Apple AppStore In einer Presseaussendung meldet heute, dass mehrere Beschränkungen für Entwickler, die man Anfang des Jahres eingeführt hatte, jetzt wieder aufgehoben wurden – z.B. dürfen die Entwickler-Tools jetzt wieder frei gewählt werden.
Erstmals gibt es auch einen offiziellen Leitfaden für den Prozess der Aufnahme von in den :

The App Store? has revolutionized the way mobile applications are developed and distributed. With over 250,000 apps and 6.5 billion downloads, the App Store has become the world's largest mobile application platform and App Store developers have earned over one billion dollars from the sales of their apps.

We are continually trying to make the App Store even better. We have listened to our developers and taken much of their feedback to heart. Based on their input, today we are making some important changes to our iOS Developer Program license in sections 3.3.1, 3.3.2 and 3.3.9 to relax some restrictions we put in place earlier this year.

In particular, we are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code. This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need.

In addition, for the first time we are publishing the App Store Review Guidelines to help developers understand how we review submitted apps. We hope it will make us more transparent and help our developers create even more successful apps for the App Store.

The App Store is perhaps the most important milestone in the history of mobile software. Working together with our developers, we will continue to surprise and delight our users with innovative mobile apps.

Zum vollständigen Artikel: Statement by Apple on App Store Review Guidelines

9to5Mac hat indes seine 9 Lieblings-Kriterien herausgesucht und kommentiert:

1: “Apps with metadata that mentions the name of any other mobile platform will be rejected” – No Android for you!

2: “Apps that artificially increase the number of impressions or click-throughs of ads will be rejected” – Don't be greedy.

3: “App user interfaces that mimic any iPod interface will be rejected” – Who makes that Remote app that looks just like iPod.app?

4: “Apps that alter the functions of standard switches, such as the Volume Up/Down and Ring/Silent switches, will be rejected” – Camera+!

5: “Apps containing “rental” content or services that expire after a limited time will be rejected” – iTunes TV show and movie rentals FTW!

6: “Apps that encourage users to use an Apple Device in a way that may cause damage to the device will be rejected” – Don't break me!

7: “Apps that include games of Russian roulette will be rejected” – No comment.

8: “Apps that contain user generated content that is frequently pornographic (ex “Chat Roulette” apps) will be rejected” – Until there's an API to keep clothes on.

…And how can I forget my personal all-time favorite: “We have over 250,000 apps in the App Store. We don't need any more Fart apps.” – Hi, Phillip!

via 9to5mac.com