Apple keeps promise, angers many

Jonny Evans
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March 15, 2008
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An outcry of criticism rocked Cupertino yesterday as optimistic iPhone application developers complained the company had done exactly what it said it would - rejecting thousands from its new iPhone Developer Program.

Reports claim thousands of developers both small and large have applied to join the scheme, but the vast majority have been rejected, generating this hail of criticism.

The reports ignore Apple's earlier promise that it would accept only a limited number of developers for its iPhone Developer Program at this point.

"During the beta iPhone SDK program, a limited number of developers will be accepted into Apple’s new iPhone Developer Program and offered the ability to get code onto iPhones for testing," the company said in a March 6 press release.

Developers want to be able to test in-development software on an iPhone so they can be ready to ship these solutions when Apple opens the doors to third party applications in June.

Membership of the iPhone Developer Program costs from $99 per year and is required in order to test applications on an iPhone.

Despite the frustration, Apple's rejection letter isn't final. It reads: "The iPhone Developer Program is available to a limited number of developers and we plan to expand during the beta period. We will contact you again regarding your enrollment status at the appropriate time."

With in excess of 100,000 developers already downloading the iPhone SDK, Apple may be facing some technical hurdles as it tries to launch the scheme. While the effect of the delay may deter some from pouring huge resources into application building now, currently rejected developers may be invited to sign up in the months ahead, as Apple tweaks its scheme.

Comments (7)

Proudly Anonymous Coward (not verified) | March 15, 2008 - 11:39am

Who wants to wager those masses of angry, rejected iPhone developers will release their 'Unofficial' iPhone apps in anyway. ;-)

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | March 15, 2008 - 12:06pm

wtf is wrong with people? no one reads or remembers anything. and why take this "rejection" so personally? christ, the letter didn't say never can apply again. it's a BETA program folks!

learn some patience, better things come when you wait anyway.

Daniel (Palluxo! Editor) (not verified) | March 15, 2008 - 2:59pm

Don't take it personally. It's still Beta stage.

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | March 15, 2008 - 3:27pm

The problem here is there is a limited time frame. The next few months will be critical for programmers to get their applications written and tested. What ever apps are available when Apple open the App Store will be the winners. There will certainly be good applications after this but you have a pent up demand now and no one's going to want to buy the 10th shopping list application that shows up a month later unless it's so great people are willing to buy another one.

A non-approved developer can not truly program for any of the advanced features that make the iPhone unique since the simulator is limited. The other testing program is the feel for even a simple app will be different in the hand versus the large screen simulator.

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | March 15, 2008 - 8:48pm

Anyone can develop for phones running Windows Mobil. Time to switch platforms i think. Since Apple is takeing is usual xenophobic stance.

renstein (not verified) | March 15, 2008 - 10:26pm

These so-called rejection letters really stated what Apple had said before, only a limited number of developers during the beta period. In fact, within the letter it states that the developer will be contacted by Apple in the future as it expands the program. The software isn't coming out for another 3 months, and developers can still write their programs. It is amazing the lack of level-headedness(?) that surrounds Apple.

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | March 16, 2008 - 1:49am

I'm not angry but of course those who get into the beta will have a head start since many of the advanced features of the phone can not be tested. You can write as much code as you want but until you can test it and try it out for real you're limited. The hands on feedback is another major issue.
It's unknown if developers will have to wait until the end of June when everything goes public. If that's the case you may not see much advanced work from the smaller developers who aren't on the beta. It's also unknown what the certifcate process will involve and how long just that step will take.