Comments on: Convertbot 1.4 for iPhone Rejected by App Store Because Same “Time” Icon Now Confusable for “Recents”

By: Vonster

Vonster — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:17:30 +0000

There is a reason why Apple content looks superior to the legion of PC craptastic content out there, it's because they pay attention to the details and demand the same from those developing on their platform.

Look at all the other smart phones, their UI design is lame.

I want Apple to police the graphics instead of letting glorified clip art reign supreme.

By: Xultar

Xultar — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:03:54 +0000

Apple is effed up. I wish I’d never gone with an iPhone.

By: Frank

Frank — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:52:43 +0000

Uh, isn’t this the same app that was repeatedly paraded around at WWDC as an example of good UI design? Now all of a sudden it’s bad design?

By: Brandon C. Butler

Brandon C. Butler — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:10:06 +0000

@ Green Sleeves

"they should replace the icon with an apple."

You are funny as f**k, man!

By: TrueEddie

TrueEddie — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:23:44 +0000

If the average uses is confused by the use of this icon then the average user shouldn’t have bought a smartphone.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:19:08 +0000

(Here’s shortened link for the link above…)

http://bit.ly/5rpt9

By: Jenny

Jenny — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:17:31 +0000

That’s quite stupid. The person who didn’t approve of this is just following a checklist from Apple HQ (“Are any icons too similar to Apple standard icons which could cause user confusion? Check”) and should leave the interface design to the pros. They’re not thinking of the context! Who on EARTH would confuse that icon for ‘recent’ while choosing a unit of measurement?

Now tapbots has to compromise usability by using a less universally recognizable icon for ‘time.’ Which in the end will cause more confusion that it saves.

Dorks.

My reccomendation to tapbots, slap some dots on that sucker: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3541/3865068762f59dfe18f7o.jpg

Then maybe tell Apple they can EAT YOU.

By: Hakala

Hakala — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:07:36 +0000

I did know that it was available for the JB community but I think I should have been a little more Specific in that area, whereas, it would be available for non-jailbreaking users provided by apple. But thank you for helping anyways.

By: Jack Dodson

Jack Dodson — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:07:22 +0000

It’s obvious that Apple has a new policy regarding icons and is implementing it on new submissions — probably due to the number of apps being submitted with icons too similar to Apple’s own work. Not all that surprising. People want the app approval process to evolve, and it is — if not to everyone’s liking.

By: Mystic

Mystic — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:36:19 +0000

Yes, this rejection is completely silly… but I don’t think Apple is completely wrong for having a “user-confusion” criteria for judging apps. When I pick up a BlackBerry I am utterly baffled by the terrible, similar-looking icons that populate the home screen – I am literally confused as to what I should be selecting and what icon corresponds to which app. Apple wants everything on the iPhone to be immediately understandable to the average user, so it is correct in looking at this aspect of each app. However, in this instance, as in a few others, the review team has lost it’s marbles.

By: Rajiv

Rajiv — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:46:19 +0000

@Hakala

Both of those mods are available in Cydia as LiveClock and WeatherIcon, respectively.

Rajiv

By: Hakala

Hakala — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:20:34 +0000

Hey is it just me or would a real-time clock widget be totally awesome on the iPhone homescreen. As in the clock icon (alarms, regional times, stopwatch) shows a real-time display of your local time. Maybe even a set location in weather that automaticly updates the current temp depending on your push/fetch settings.

By: Dragonfly

Dragonfly — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:15:38 +0000

Seriously apple are really starting to piss me off! Their level of stupidity has just reached a new low!

By: Abel

Abel — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:13:45 +0000

Uh… haven’t they been using that icon for like… forever? o_O

By: fassy

fassy — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:13:02 +0000

Joe Hewitt, tweeting about the delays in the release of the latest Facebook app update, had this to say in consecutive posts:

"What would the web look like if each time a developer wanted to change their site, it had to be approved by a committee with a 2 week delay?"

