First, I love the App Store on my iPhone and iPad, and am learning to like it on the Mac. It’s extremely convenient to be able to update lots of software all at once rather than grabbing separate updates or being alerted of auto-updates upon launch.

However I’ve observed a major short coming of the process in the last few days…

Time required for approval
I just have to plug my favorite new mail client, Sparrow. However they recent posted an update that had some major bugs, and after a few days waiting for approval they had to pull it from the store. It will be a few days more before their fixed version hits the store, putting store customers at a disadvantage compared to those who bought via other channels.

Bias?
I do have my favorite apps, and so I am painfully aware when they are waiting for approval. “Confirmed” sources say that a Google+ client and a Skype client for iPad have been waiting for quite some time now. In fact, after they were submitted, one version of Sparrow for Mac has been submitted and approved, and two versions of Tweetbot for iPhone have been submitted and approve. Rumor has it that personal/political issues may be causing delays for for the Google+ and Skype apps. (Google is a major competitor against Apple in multiple arenas including phones, tablets, and web browsers. Skype was recently purchased my Microsoft and offers similar features to FaceTime. One can’t help but wonder…

On a related note, Sparrow 1.3.1 just got approved. (Yay!) Still no word on Skype for iPad, or Google+.
http://twitter.com/sparrowmailapp/status/93235980324188160