The SlingPlayer Mobile Debacle

TUAW on SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone:

So, here we are, more than three weeks after SlingPlayer Mobile was submitted to the app store, and there’s still nothing. Nada. Bupkis. Zlich. In the meantime, Sling Media has alienated many Slingbox owners by intimating that a lot of their older gear won’t work with the iPhone app when (or if) it is released.

Disappointed with the slow rate of progress and the constant stream of rumors, I checked with Sling Media today to get the official word on what was up. Cathy Cook, a spokesperson for the company, says the app was submitted, and that Sling Media and Apple are in regular touch with each other. She says anything else people hear is rumor and conjecture. She added that Sling Media thinks the app is ‘solid and a great experience’ and they’d like nothing better than to have it in the App Store.

I dashed off another quick email to Ms. Cook asking if Apple had communicated any concerns about the app in the three weeks that it has been in limbo, but I haven’t receive a response to that question so far. She did mention in the first email that “We’ve been told that a two-to-three week wait is common. Some apps may take less time, but it’s important to remember that SlingPlayer is far more complex than a typical iPhone app. It makes sense it would take a little extra time to go through this process.”

So far, the release of this app has been a nightmare. If it does surface on the App Store, I’m sure it will do well, but Sling Media’s name has been damaged by this thing – and a single app may not be worth all the headache.