Our Letter to Apple Executives

Below you’ll find a copy of the cover letter sent as part of a packet to Apple senior executives Phil Schiller, Eddy Cue and Scott Forstall. To view the letter in its original form, unedited except for redacting the recipient addresses, you can go to MegatonApps.com/AppleLetter (PDF).

Dear Mr. Schiller,

I apologize for contacting you at your home address, but I bring to you a matter of truly urgent nature, one I fear could critically damage the future of iPad without your attention. Enclosed you’ll find an account of our struggle over the past weeks to navigate the app review process and bring our app, a simple toolkit of functions like a calculator and to-do list, to market.

We adamantly believe that we are in compliance with every written guideline Apple has provided us with, and have spent innumerable hours and thousands of dollars creating a great experience for iPad users. Yet we have been placed in a review purgatory, judged unsuitable for approval and yet without the fault necessary for rejection. Even after submitting a revised and crippled version of our product that meets unwritten demands, we are being told that no app whatsoever with multiple features is acceptable, a standard Apple’s own system apps violate.

We formed MegatonApps to help companies see the potential that Apple’s mobile platforms hold for the future. After just a year in operation, we’ve met with executives from professional sports teams, the world’s most famous theme parks, the biggest names in mainstream and digital media, and more. To each of these, we have professed the great potential iPhone and iPad offer, but based on our experience with Apple’s review process, I fear we have been spreading a lie.

As a user, developer and shareholder I hope that you will ensure that the details provided in the attached document are placed in the right hands. We only ask that we be judged against the standards we have been provided, and that common sense might prevail.

I’m 22 years old and finished my master’s degree while developing this app; my business partner is an entrepreneur with an imagination second to none. We want to drive the future success of your products, because we believe in their ability to make the world just a bit better.

But we need your help to do that. Thanks for your time,

Casey Ayers President, MegatonApps, LLC