iPhone app rejected upon section 3.3.3 (but what does it mean?) - iphone

I made an iPhone application that displays a couple of pictures from the internet
where you can comment on (iPhone sms bubble style )
My app was rejected because of:
We cannot post this version of your iPhone application to the App Store
because it violates section 3.3.3 of
the iPhone SDK Agreement;
"Without Apple's prior written
approval, an Application may not
provide, unlock or enable additional
features or functionality through
distribution mechanisms other than the
iTunes Store."
If you would like to provide an
invitation-only pre-release version of
your application to a group of
friends, then we encourage you to use
the Ad Hoc application distribution
method. Please go to the Distribution
Tab in the iPhone Developer Portal for
complete information on Ad Hoc
distribution.
But what does it mean? I surfed a little on the internet and found out that this covers applications that have similarity to applications by Apple?
Does anyone have experience with that? And know how to solve this issue?

I got official response from apple
The website component of the
application is currently not available
to the general public. If you would
like to provide an invitation-only
pre-release version of your
application to a group of friends,
then we encourage you to use the Ad
Hoc application distribution method.
Please go to the Distribution Tab in
the iPhone Developer Portal for
complete information on Ad Hoc
distribution.

Section 3.3.3
Without Apple’s prior written
approval, an Application may not
provide, unlock or enable additional
features or functionality through
distribution mechanisms other than the
App Store.
That means, for example, that you are not allowed to enable your application to download music or podcast files. Apple wants the owner of iPhones to use iTunes for that purpose.
You seem to violate that section since you're providing content from your site, even if you're downloading only pictures.
See this blog entry about the PodCaster app:
Podcaster quite obviously serves to
unlock a feature using a distribution
mechanism outside the iTunes Store.
This limitation would also include
apps that are designed to install
other apps independent of iTunes (such
as the Cydia jailbreak app - it’s not
in the Apps Store either), or any
other app that distributes song, TV,
or movie downloads or podcasts.
See also this answer here on Stack Overflow: Reasons for rejecting iPhone application by Apple store

Or they believe you used the open SDK to reuse the bubble control from the SMS app.
Can you post a screenshot?

Related

Is it possible to publish similar apps under enterprise app deployment

I have five iphone apps which have similar interface/functionality but for the use of five different business persons.They are doing same type of business. So the similarity in app. The app will be free to use by public.
Apple says
1. Apps which appear confusingly similar to an existing Apple product or advertising theme will be rejected
2. Developers "spamming" the App Store with many versions of similar apps will be removed from the iOS Developer Program.
3. Apps that look similar to apps bundled on the iPhone, including the App Store, iTunes Store, and iBookstore, will be rejected.
Is these guidelines applicable for apps under enterprise app deployment ? Is it possible publish apps under Ad-hoc mode and give link of the app through another website?
if your app is same interface functionality. just add a db to it for different people. No need to publish it more than once. and issue regarding duplication on apstore, they already have billions of apps so no care for what purpose your app is. just differentiate the database as your goal is manage users separately.

Is it possible to place an app in the Apple app store that is intended for select customers but not general public consumption?

My company bosses want to create a native version of a currently web-based app that will be available to their existing customers (currently a few thousand).
They say it is imperative that the application be available for downloading from the app store.
However the app would only be of any use to customer who already have an account (and would be useless to anybody else who downloaded the app).
Is this actually possible to submit such a thing to the app store?
There are dozens of Apps in the App Store that where they are only usable if you are an existing customer. Look at all the banking related ones for example.
AFAIK, you cannot restrict the intended users when distributing through the AppStore.
What you can do is apply for an iOS Developer Enterprise Program, though you'd be installing the app directly to the devices (requires physical presence of the devices).
You could also use a service like TestFlight, though their terms probably just allow deployment for testing purposes.
What I'd go for is getting the app to the AppStore anyway, as long as your app doesn't include confidential content. You could advise in the description not to install the app unless they're your company's clients.

