Apple VP makes magic real

Apple VP Phil Schiller has expanded his one-man operation to sort out the iPhone application store, this time conceding that magic tricks can indeed be "confusing" to users.

Having responded to developers who threatened to walk away from the iPhone platform and those who asserted unreasonably prudish behaviour from Cupertino, Phil is now responding to applications that have been rejected for more arcane reasons, even correcting the occasional mistake.

The application concerned this time is called Rising Card, and is a nicely-presented version of a traditional magic trick that presents the mark with a card of which they were thinking, on the iPhone screen. Most importantly the app provides another opportunity for iPhone owners to whip out their toy in public - so it's sure to be a bestseller.

Except that the application was refused by Apple on the grounds that it would confuse people - despite that being rather the point. So, as TechCrunch reports, the developer wrote a letter of complaint to Apple and then moaned to the appropriate blogs, without much hope of either action eliciting a response from Cupertino.

But Theory11, the application's developer, didn't count on Phil's new crusade that resulted in calls from the man himself and rapid certification of the application, which is now listed on the iTunes store.

We're not clear if Mr Schiller is planning to call up everyone with a rejected application - a call to Mountain View would probably be in order - but those whose applications didn't make the grade might like to try making lots of noise in the blogosphere in the hope of being noticed by Apple management, at least until Cupertino comes up with a better appeals process or the management decide they've got anything better to do with their time. ®