I just received an interesting phone call from Apple. (…that my iPhone kept dropping the call, thanks AT&T, is a different matter entirely…) It turns out that Horn and Slasher are not going to be approved as Universal builds for the iPad. Apparently there is a higher bar for entry when targeting the iPad.
The Apple representative was very nice and pleasant to converse with, so I enjoyed the call. He gave some reasons why the new level of entry is being required, one of them citing that some people have a business model of making simple do-nothing apps and hoping that enough people will spend $0.99 to rake in the dough.
Once again, Apple has shown how unfriendly it is toward developers. Why should Apple care what someone else’s business model is?
I’ve been debating this for a while now. I actually almost talked myself out of it since the iPad launch went mostly without a hitch and I was happy. But the phone call stopped me in my tracks and pushed me over the ledge the other way. Going forward, I refuse to develop any more apps for the iPhone / iPod Touch / iPad. As fun as the platform is, I just cannot bring myself to support a model where my work never sees the light of day due to the fanciful whim of Apple.
I won’t pull my existing Apps down from the store, but neither will I enhance them or create new ones.
That’s it. Game over. I’m done. Who knows, maybe I’ll change my mind one day, but it’d have to take a really amazing App idea. Or it’d take Apple changing their mind. Yeah, I know, don’t hold my breath on that one…
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