iOS Application in Cydia and AppStore

I have an app in Cydia and I want to make the same application but LITE version and put it in AppStore. My question is will Apple reject my app if the check it some how. Actuality my app work with web services so I have real worked domain. And I want to use the same domain or to make another second lite-like domain of the original one...
Thank's in advance..
No, the yxflash team does a similar thing, they have a version of their application in Cydia (because, when they released it, the code was using private APIs), and they have another version (actually 3) in the AppStore called yxplayer. So from what I see there, you should be fine, apple doesn't seem to check those things.
This is an explicit violation of the iOS developer agreement; your presence in the App Store will depend on being obscure enough that Apple doesn't notice what you're doing and nobody tells them. That's not how I would want to do business, but to each their own?
7.3 No Other Distribution Authorized Under this Agreement
Except for the distribution of freely available Licensed Applications and the distribution of Applications for use on Registered Devices as set forth in Sections 7.1 and 7.2 above, no other distribution of programs or applications developed using the Apple Software is authorized or permitted hereunder. In the absence of a separate agreement with Apple, You agree not to distribute Your Application to third parties via other distribution methods or to enable or permit others to do so.
Just submit the app, you will be fine.
Apple simply can't prove that YOU also submit the same app to Cydia.
That is, you can claim that your dog/cat/fish/wife/kid used the code to submit to Cydia during your sleep

Starting iPhone development

I have just started to work as a freelance iPhone developer. Earlier I used to work under an organization so I dont know what exactly things are required for iPhone development. I have knowledge about the things but all things are scattered in my mind.
So I am having some questions regarding iPhone development .
Is it necessary for me to have a developer certificate before starting developing for iPhone?
If I am developing an application for some client , then is it necessary for the client to register as developer so as to post app to the app store? What If post the app using my developer certificate?
What I get in return after I pay 99$ to Apple to run the app on my phone?
My question may seem wierd but I am so much confused over all these things. Kindly bear with me.
Yes, if you want to test on the device and not just the simulator
If you post it using your developer certificate, it will go under your name/business.
If your talking about money, nothing, you get 70% of the profits made by your app. The 99$ is a membership fee not a security deposit. If your talking about benefits, the ability to run your app on device, ad distribution profiles, submitting to the app store, loads of WWDC content, ability to use iAds, and access to iOS beta's and developer forums.
1) No, but you can only use simulator. You need dev cert for tesing with an actual iPhone.
2) It's up to you and your client, it will only change the publisher name on iTunes. Note that each year, subscription has to be updated, otherwise the app is taken from AppStore automatically.
3) You can test your apps in actual devices. You can publish apps in App Store. And also have access to some developer resources.
I suggest you read developer.apple.com for all the details.

How to install an application to iPhone without iTunes?

We want to move an application to iPhone, without iTunes. There are two questions: 1) how does the application which moves other applications to iPhone connect to iPhone? 2) if we use iTunes to do that, which method implement connecting to iPhone in iTunes's API.
I don't think there is a public API for communicating with the iPhone. To install an app you will have to use an Apple tool, either iTunes, Xcode, or the iPhone Configuration Utility.
If it is acceptable to use iTunes, you can make an ad hoc build and package it as an IPA file, to allow people to easily install it through iTunes without going through the App Store.
2 ways come to mind:
1) You can do this with TestFlight
It allows you to upload your app to a website, and manage the process of delivering builds to developers/testers using a web based interface. Note that it uses a feature detailed here in the Apple docs. Try it.... You won't be disappointed!
Note that you can have 2 types of licenses with Apple for development:
"Developer" license - costs ~ $100/year. Requires you register each device you want to develop and deploy your application with.
"Enterprise" license - costs ~ $300/year, and doesn't require that you register each device. But you have to be a registered business of some sort for this.
So if you have an Enterprise license with Apple, you can deploy to any device with TestFlight, without needing it to be registered with Apple's dev center (or using iTunes or the following tool as well!)
2) Use the iPhone Configuration Utility from Apple:
This is a tool intended for Enterprise use, but it can be used by anyone. It provides a way to install lots of applications on a device very simply, by pretty much clicking a checkbox. It's available for Mac and Windows. You can get to more info about it on this page, by searching for "iPhone Configuration Utility"