iPhone developers are complaining that Apple has not figured out a way to allow them to have others beta test their software. This is, as expected, making it hard for the developers to fix issues with their applications. As a result, users are giving apps bad reviews, harming the reputations of the developers and making the apps less attractive even after they have been fixed.

Apple's drive to completely control everything about the iPhone, including its third-party developer base, is blinding them. The fact is, software must be tested and it must be easy for a developer to rush an update to the users when a bug is corrected. Too much tight control over the distribution platform is going to kill the developers and, ultimately, the platform itself. Apple needs to find a middle ground, and fast.

[via Silicon Alley Insider]