Travails of Dealing with the iTunes Store

Seriously, we need your advice. (That’s you, our friends!)

We submitted an update to the Dim Sum Warriors app to Apple more than a month ago. The update solves several problems:

1. It makes the download of Issue #2 onwards much faster. (Previously, the download speed would be very slow, especially for Asian readers.)

2. Users only need to register once, upon purchase. (Registering enables you to restore your purchases in case you change your iPad, or – urk! – drop it in a hypothetical river.)

3. It’s now faster for us to make new issues available.

BUT: there’s a bug within the iTunes store that’s holding up the approval process, and Apple keeps telling us to be patient while they sort it out. It’s been weeks already, and we’re climbing the walls.

We are currently in Singapore, ready to do publicity – but we don’t want Asian users to have a bad experience.

So do we:

1. Send out a press release on Monday about the Beta version of the app being on the iTunes store (and risk having poor reviews because users can’t download new issues);

or

2. Hold off until Apple approves the improved update before starting the publicity process. (The problem being that we don’t know when they’ll approve it, and they might only do it after we’ve left Singapore and can’t do in-person interviews with the local media)

Advice anyone?