Ah dear. Mac remind me of Microsoft in their early years. Lie and tell the world you are the best.

@tim perception vs. reality. the fact is few apps get rejected. Most have been rejected for very valid reasons. Why people get stuck on this point when there is no precedent for Apple’s app store. Previously you had what – lots of phones that were carrier locked in every way imaginable, very few apps. If you had an app, it was Verizon-labelled and approved. That’s the truth. Apps on phones did not exist in any sense of the word before as it does now after Apple defined it. Apple, with AT&T’s consent, did far more to enable developers to put their apps out there and make some money than they ever have done to deny an app. Not least of which was setting the bar for how app stores should work from the user experience POV. I don’t mean to call people out as “haters”, but really when I hear this kind of bellyaching it is just without merit. Android could have existed without the iPhone sure, but my sense of having an Android device is it’s is probably many times better than it would have been because Apple tested the market first and specializes on good UX. But app approval is not a perfect process, and Apple has gone on record many times to admit the point they’re learning how to do it better all the time. The absence of an approval process is not *better*, and after 8 months of Android I feel pretty sure saying that. I distrust apps on Market much more, I feel like there is tremendous potential for abuse without a benevolent dictator.

Anyway It’s still a nascent industry… which is why companies like Nokia still feel like they’re in the game. What’s happening today is just the beginning. Apple wants to move hardware, software is the gateway drug. They’re not going to inherently limit access & functionality to the point where consumers or developers feel constrained. They are balancing out the needs of everyone having a good experience vs. the needs of a few which are exceptions to that. The last Xcode update shows the progress Apple makes towards easing developer and user concerns. There will always be a contrarian vocal minority that will oppose Apple no matter what they do though.

That keeps Android open for all us geeks (we could have our own alternative geeky app store!) but leaves the Market as a organised, safe ecosystem for the normal people of the world.

What do you guys think about a dedicated site for app discovery with a personal touch from SlashGear’s staff curating best of the best apps for your viewing pleasure?

So much dust was kicked up over Apple’s app approval process, but that process has allowed in 250,000 apps (2.5x) while keeping the quality stuff out front & center and keeping the egregiously bad crap out. So I think the gap between Apple and Google may be more than 2.5x. Google needs to invest a lot more into tending the Market and putting quality first.