iPad Concerns Make Apple Suddenly Care About Developers

(MoneyWatch)  Apple just released a thorough survey to current app developers, showing it now actually cares about its relationships - - and considers the app-enabled Kindle an actual threat.

Let's do a quick history recap. Last February, dozens of Apple app developers took to the forums to complain about several app development issues:

• Apple only had one communication channel: A single email address to send concerns with payment, request updates on app acceptance status and other issues. No phone number. No customer service.
• A hidden app judgment process: There was no way for developers to easily get an update. Sending in an app for approval was the equivalent of using a magical black box - - you have no idea when you'll get a reply. One particular client even went as far as picketing in front of One Infinite Loop headquarters to get noticed.
• A capricious app judgment process: An app could be approved right away, while a similar app could take weeks or be rejected all together. The issues became clear when sexy apps, like the unfairly rejected, gay-themed AMG photo program, or copyright-violating material, like the unfairly approved, Nintendo-violating Mariolite, were added or dismissed against Apple's own standards.
• Bad payment system: App developers were waiting several months to get paid, despite Apple itself saying it had a 45-day payment policy.

Apple refused to publicly address any of these concerns. Based on my sources, only one issue, the hidden app judgment process, has been nipped in the bud - - now Apple app developers can get automatic updates by logging into a designated site.

Now, with the iPad's success unclear and Amazon courting Kindle app developers, Apple is looking to make nice with the creators of its 140,000-plus apps. Apple now realizes the Kindle is a legitimate threat.

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/marxalot/ / CC BY-SA 2.0