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While the iPhone app store has grown considerably since its debut just over a year ago, containing over a hundred thousands apps that have been downloaded over two billion times, the complaints against the app store have also been piling higher and higher. And what might be worse for Apple, those complaints are also getting louder and louder, with at least one complaint being loud enough to catch the ears of the government.
The rejection of Google Voice earlier this year got the FCC involved. Apple's explanation? Full of holes. In addition to denying they ever officially rejected the app, Apple played a lot of word games in its response to the FCC.
iDon't allow open development.
Verizon got into the mix with its iDon't campaign for the Droid. The Droid ad might be the first commercial that openly bashes Apple for its app store dictatorship, and certainly helps shine the spotlight on the issue.
And now a high-profile early-adopter of the iPhone platform is calling it quits. Joe Hewitt, who was the programmer behind the iPhone's Facebook app, has decided to move on for better pastures.
An issue that just won't go away
As much as Apple might want to bury its head in the sand, this is not an issue that is simply going to disappear. In fact, it may very well come back to haunt Apple. Pinch Media reports that the average app only makes about $8,500 over its lifetime, which doesn't support very much in terms of development time. And with other platforms being less expensive for developers and with no chaotic policies, they are bound to become more and more attractive.
But as Joe Hewitt put it, "For every dev that leaves iPhone in frustration, 1000 new ones join up." Apple doesn't have to worry about not having developers programming cool iPhone apps. Apple needs to worry about the government ensuring those developers are operating in a fair and equal marketplace.
What would happen if Microsoft required all Windows apps to have approval?
You can bet the government would step in and squash the policy if Microsoft tried to mimic what Apple has done concerning the app store. And while this isn't a perfect comparison by any stretch -- after all, Apple controls both the hardware and the software -- there is little doubt that they are the leaders in the mobile app market. And those that lead the market generally need to tread carefully.
In the end, the FCC looking into the Google Voice fiasco could end up being the end to archaic policies in the app store. Which would no doubt spell very good news to iPhone customers, who might finally be able to unleash the hidden power of their smartphones.
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