App Store now requires you to purchase the app before leaving a review

[aphex]

http://www.macrumors.com/2008/...-reviews-and-listings/

Over the weekend, Apple has implemented some changes to the way their iTunes App Store listings and reviews are handled.

One issue that had been the source of developer frustration is that anyone had previously been allowed to leave "Customer Reviews" -- even for apps they had not personally purchased. This led to a frequent comments complaining about price from individuals who had never bought the application. A simple change this weekend now requires customers to have bought the application in order to be able to leave a customer review. Both customers and developers seem pleased about this change.

Another change has been the removal of the "All iPhone Applications" link which has typically provided a method for customers to view the most recently released applications. Instead, users must visit individual categories to see the latest releases. This change may be part of larger changes, however. One developer claims (via AppleInsider) that App Store listings are now organized by true release dates rather than most recent updates. In the past, any version update would bump an application to the top of the list, increasing its exposure.

While this would be a welcome change that should prevent frequent and unnecessary app "updates", without the presence of the "All iPhone Applications" listing, the benefit is limited, since users have to visit each individual category to find new applications.

Glad to see the App Store now requires you to purchase the app before reviewing. This was a complaint of mine since the App Store launched, way too many people complaining about price, etc, that had never even used the app.

On the other hand, I hope Apple brings back the 'All iPhone Applications' category listing as that was primarily what I used to find new apps.

 

[Kmax82]

Yea.. I'm in for at least 1 year with the iPhone. If after that, they are still denying apps for stupid reasons, haven't outlined their development SDK rules "completely" clearly, and I can't legally download podcasts over the air.. I'll be moving to another smartphone.

 

[Kaido]

I agree, I don't know why so many people are complaining about not being able to review a product they haven't purchased. That's just retarded...if you don't own it, how can you review it?

@ Kmax82 - I think all of the non-iPhone geeks who liked the iPhone but not Apple's approach are going to rally behind Android and make it awesome...hopefully this will cause Apple to be more open about their app "hiring" practices instead of leaving developers in the dark and giving them a gag order not to talk about getting rejected :|

 

[Kmax82]

Originally posted by: Kaido
@ Kmax82 - I think all of the non-iPhone geeks who liked the iPhone but not Apple's approach are going to rally behind Android and make it awesome...hopefully this will cause Apple to be more open about their app "hiring" practices instead of leaving developers in the dark and giving them a gag order not to talk about getting rejected :|

Yea.. I don't want to derail this thread too much, but I don't have high hopes for that. Apple has always done what Apple wants to do regardless of what other companies are doing. At least to my knowledge. So while they might change their ways, I'm not holding my breath. 🙁