Apple Allows Previously Banned Ringtone Makers Into App Store [Ringtone Makers Make Mark On App Store, Give Previously Banned Apps New Hope]

When the original iPhone first launched back in 2007 there was no official way to get third party applications onto the device. The only way to do such a thing was to break just about every rule in the book and jailbreak the device. Going this route gave consumers access to an expansive line up of applications developed specificially for the phone rendering it far more useful than when it originally launched.

However, when 2008 rolled around with the iPhone 3G, Apple introduced to the world the App Store. This new virtual mobile application retail outlet gave consumers official access to both paid for and free applications. Over the years the App Store has seen immense growth with over 6.5 billion downloads and over 250,000 appliactions available on the market to date.

Up until now, Apple has been pretty strict about which applications actually make it into the App Store. In fact, every one of those 250,000+ apps were subject to Apple’s intensive approval process. Due to these strict guidelines, many applications were denied access to the store if they even remotely replicated a feature already in the phone. Google Voice applications, for example, were originally allowed onto the market and then quickly pulled for duplicating a service already found within the iPhone.

Luckily, Apple has grown much more lenient as of late allowing many different applications onto the market including ones made specifically for Google Voice. Today, it was announced that Apple has allowed a whole slew of ringtone makers onto the App Store. This may not seem like a big deal but it is a major victory for app store developers as such a thing was previously disallowed.

Prior to this, it was almost impossible to get such a seemingly simple app onto the market but now that Apple is allowing such things, we can only wonder what will be allowed next. Of course, we’re not going to see free tethering apps any time soon but software that competes with the iPhone’s core software would certainly be welcome.