Apple has denied another iPhone app, MailWrangler, because it duplicates functionality of the built in Mail app without adding “sufficient” new features.
MailWrangler uses WebKit to access Gmail’s iPhone web interface, which users can do through Safari. MailWrangler’s added functionality is that users would not have to log in each time to access separate Gmail accounts like they do when using the web interface.
Granted, its added utility is not that great, and MailWrangler being denied is less egregious than Podcaster, but what is Apple’s criteria for what is and is not sufficient added functionality for duplicate applications? Apple needs to make these guidelines more clear, and I have a sneaking suspicion that they are, so they can avoid this mess every time they deny an application because of duplicated functionality.