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That is the question.
When you look at the requirements for submitting to one of the app stores, there is always something like "app must be universally applicable". Meaning that it may be potentially used by all audiences.
What if your business fills a specific niche market and your app really only applies to the specific android/apple/windows phone users within your niche market?
Where do you put your app? How do you make an app available to a diverse yet pretty specific market? Is there the ability to set up your own business marketplace somehow housed within these existing global app stores?
Anybody else had to deal with these issues?
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I guess you could either require users to have a user account if you don't want anyone using it, or, assume that anyone who wants to use it can, but chances are unless they are searching within that niche, they never will.
I'd assume that "app must be universally applicable" is there to stop people putting up 'adult' or 'illegal' content, seems a bit of a catch all clause really.
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The company I work for has several apps in the App Store and Google Play that are only useful to the several hundred customers that have bought its hardware devices - the company's actual product. We essentially use the app stores as an easy and familiar deployment mechanism for mobile apps.
No app is really "universally applicable", not even the phone, SMS and clock apps that come with your smartphone - you could just as well use Skype/Viber/Messenger for calls and messages and have a wrist watch for the time.
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That's not really the same thing as what the OP is referring to...universally applicable means the general population could make use of it. Not that they have to, but that they could.
For example, we have an app that touring musicians can use to connect to reputable venues. The general population has no interest in doing that. The general population does have an interest in seeing the time, or sending messages.
That said, we've had no problem getting our niche apps approved. I'm not sure how specific is too specific for them. Maybe something like an app that only works for people that walk into your single store location might be too specific? I really have no idea.
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I suspect they placed this rule to restrict the publishing of "hello world" test apps, a DDoS on the store if you will.
Our apps are as niche as it can get, and we've had no problems whatsoever.
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You're probably right, given that we've never had an issue either.
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There's a pretty cool application environment out there called NSBasic (www.nsbasic.com) that you can write apps for pretty much any of the phone / tablet platforms (iOS, Android, etc.). It emits apps in Javascript that can run on those devices and also, apparently, allows you deploy to the "stores" through something called "Phone Gap". Using this platform you can "sideload" apps by just giving the potential user a URL where they can download the app or, like I said, you can deal with the App Stores.
I've only written relatively simple applications with it, but I'm pretty impressed with what it seems to be capable of. Much lighter-weight than using all the other technologies, a really interesting approach. Check it out. It's also not very expensive. (Like $100 or something - it was $99 when I bought it a few years ago and they keep it updated). These guys at NSBasic really seem to have pulled off something here. You can get versions that will run in Windows and OSX.
Incidentally, I don't have anything to gain here - I don't work for them.
-CM
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It's just CYA verbiage that the lawyers put in there to give the store owners a legal wedge in case they need to pull a piece of software.
Any time that you see something that is not objectively verifiable in an SLA/Usage Agreement, that's usually the purpose in my experience.
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
- Benjamin Disraeli
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Bite The Bullet[^]
Twelve chocolates.
One full of Dorset Naga... 
Now, I like chillies. And I like Chocolate. I Even like Chilli and Chocolate. But I have my limits... 
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Quote: Product not available at the moment.
You should left some for us too...
Skipper: We'll fix it.
Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this?
Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.
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I quite like chilli chocolate but 1 million Scoville punch is just bloody stupid. How to ruin a a nice treat.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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Should be we kind to dentists because they have fillings too?
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Groan × ∞
What do you get when you cross a joke with a rhetorical question?
The metaphorical solid rear-end expulsions have impacted the metaphorical motorized bladed rotating air movement mechanism.
Do questions with multiple question marks annoy you???
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I hate them. It's like they are torturing you. No hurt fillings. Peace!
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Especially when they look down in the mouth.
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Of course; The poor dentists can only live hand to mouth!
If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.
--Winston Churchill
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Last one I went really got on my nerves.
New version: WinHeist Version 2.2.2 Beta I told my psychiatrist that I was hearing voices in my head. He said you don't have a psychiatrist!
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That idea caries little weight.
... such stuff as dreams are made on
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When I enter the dentists office I always tell him he better not hurt me because I'm the eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth kind of guy.
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Yes. That's the molar of the story.
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When it comes to dentists, some say NO, I say N2O!
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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That quip made me laugh. What a gas.
Mongo: Mongo only pawn... in game of life.
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Yeah, N2O is my drill too.
/ravi
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Wow, I'm at a floss for words.
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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By gum, I think I need to brush up my skills too.
/ravi
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