A year in the life of an iPhone Developer
I saw this post on Hacker News today about an iPhone developer waiting on Apple to approve his latest app. The first App he created was rejected by Apple after eight months, so he is a bit unsure of what to expect with his newest creation (a Boy Scout merit badge app).
I clicked around to see what other entries were on his blog and saw that he has only posted five entries. The timeline they describe is an interesting snapshot of his life as an iPhone developer:
- I’m an iPhone Developer (3/13/2009) — In this blog entry you see the developer’s hopes and dreams for what is to come and the milestones he can’t wait to hit.
- I’ve submitted my first application (3/17/2009) — His “Ask Obama” app is submitted to Apple for approval. His brother ridicules his love for Apple, but the developer soldiers on.
- The Waiting Game… (3/20/2009) — He is still waiting after a week to see if his app will be approved. He also links to a story about $600,000 being spent to build an app. He is glad he only spent $1000 so far (mostly on a MacBook and an iPhone).
- And the Verdict Is… (12/4/2009) — The developer finally gets word that his app is rejected because it shows political content, which is verboten outside of educational uses. It is a shame it took Apple this long to get back to him.
- I’m doing it again (2/25/2010) — Finally, almost a year after the blog was started, the developer is going at it again with his merit badge app.
Seeing the arc of excitement, pride, anguish, disappointment, and finally a sense of tentative excitement laid out like that was really interesting. I admire his desire to stick to the path he started out on. I wouldn’t have much desire to do another app if Apple didn’t bother to get back to me within eight months.
