phone in general. How ever the icon is being used on other platforms doesn't matter because it's not associated with the experience on the iPhone platform.
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'Convertbot' App Update Rejected Over Too-Similar Time Icon
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This has to do with consistency in the interface, and really has very little to do with the app store itself. Any mishaps in the experience of an app on their platform translates into a bad experience on the phone in general. How ever the icon is being used on other platforms doesn't matter because it's not associated with the experience on the iPhone platform.
Yes, finally someone with some sanity here. The knee-jerk reaction around here will probably be a mob cry against the app store. The app store has plenty of issues, but in this particular case, their concern makes sense, and the only reason why it was okay in the past was because they hadn't noticed it.
Many people seem to love this argument; I love how stupid it is.
Only an idiot will have a poor experience with an app and blame the platform, not the developers of the app. Only an idiot, when continually confused by an icon in ConvertBot that they think is supposed to indicate history instead of time (and can't learn otherwise), will blame the iPhone instead of giving the app a poor rating and finding an alternative.
Unfortunately, these "idiots" happen to comprise a sizable portion of the users out there, and they will place blame Apple in general when an app provides a less than ideal experience. You can ignore that segment of the population entirely, but Apple doesn't seem to be interested in doing that.
people love their fabricated drama.
they're not preventing the app from being sold. they're not pulling it from the store.
they simply sent it back for a minor tweak.
Maybe they didn't catch it before. Maybe they did catch it and thought it was too minor to keep the app from being posted to the app store, thereby costing the developer money.
in this instance, the developer is not losing any money. They were simply asked to tweak the app.
And granted, there's not a lot of idiots who would confuse that icon in CB for the icon as it appears elsewhere. But when you're running a very visual platform, you want to retain distinction throughout, and consistently.
This is not a reason for an uproar.
they're not preventing the app from being sold. they're not pulling it from the store.
they simply sent it back for a minor tweak.
Maybe they didn't catch it before. Maybe they did catch it and thought it was too minor to keep the app from being posted to the app store, thereby costing the developer money.
in this instance, the developer is not losing any money. They were simply asked to tweak the app.
And granted, there's not a lot of idiots who would confuse that icon in CB for the icon as it appears elsewhere. But when you're running a very visual platform, you want to retain distinction throughout, and consistently.
This is not a reason for an uproar.
Apple Approval Absurdities
I have a similar story to tell. I've implemented a bluetooth data sharing tool for the iPhone called iSENDu (see http://www.ikangai.com and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3-9pN9E93E).
It was rejected, because trademark infringements. Apple stated that the rectangles that were used to represent iPhones looked way too much "iPhone". The "iPhones" were composed of two rectangles (a black one and a white one) with inner and outer glow.
The bizarre thing is that the application runs exclusively on iPhones and its sole purpose is the share data between iPhones... Why would anyone use a different symbol than an iPhone to represent this? And on top of that, wouldn't the use of different symbols (other than iPhones to represent iPhones) confuse the user?
I have a similar story to tell. I've implemented a bluetooth data sharing tool for the iPhone called iSENDu (see http://www.ikangai.com and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3-9pN9E93E).
It was rejected, because trademark infringements. Apple stated that the rectangles that were used to represent iPhones looked way too much "iPhone". The "iPhones" were composed of two rectangles (a black one and a white one) with inner and outer glow.
The bizarre thing is that the application runs exclusively on iPhones and its sole purpose is the share data between iPhones... Why would anyone use a different symbol than an iPhone to represent this? And on top of that, wouldn't the use of different symbols (other than iPhones to represent iPhones) confuse the user?
The App has now been Approved, They just mirrored the image.
Apparently 9:00 is acceptable but 3:00 is not.
The App has now been Approved, They just mirrored the image.
The funniest thing is, most users won't notice the difference between the mirrored icon and original one wayway!
Fair enough? You kidding, right? It is just a clock set to 3:00! I don't think anyone and their mother would think recent history when they are doing conversions. I would suspect people would be more confused when they see a clock and think history in Apples own UI.
I think rejections like this is a very big motivation as to why people want to jail-break their phones. Apple should not be rejecting Apps based on icons or interface. Long as the program does what its advertised, not a virus, and does not contain anything illegal should be accepted. Period. That was what my assumption was when Steve mentioned the review process a few years back.
I still think there should be an alternative method for people that don't want to use the App Store at all. Just like on my BlackBerry, I don't need to use their appstore to purchase programs, I can buy them on websites and install it on my own. There should be an option that allows you to run unsigned code, if the enduser wishes. Virus or not.
I own my iPod Touch. I should be allowed to do what I want with it. Period.