The Digital Reader

Opera announced yesterday that a new version of the browser had been created for the iPhone. Today they submitted the browser to the App Store for Apple’s approval.

Now, anyone who knows Apple can tell you that it very likely won’t be approved. One of Apple’s policies is to forbid any app that copies a function of one of the default apps (like Safari). Opera knows this, and they decided to make a public spectacle out of the app approval process. When the browser app was submitted this morning, Opera started a timer to count how long it takes for the app to be approved. There is also a contest where you can try to guess how long this will last.

I find the whole thing deeply entertaining, but then again, I don’t like Apple’s business model. I’ve referred to it elsewhere as “leash up your arse”, and I stand by that remark. In particular, I don’t like that Apple has:

• locked down the iPhone so you can only install apps from the App Store
• an arbitrary approval process
• capriciously removes apps from the App Store long after they were approved

(Love the hardware, though.)