14 DAY TRIAL // iPhone developer Joel Comm, of Digital Future Inc., has confirmed that their KaChing application is now in the App Store. Previously rejected by Apple’s reviewer board over minimal user functionality, the KaChing app has finally earned its rightful place among the entertainment titles for iPhone and iPod touch.
A while ago, Softpedia reported that Digital Future’s Joel Comm was angry at Apple for rejecting their admittedly simple KaChing app. So he made a video appealing Apple’s very CEO, Mr. Steve Jobs. In the video, he emphasized how he liked Apple for everything it did, except for the App Store approval process, and the lack of communication between the Mac maker and developers. Comm gave Apple a few examples of similar apps that had already been approved in the App Store, stressing that there was no reason for their KaChing app to be left out in the cold.
Whether it was the video (which reportedly garnered over 40,000 views), or the addition of functionality to the application that made Apple finally approve KaChing, the simple app can now be downloaded from the App Store.
Apple cited “minimal user functionality” as the reason for rejecting Digital Future’s KaChing app. Although they didn’t quite agree, Comm and his team decided to add a few nifty things to make KaChing more appealing, and win a spot for the app in the Entertainment category. And they did. Besides playing the satisfying “kaching” sound at the press of the huge, green button, the app also boasts business tips now, and the ability to customize the button to show one of four different currency symbols.
“We are pleased that our simple addition of foreign currency symbols has met with Apple's approval to allow The KaChing Button into the AppStore,” Digital Future, Inc.'s CEO, Joel Comm, said. “The video for Steve Jobs was intended to cultivate and encourage open dialogue regarding the mysterious app approval process. I can't say that our app being approved has removed the mystery, but we are pleased that the public is now able to download our application.”
One thing we can’t agree with is the price - $0.99. Apple undoubtedly took this into consideration when rejecting the app. From where we stand, the price still doesn’t justify the functionality. There are hundreds (maybe thousands) of iPhone apps out there that do so much more (like stimulating creativity) for $0.