iOS [App concept] Help a beginner

[ayin]

Hello,

I am considering to develop a iOS app, untill I learned about the App Store restrictions regarding their strict "App publishing rules".
If you guys don't mind, can you validate my app idea:

- Present a Native iOS app (Not using HTML/CSS like an web-app) to show a catalog of items and eventually send an email with the end-user's "whislist".

The idea of having an app versus using the browser(Safari or iOS app using HTML..) is that the load time of the pictures would be way faster and would not require internet connection untill the "SEND".


1) Do you guys think it is a valid idea for an App Store app?
2) The idea of having the 10.000 images of (30kb) in iPad would work?

Thanks for your input,
Regards

 

[bbeagle]

Hello,

I am considering to develop a iOS app, untill I learned about the App Store restrictions regarding their strict "App publishing rules".

I do not understand what you are describing or why you think the App Store restrictions are relevant.

 

[ayin]

I do not understand what you are describing or why you think the App Store restrictions are relevant.

Hi,

I believe, not sure though, that these restrictions are relevant because i might work on an iOS App they will never be approved by Apple Review Committee. This means they might reject my distribuition of the App.

A more tangible example would be:

Similares apps/shops (however much bigger companies):
https://itunes.apple.com/us/genre/ios-c ... d6022?mt=8

- Ebay,
- Amazon
- some retailers

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/retale- ... 73523?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jewelry ... 38120?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cpro-cr ... 47683?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/coffeet ... 22347?mt=8

 

[dejo]

Hi,

I believe, not sure though, that these restrictions are relevant because i might work on an iOS App they will never be approved by Apple Review Committee. This means they might reject my distribuition of the App.

A more tangible example would be:

Similares apps/shops (however much bigger companies):
https://itunes.apple.com/us/genre/ios-c ... d6022?mt=8

- Ebay,
- Amazon
- some retailers

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/retale- ... 73523?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jewelry ... 38120?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cpro-cr ... 47683?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/coffeet ... 22347?mt=8

So, if other apps that do a similar thing have been approved, why would you think yours will be rejected? What, specifically, from the App Store Review Guidelines do you think your app might violate, such that it would be rejected?

 

[ayin]

Hi,

1) Others have the backup of BIG retailers. We are a small-medium retailer team.

2) I concern about:

2 ---- FUNCTIONALITY
2.12 - Apps that are not very useful, unique, are simply web sites bundled as Apps, or do not provide any lasting entertainment value may be rejected
2.13 - Apps that are primarily marketing materials or advertisements will be rejected


11 -- Purchasing and currencies
My concern: Will I be able to communicate with my Web Application and send the "wishlist" the user selected?

===========

Further notes:

- I was thinking to let the user update the catalog clicking a button. Similar to anti-virus "update virus definition" button. Then it would download the images and descriptions to the app and store them.

- The idea of an offline iPad app would be fast access without internet speed interference. Image oneself living in a zone with lower signal and still be able to nagivate navigate smoothly.
The target device is iPad, so that's the only dimension I was going to develop. Some people i know don't have internet connection on iPad outside their home wifi.

- We have a Web Application store. The main advantage of iPad app would be this offline search and, after selecting their "wishlist", send a webservice to the web app store developed in PHP.
In the future we might have more features such as user review, push notifications, etc.
The first stage would be validating this idea as hope Apple let us publish such app.

The Ad Hoc distribuition has some quite limitations.


Thanks

 

[waterskier2007]

Can you highlight a specific restriction from the App Store Guidelines that you think your potential app might infringe on? If not, then you should be fine.

 

[Jessica Lares]

I think they would have an issue with the function of your app being to send people an e-mail. You'd be better off making an actual storefront like the other guys you mentioned and integrating Apple Pay.

You have this idea that people would rather shop on your website when they're near a computer which really isn't the case, more and more people are using their phones and tablets. Embrace it and you'll do better. The wish list should be a feature and not the product.

 

[bbeagle]

Hi,
2) I concern about:

2 ---- FUNCTIONALITY
2.12 - Apps that are not very useful, unique, are simply web sites bundled as Apps, or do not provide any lasting entertainment value may be rejected
2.13 - Apps that are primarily marketing materials or advertisements will be rejected

I think you're all concerned about nothing.

2.12 describes apps as basically opening up a web browser and displaying a particular web page, like if the Google app would ONLY display the Google.com home page inside a browser-type look and only allow interaction much like using safari.

If the app has it's own GUI, and behind the scenes talks to the web page - then it doesn't violate 2.12.

2.13 describes an app that opens up and says 'Buy Coca Cola' and that's it. Your app doesn't do this, I bet.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

2 ---- FUNCTIONALITY
2.12 - Apps that are not very useful, unique, are simply web sites bundled as Apps, or do not provide any lasting entertainment value may be rejected

This is intended to reject useless apps. Some examples of useless apps:
- An app which displays a graphic and does nothing besides show that graphic.
- An app which makes a sound and does nothing else.

If it takes more than a single sentence to describe your app, it's not useless.

2.13 - Apps that are primarily marketing materials or advertisements will be rejected

Have you ever seen a banner ad before? Right now on the MacRumors homepage I see a little banner that's advertising some bullet points about a product. When you mouse over the bullet points, they shake around. That required some (extremely minimal) programming, so they could try packaging their banner as an app and submitting it to the app store. It would be rejected because it's an ad and nothing else.

11 -- Purchasing and currencies

This is a pretty long section that covers a lot of things. None of it seems to pertain to you. Which part concerns you?

My concern: Will I be able to communicate with my Web Application and send the "wishlist" the user selected?

Which bullet makes you think that would be a problem?

- I was thinking to let the user update the catalog clicking a button. Similar to anti-virus "update virus definition" button. Then it would download the images and descriptions to the app and store them.

That's fine... what part of that concerns you?

As an aside, talking about what anti-virus programs do probably isn't the best idea given how few Mac users (and by extension, iOS developers) have any installed.