Apple leaves would-be iPhone developers hanging for the moment

[AppleInsider]

A number of applicants to Apple's official iPhone Developer program are venting their frustration with the company after having received temporary rejection letters on Friday.

The majority of the backlash, as outlined by sites like ArsTechnica and TUAW, appears to stem from the ambiguity of the non-acceptance letters and a lack of information regarding the specific criteria used by Cupertino-based company to decipher who is eligible for early acceptance and who is not.

"Thank you for expressing interest in the iPhone Developer Program. We have received your enrollment request," Apple wrote in an email sent to the vast majority of those who applied. "As this time, 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."

Applicants outside the United States received a different response but to the same result: "Thank you for expressing interest in the iPhone Developer Program. We have received your enrollment request. *At this time, the iPhone Developer Program is only available in the US and will expand to other countries during the beta period. *We will contact you again regarding your enrollment status at the appropriate time. Thank you for applying."

In what may be some condolence to those applying, it's reported that Apple does not appear to be discriminating between corporations and developers of various stature. Instead, the policy appears to be that of gradual expansion during the ongoing beta stage, as noted by MacRumors, the only publication thus far to have claimed knowledge of some developers receiving Apple's official endorsement into the program.

Still, that's left those not so fortunate to wonder what affect their temporary rejection will have on their ability to garner a portion of the $100 million iFund launched by venture capitalist firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers to help support aspiring iPhone application creators.

"Got my rejection email, today. Know someone else who did, also," said Chad, a prospective developer commenting on the matter over at iLounge . "Suppose iFund will wanna float any money my way now that apple has ditched me? I doubt it. Ah… thanks Apple."

But are there real grounds for paranoia at this point? Likely no, the publication suggests. It notes that that temporary rejection letters arriving in droves on Friday simply reiterate what was stated by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs last week while announcing the program: that it would be available only to a "limited number of developers" in the early stage, with substantially more gaining their digital certificate and access to the beta version of iPhone software v2.0 as its final June release approaches.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[anantksundaram]

This is in such poor taste on Apple's part. There is simply no need for such curtness and rudeness. Moreover, I cannot understand the need being so taciturn with information -- to lend some additional context would have been no skin off their collective a55e5.

Boo, Mr. Jobs!

(I am not a developer, nor do I do anything remotely related to software development).

[digitalclips]

Originally Posted by anantksundaram

This is in such poor taste on Apple's part. There is simply no need for such curtness and rudeness. Moreover, I cannot understand the need being so taciturn with information -- to lend some additional context would have been no skin off their collective a55e5..

Seemed perfectly polite and business like to me.

[JimUrban]

1. Apple stated they're initially limiting the number of accepted developers.
2. Apparently that number has been reached.
3. Subsequent applications are being rejected,for now.
4. Why is it so difficult to grasp this concept.

Boo whiners!

[DaveGee]

So I guess this means that OS X 10.6 wont be an everyones-invited free-for-all either...

Developers more than anyone should know that having an ENORMOUS pool of beta testers for a program they are developing is NOT such a good thing.. I can only imagine its the same (if not more so) for SDK and firmware development and seed testing.

Dave

[dreyfus2]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Still, that's left those not so fortunate to wonder what affect their temporary rejection will have on their ability to garner a portion of the $100 million iFund launched by venture capitalist firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers to help support aspiring iPhone application creators.

What do I miss here? You do not need the beta nor the certificate to develop applications - all you need is the SDK which is freely available. A venture capital company like KPCB will require a concept, a business plan etc. but certainly no running application (and even IF they require a demonstration of any kind, you can bring your laptop with the SDK installed and show everything using the simulator). Do we have "find the catch" season?

It took hackers less than three days to get access to and hack the beta - of course Apple does limit distribution. Nothing wrong with that.

[minderbinder]

I don't get what the fuss is about, other than ego issues.

It's in beta, it won't be released to actual users for months. As long as devs are accepted by the time 2.0 ships, what's the difference?

[michaelb]

Originally Posted by JimUrban

1. Apple stated they're initially limiting the number of accepted developers.
2. Apparently that number has been reached.
3. Subsequent applications are being rejected,for now.
4. Why is it so difficult to grasp this concept.

Boo whiners!

