Disgusted with Apple's seemingly arbitrary and restrictive App Store policies, some developers have been thinking about dumping their iPhone projects in favor of Google's open mobile platform, Android.

After being rejected by Apple, coder Alex Sokirynsky said he'd be an Android convert. The wannabe iPhone developer recently gained widespread attention when Apple rejected his application Podcaster – because it allegedly "duplicates"

iTunes. Then, Sokirynsky tried to sell his application through other means, and Apple shut down his operation. As a result, Sokirnysky on

Tuesday announced in a blog post (before removing it, presumably in light of Apple's new non-disclosure policy regarding rejections) that he would cease developing applications for Apple and code for Android instead.

"All I wanted was for someone from Apple to contact me and tell me how we can work it out so that I get into the app store," he wrote. "Instead, Apple took the cowards way out by simply disabling features in my developers portal. This seems like a childish move for a company that has been proving such high-quality service and products in the past.... I plan to make

Podcaster for the Android operating system. At least there, I will be welcomed instead of being walked all over."

One would imagine that Sokirynsky would lead the way for developers turned off by Apple's unclear yet strict policies, ditching the App Store for

Android and eventually leaving the iPhone dry of new, innovative applications. But crossing over to Google's brand new open platform won't be as easy as it sounds.

Fraser Speirs coded the iPhone app Exposure, but disapproving of

Sokirynsky's rejection, he said he would no longer make iPhone apps.

Despite this proclamation, he told Wired.com that it was unlikely he would develop for Android, because it would be complicated.

"I'm basically playing with Android but I don't really see that I'm going to seriously develop for it,"

Speirs said in a phone interview. "The Android software package is a known quantity now, but the hardware ecosystem is not. It's not clear to me that every phone running Android will be just like the HTC G1:

There may be phones with touch screen and those without. I think that whole part of the Android story is really unclear right now."

Speirs added that switching over to Android wouldn't be that easy for him, because he's done all his coding with Apple's Cocoa platform – and programming an app for Android would require completely rewriting all of his software.

Nullriver CEO Adam Dann's story is a bit different: Apple banned his application NetShare, which violated AT&T Terms of Service by turning the iPhone into a wireless modem. To be more precise – after Apple approved NetShare, the company took the app down, and then restored it, pulled it down again and banned it permanently. Dann, too, said his company is looking into developing for Android, but he hasn't yet begun. And despite

Apple's fickleness, Nullriver is opting to continue developing software for iPhone, Dann said.

"[Apple's] process of approval is a pain in the butt, where you make an app and it might get approved, or they might ban it," Dann said in a phone interview. "At the same time there's a lot of money to make, and a lot of exposure you get from that platform. Even if you get some applications banned, if you keep developing you're going to come out ahead."

Dann said there are pros and cons to both Android and the App Store. For Android, he said the consequences of an open platform is you'll "end up with a lot of garbage," but on the plus side the environment promotes collaboration and innovation. As for the App Store, he said the obvious benefits are quality control, but Apple's downfall is "dictatorship," which could intimidate programmers from trying to innovate.

Nonetheless,

Android will pose some challenges to Apple. What's the App Store to do? Dann and Speirs say that if Apple wants to have rules, the company should make them clear: That way, developers can know in advance whether their applications will be approved before they invest the time and money in coding them.

And what must Google do to compete with Apple? Dan Morrill, a key member of the Android team, said in an interview with APCMag that he's aware Google faces a tough challenge. But his team is focused on making the new operating system excellent on the early Android-powered phones first.

"What we’d like to see is a platform that’s open from end to end to allow all of these innovations that are kind of scattered across various carriers and various hardware manufacturers and various phone operating systems to kind of allow them to come together in a perfect storm of innovation on a mobile device," Morrill said.

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