"I'd feel pretty good saying the pace of web innovation would have been dramatically slower, and the 2009 web might still look like 1999."

This point is often overlooked in all the complaints about user trust and developer freedom. Because of the App Store process, developers, and Apple itself, are wasting time, money, and talent on arbitrary, petty issues, such as at least 2 week delay for an icon, leaving all of them with less cycles to spend truly pushing the iPhone forward. Long term -- even medium term -- that is not good for the platform.

Rene, if you want a new graphic idea for App Store policies, I would suggest an Office Space theme, because they are rapidly becoming the TPS Cover Sheet of the 21st Centry.

By: Hakala

Hakala — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:11:54 +0000

@dman that is hilarious. Almost as hilarious it was of me to be starring at the Rockies for five hours waiting for my stocks to appear and looking at an old television trying to access YouTube. And also, get this, looking at my freaking compass waiting for safari to launch. I just hope and pray that people don’t start tapping on yellow notepads waiting for a keyboard to popup at any given moment. The world is coming to an end iPhone users. I can see it now. I can see i—-

By: Frank

Frank — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 04:55:16 +0000

There will be hell to pay if Apple rejects iTV’s update for some reason. Can’t wait for the built in Tivo remote & push notifications. I have to say it does amaze me everyday to hear the reasoning Apple gives for rejecting an app. I swear I am lost for words on this one.

By: Dman

Dman — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 04:27:55 +0000

True story I spent about five minutes today clicking on my wristwatch at 3pm today trying to access my recent calls… it was so confusing. Fortunately, an Apple Genius ran up to me shouting “You must be an iPhone user! Quick, let’s get you home before you go blind looking into the sun expecting to find the Weather App!”… that man saved my life!

By: noniPhoneUser

noniPhoneUser — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 04:21:33 +0000

@smchrist2

The app store is mostly junk anyways, why is apple trying to clean it up for stupid things. If they want to keep out crappy apps, remove the fart apps, not useful apps like google voice.

By: Wesley

Wesley — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 04:04:36 +0000

THIS IS A CLOCK, how stupid are these reviewers to ban an application because it uses an icon that is COMMON SENSE? Ridiculous!

By: SpiceRak2

SpiceRak2 — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:51:50 +0000

I don’t know whom to feel worse for…Convertbot for this silly delay or for all of us for purchasing products from a company that thinks their customer base can be so easily confused.

By: smchrist2

smchrist2 — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:48:54 +0000

I know it’s stupid and not worth an entire rejection but more just a please fix, we’ll check it and release it. (which they might do idk) (they did it for pocket god except it was a copyright thing) but what I think apples doing is setting a bar. They don’t want a bunch of crap (not saying a confusing button is) in an app store made by the perfectionist apple.

By: Icebike

Icebike — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:47:09 +0000

Same thing happened to iSSh just a couple days ago. The used an email icon for a connection log mailing feature.

Went thru 3 or 4 updates an suddenly it is confusing.

Having 20 different apps using 20 different icons seems more confusing to me.

Is apple purposly trying to slow down app store submissions? Are the review teams staging a work slowdown because they are overworked and underappreciated?

By: surrix

surrix — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:33:11 +0000

@K1: It is important because now their update is delayed for probably another 2 weeks for no real reason. They should’ve just approved the app and let them know they’d require the next version to change the icon.

By: K1

K1 — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:31:36 +0000

I know this sucks for them, but this is such an easy fix that it’s really not worth discussing. There’s so many ways they could easily change it.

By: Dan

Dan — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:29:45 +0000

Hahahahaha. This is why I love this blog

By: fastlane

fastlane — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:17:24 +0000

Oh, that’s a Time icon? No wonder I haven’t been able to figure out how to convert Ancient History into Recent History. I was so confused!

By: Cobra302

Cobra302 — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:13:31 +0000

thats crazy!

By: Chris Vitek

Chris Vitek — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:00:30 +0000

Sheesh.

By: Mattbocchino

Mattbocchino — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:59:33 +0000

Here is another example of apples stupid app approving policy