Because:

1. Apple announced the SDK in October 2007 for a planned February release date.
2. The recent SDK presentation received an enormous amount of hype, top billing on apple.com etc.
3. The SDK had both missed the planned February release date and turned out to be still in Beta form.
4. The downloadable SDK is largely incomplete for being able to be used to test applications: no transfer to device for testing the key areas of iPhone usage such touch UI, OpenGL ES graphics, and accelerometer interactions.
5. The majority of developers have been denied access to the full form beta SDK and appear to be out of luck until June.
6. They are frustrated from being to made to wait even longer for something they thought they would be getting in Feb.

While I understand Apple's tardiness and willingness to keep tight security around their upcoming firmware release and certificate keys, I can also understand the whining.

[merdhead]

Setting aside how or what Apple is doing, it's not the biggest deal. The emulator is quite effective, and short of later testing and polishing, it will suffice. It is annoying and not the same as running on the final hardware, but at this early stage should not make a difference, including to those seeking funding. I'm sure if they secured funding Apple would give them access.

[anantksundaram]

Originally Posted by digitalclips

Seemed perfectly polite and business like to me.

To me, on the other hand, it sounded like a perfectly polite and business like way of saying "get lost." I thought they could easily have explained why in a nicer tone.

It is just that, as a shareholder, I worry about how Apple is increasingly perceived as just another rude corporation.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by anantksundaram

To me, on the other hand, it sounded like a perfectly polite and business like way of saying "get lost." I thought they could easily have explained why in a nicer tone.

It is just that, as a shareholder, I worry about how Apple is increasingly perceived as just another rude corporation.

It was terse, but it looks the same as other corporations send out. Nothing unusual here. Likely the legal department had to vet this first, and this is the neutral letter that resulted.

What we would need to know, is how many of the downloaded SDK's were for real developers, and how many were from people who just wanted to look at it. That would give us some idea as to how many actually applied for official status.

It's likely too many for Apple to keep track of in the beginning. I also wonder how they were chosen. Was it first come, first served?

[parky]

Just get over the fact that you have not been selected in the initial batch!

No one has died!!!

[SpamSandwich]

"Got my rejection email, today. Know someone else who did, also," said Chad, a prospective developer commenting on the matter over at iLounge . "Suppose iFund will wanna float any money my way now that apple has ditched me? I doubt it. Ah… thanks Apple."

Poor Chad... guess Apple's washed up now. Sell your stock and turn in your badges!

[GQB]

Originally Posted by michaelb

Because:

1. Apple announced the SDK in October 2007 for a planned February release date.
2. The recent SDK presentation received an enormous amount of hype, top billing on apple.com etc.
3. The SDK had both missed the planned February release date and turned out to be still in Beta form.
4. The downloadable SDK is largely incomplete for being able to be used to test applications: no transfer to device for testing the key areas of iPhone usage such touch UI, OpenGL ES graphics, and accelerometer interactions.
5. The majority of developers have been denied access to the full form beta SDK and appear to be out of luck until June.
6. They are frustrated from being to made to wait even longer for something they thought they would be getting in Feb.

While I understand Apple's tardiness and willingness to keep tight security around their upcoming firmware release and certificate keys, I can also understand the whining.

1. operative word 'planned'.
2. and...? well played.
3. No it didn't... it was in the hands of some developers. Talk about pickey... a week late. That's razor precision by industry standards.
4. Its called a beta
5. Whaaaaa? What in gods name is a 'full form beta'.
6. sorry... grow up.

No, this is whining pure and simple.

[mjtomlin]

Give me a break! How in the hell do they know a "vast majority" of developers were denied? Do they know how many signed up? Do they really know how many were actually turned down? I doubt it.

I'm sure in time the developer program will open up to many, many others as they work the kinks out of the SDK. It wouldn't be wise to except everyone, you should set a limit. That way, when a change is made to the SDK, you won't have tens of thousands of developers to deal/work with.

And honestly, there's three months left until anyone's application makes it to other's iPhone. There is plenty of time. Bunch of impatient whiners.

[Crtaylor]

The SDK is just in beta testing, folks! Apple's just trying to make sure it works before it is released for real and get feedback from those who are using it. Therefore, I do not think everyone should jump to conclusions just yet and strongly recommend to wait until this Kit is in its full version.

BETA SOFTWARE IS A PROTOTYPE - NOT THE REAL THING!

[doh123]

why do people call this rejection letters... its not a rejection letter or even close... its a "your on the waiting list" letter... sheesh. Talk about trying to spin a innocent letter and beta development in a bad light.

[Dave K.]

Enterprise customers won't put up with crap like this this. So much for Apple trying to learn from past mistakes.

