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iPhone developers unable to renew contracts

iPhone developers signed one-year contracts last March to get in the App Store, but as those contracts expire developers are having trouble renewing.

Tom Krazit Former Staff writer, CNET News
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Google, as the most prominent company on the Internet defends its search juggernaut while expanding into nearly anything it thinks possible. He has previously written about Apple, the traditional PC industry, and chip companies. E-mail Tom.
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Tom Krazit
Developers who want to add applications to the iPhone need a contract, and the first ones signed last year are about to expire. CNET

Apple developers are having a tough time renewing their iPhone development licenses, according to reports.

AppleInsider reported last week that as the one-year contracts signed by iPhone developers begin to expire, developers are starting to wonder if they'll be able to continue their development after the end of March without an option to renew the contracts. The contracts are needed as part of the iPhone Developer Program in order to have iPhone applications listed in the App Store.

Ars Technica's Erica Sadun, a prolific iPhone developer, is having similar problems. She attempted to renew her contract on Friday only to be told that Apple had yet to implement a process for doing so.

One year after Apple first kicked off iPhone development, the astounding growth of the App Store continues: Apple now has more than 25,000 applications listed, adding nearly 10,000 since January. The company has had trouble keeping up with that growth over the year, but usually manages to iron out the kinks and keep its developers happy.