Paul Graham, the founder of Ycombinator, is one of our favorite bloggers. He has a great piece about why the App store App-roval process is hurting Apple. Read it. It is awesomely written and full of great insights
We know how much heat there is around the app store which leads to lots of frustrations. This is not going to change anytime soon
Paul has an interesting suggestion about the next-level phone that could take developers away from Apple: a phone size device for app development. By giving developers a better platform maybe they might be ready to switch and contribute to a new ecosystem. I find it hard to imagine. But that is a lead that could make sense
We still believe Apple could have a big win by changing the rules and crowdsourcing smartly the App-roval process.
Like Paul says, it means treating apps in a different mode than the way they treat songs in iTunes.
Of course, a number of open development platforms exist, e.g. OpenMoko and Android to a certain extent – however, the challenge for these platforms is to ensure a high commitment to market and distribute. So far, Apple has been the only significant player with such technology breadth and depth, hardware and software, combined with a true commitment & vision for its users.
Apple is certainly not resting idle and is listening. We know for sure as we discussed these issues first hand at the recent Apple Tech Talks in Paris…
When it comes to innovation, the market is like a toddler – one has to educate the toddler first, by narrowing the field of possibles, down to the crib. This is clearly what Apple is doing with the “apps” market. Now that the “apps” market is about to walk on its own, perhaps it is time to relax the rules and let the children play 