[stokessd]

I DIDN'T get a rejection letter, so maybe I made the cut. I pounded the snot out of the website as the roadmap was being announced to get in and maybe I actually got in under the wire.

Sheldon

[min_t]

Thank God these developers were rejected. Nowhere in Apple's presentation did they say that when you sign up for the iPhone developer program that you "Otomatically" become a beta tester.

Relax. You simply found out you're not in the A list, that's all. Run along and tell mommy.

[JeffDM]

While it is a beta, would it really be a problem for Apple to allow them entry vs. not? Too many applicants/testers to manage? Maybe it could be bad for the developers in the test pool if fundemental changes to the frameworks are needed, and significant rewrites are needed to software once the system is finalized?

[btitusjr]

Originally Posted by michaelb

While I understand Apple's tardiness and willingness to keep tight security around their upcoming firmware release and certificate keys, I can also understand the whining.

Good Point

All this hype and advertising, keeping the iPhone the talk among the water cooler is apples best weapon.

[anantksundaram]

Originally Posted by Dave K.

Enterprise customers won't put up with crap like this this.

This is a very good point: It signals that Apple is really not ready to handle sizable scale and volumes yet (and the success of the iPod as a retail consumer devices is not evidence to the contrary).

Apple's stock price, at say, $180 - $200, is heavily tied up with iPhone's success, for better or worse; that success is premised on a much larger rollout than has been presently achieved; and that, in turn, will require inroads into the corporate market.

[ascii]

This is just awful, hanging people just because they want to develop for the iPhone. What *is* the world coming to?

[Flounder]

The complaint about dimming hopes for getting money from the iFund makes no sense. It gets the cart and horse completely backwards.

I'm sure the iFund is as aware as anyone that the spots are limited and will be expanding. If they see a good idea, they'll fund it. Obviously, Apple will then approve that developers application.

[mdriftmeyer]

Originally Posted by anantksundaram

This is in such poor taste on Apple's part. There is simply no need for such curtness and rudeness. Moreover, I cannot understand the need being so taciturn with information -- to lend some additional context would have been no skin off their collective a55e5.

Boo, Mr. Jobs!

(I am not a developer, nor do I do anything remotely related to software development).

Then stop feeding the flames.

Anyone thinks that Joe Blow gets first shot at this SDK is delusional.

[mdriftmeyer]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

While it is a beta, would it really be a problem for Apple to allow them entry vs. not? Too many applicants/testers to manage? Maybe it could be bad for the developers in the test pool if fundemental changes to the frameworks are needed, and significant rewrites are needed to software once the system is finalized?

Have you ever been an ADC Premiere member?

Have you amongst those ADC Premiere members been a representative of a First Tier Development House? [Adobe, Macromedia, Microsoft, Sun, IBM, Oracle, Sybase, etc]?

If you can't answer question one and especially if you can't answer question two then you should ask others who have and realize that this is the standard practice.

Pre-release software Betas don't go to the average individual. They never have.

[paxman]

Originally Posted by anantksundaram

It is just that, as a shareholder, I worry about how Apple is increasingly perceived as just another rude corporation.

Since when has Apple been perceived as communicative and friendly corporation? We love Apple for what the do but rarely for the way they do it. In fact the whining from the gallery seems a constant that has been there for as long as I can remember. The thing is that Apple always do whatever they want to, regardless. There is always a vocal group who disagree and feel hard done by but at the same time it is this often frustrating insistence on doing everything their own way which makes them unique, innovative, and mucho loved. I can't recall a single product 'the gallery' hasn't moaned about, and yet.... Lets face it, we're a bunch of suckers. Happy suckers, but sucker nonetheless. I have learned to shrug it off and move on. There is only one thing I have a hard time getting over and that is that way back when, before I had a clue about anything, I didn't get a job, save all my money and buy Apple stock. I mean, I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!

[jonnoh2]

Explain all you want but all I am hearing is whining. Why don't you pout in private and let the grown-ups write the apps for iPhone?

I'm disgusted. It's a few months and it was stated in the keynote that the rollout would be gradual.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer

Have you ever been an ADC Premiere member?

Have you amongst those ADC Premiere members been a representative of a First Tier Development House? [Adobe, Macromedia, Microsoft, Sun, IBM, Oracle, Sybase, etc]?

If you can't answer question one and especially if you can't answer question two then you should ask others who have and realize that this is the standard practice.

At best, all of this is tangential to my question, not an answer.

