The iPad: App Store on Lockdown

    Apple has made its name by hand tailoring an experience for the user, and when the iPad was launched in April, 2010 their goal remained the same. Apple wished to make the fun, easy and intuitive experience of their tablet available to the masses. Perhaps the greatest thing about the iPad is its flexibility. The iPad is capable of enhancing the technological experience of anyone from a six year-old to his grandmother because of the potential the product has for versatility. However, when Apple struck gold with the iPad, they also found that this product fundamentally challenges how they manage their products.

     The free and versatile nature of the iPad made it impossible for Apple to ever even conceive of developing and micromanaging the amount of software that their user base would require, so they developed the App Store. Jobs needed a little time to come around and approve the App Store, but it had to be done.

     The creation of the App Store allowed for hundreds of thousands of third party apps to be available to the public, but it came at a cost. Jobs, of course, was unable to completely relinquish control of the software developing process so Apple developed strict guidelines that apps must follow to be approved. Additionally, Apple takes a 30% cut of all revenue and the only place you can legally market Apple Apps is the App Store. Because of their strict 'Big Brother' approach to the App market their have been many criticisms leveled against the App Store.

     One of the biggest complaints that developers have with the App Store is that Apple wants to manage how you develop your apps. Apple requires that the developer only use public APIs (Application programming interface) in order to ensure quality, consistency and security. Apple wants to be able to comb through every program and guarantee that their customers won't have any issues with performance or security. This, unfortunately, limits developers who would want to build a private API to suit their applications' needs and makes a number of Apps built on private APIs unavailable to the public.

     On a similar note, Apple no longer supports any Java based applications because supporting Java apps requires an additional Java installation and Apple believe these apps run inefficiently, hindering the 'Mac' experience. 

    The other criticism of the App Store is Apple's censorship of media. The internet community is always sensitive about the censorship of media and the App Store is certainly not free from their wrath. As discussed before, the iPad can be enjoyed by just about anyone. It follows that just about anyone will be browsing around the App Store and Apple should probably do their best to not offend their costumer base. With good reason Apple doesn't allow pornographic or drug related content-- or anything else they consider 'objectionable'-- in an app. 

    Apple's content censorship is a balancing act and what they find objectionable will always be subjective but allowing all types of content through would be detrimental to the carefully crafted experience that Apple works so hard to develop. Many people are upset by the censorship they see in the App Store, but to that censorship is what the consumer buys into with the iPad. The strict requirements placed on the third party Apps ensure that every App you can download is, to some degree, an Apple product. 

     Apple's closed approach to product development is one of the reasons I'm not an Apple user, but it has benefits. The ease of use and limited technical problems you encounter when using their products are a result of their micromanagement. The App Store was not created because Apple is relaxing their grip, but because the iPad necessitated the App Store's creation. Even though Apple cannot have complete control over this process, they try and make every app contribute to their tailored technological experience.