Friday, April 23, 2010

iPad Analog Clock

Isaiah Carew:

The other day I went hunting through the App Store hoping to find a nice clock for the iPad that I could turn on while it was sitting on my desk. To my surprise, there really wasn’t anything that appealed to me. There are a handful of really nice digital clocks, but I prefer analog. And the iPad’s size feels just right for a nice big clock face.

So he built one, and Apple rejected it because he hadn’t mucked it up with extraneous features (via Macworld).

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"So he built one, and Apple rejected it because he hadn’t mucked it up with extraneous features"

Can we just bring back John Sculley?

However, while wishing for a boardroom coup, I will say a word in defense of the nameless, faceless, all-powerful and capricious AppStoreReviewMonster in this particular instance:

The clock is ugly and useless. The design is far too busy to suit its intention, which is showing an analog clockface time reader for lean-back usage. If those aesthetic grounds were the AppStoreReviewMonster's reason for declining admission past the velvet rope, then I applaud the AppStoreReviewMonster's internal reasoning.

Of course, the issue of why there is a velvet rope and an AppStoreReviewMonster in the first place is a different matter...

@Chucky I think the design is fine—perhaps not your personal choice, but certainly not objectionable. I bet it would look better at actual size on an iPad screen than it does scaled down on the Mac.

I wonder if this is a sign of Apple trying to impose a different scope for iPad apps, and restrict simple one-task apps to the iPhone format, while trying to push for more complex interactive apps on the iPad. Of course, if that's the case, they are doing it without any clear guidance or policy. And with the added layer of uncertainty and arbitrary decision that taint the review process. Sigh.

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