[Monkeyoe]

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

[ikir]

Originally Posted by anantksundaram

This is in such poor taste on Apple's part. There is simply no need for such curtness and rudeness. Moreover, I cannot understand the need being so taciturn with information -- to lend some additional context would have been no skin off their collective a55e5.

Boo, Mr. Jobs!

(I am not a developer, nor do I do anything remotely related to software development).

Originally Posted by digitalclips

Seemed perfectly polite and business like to me.

Exaclty. The sam, crap Apple bashing. Nosense.

Keep up your good work Apple. Thanks.

[aegisdesign]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Applicants outside the United States received a different response but to the same result: "Thank you for expressing interest in the iPhone Developer Program. We have received your enrollment request. *At this time, the iPhone Developer Program is only available in the US and will expand to other countries during the beta period. *We will contact you again regarding your enrollment status at the appropriate time. Thank you for applying."

If there's a silver lining, it's this. There's a lot of mobile phone development in Europe. eg. TomTom, QuickOffice, all the Handy apps

[Marvin]

I'm not entirely sure why it's beta. Apple said that it's the same developer kit they use.

Are we to believe that Apple develop their official software using a beta version of the devkit? If they do then surely if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for the rest of us.

I can understand the reasons for a limited rollout but at the same time, it seems like they are still afraid of giving developers too much control.

After all, no one is going to convince me that XCode was a final release product when it came out and I don't recall it having a limited rollout.

Maybe they want to test how their business model will work regarding the application approvals and online store.

Does anyone know if custom apps will run on the iphone already or will developers have to wait until June to see them running live and have to rely on the emulator until then? Surely if developers can test apps on the device right now then can't they deploy those apps to others with the devkit bypassing the itunes store? Maybe that's the reason for limiting the rollout.

But if they can't test on the actual iphone, how can they test software that uses the iphone camera or accelerometer?

[aegisdesign]

Originally Posted by Marvin

Are we to believe that Apple develop their official software using a beta version of the devkit? If they do then surely if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for the rest of us.

I've worked for compiler companies and OS companies and we worked with betas of our own software all the time whilst developing the next version. I remember working with one OS that used to return the day of the week as an integer between 0 and 7.

It's called 'Eating your own dog food'. Particularly with compilers and SDKs, the best people to work out the kinks are the developers themselves as they know better than anyone what is missing and what is needed.

If Apple's developers had to wait until their own development tools were out of beta, they'd not have released anything

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by ikir

Exaclty. The sam, crap Apple bashing. Nosense.

Keep up your good work Apple. Thanks.

I don't think that's really the case, not in the particular case you quoted. anantksundaram isn't the Apple basher that you make him/her out to be. Based on the posting history, not a hater at all, but really looks like a person that can form an independent opinion rather than rushing to a conclusion fated by biases.

[DaveGee]

Originally Posted by michaelb

1. Apple announced the SDK in October 2007 for a planned February release date.
6. They are frustrated from being to made to wait even longer for something they thought they would be getting in Feb.

And who better than software developers to know that when you place a deadline on a software release you meet it -- ALWAYS -- no matter what!

D

[DaveGee]

Originally Posted by Marvin

I'm not entirely sure why it's beta. Apple said that it's the same developer kit they use. Are we to believe that Apple develop their official software using a beta version of the devkit? If they do then surely if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for the rest of us.

Ummm well lets see...

The iPhone hacker community has been churning out 'REAL' iPhone applications for months and month and months now (6? 8? more?) without any help from Apple... No 'official' sdk and certainly no documentation to reference.

So with that in mind... No I don't think Apple developed their official iPhone software applications using the beta version of the devkit in so much as they took the home rolled tools that the Apple developers were using to develop iPhone applications and (with many changes) turned those tools into the official iPhone SDK as its been presented to us.. I'm also sure that not everything thats in the SDK was formally a 'home rolled tool' by an Apple developer... Other 'stuff' had to be build from the ground up ...SDK code YES but even more so documentation and lots of testing to make sure all the stuff worked in the form of a fully sanctioned sdk.... specifically for the purpose of a public SDK release.

Dave

[DaveGee]

Originally Posted by aegisdesign

I remember working with one OS that used to return the day of the week as an integer between 0 and 7.

I'm not usually a picker of nits but... 0 and 7?!

Dave

[godrifle]

BeatlesOS.

Originally Posted by DaveGee

I'm not usually a picker of nits but... 0 and 7?!

Dave