>probably a factor in increasing the iPhone's appeal to developers and users, not decreasing it. To users, maybe - other than boneheaded moves like making dict

>probably a factor in increasing the iPhone's appeal to developers and users, not decreasing it. To users, maybe - other than boneheaded moves like making dictionaries R-rated. To developers, I highly doubt it. So many developers flock to it because it has tens of millions of users, not because it's a pleasure to work with - maybe it is compared to Blackberry or Symbian (I've never used them), but definitely not compared to Android (and, I'm assuming, the Pre). The iPhone isn't the coolest end-user platform because Apple has turned the submission process into a complete nightmare. It's the coolest end-user platform because it's sleek and shiny and sexy - it was sexy before the App Store launched. You can't compare the minor annoyance of being turned away from a nightclub to wasting weeks or months on an app that is never approved.