This is true, but the scope is not really "indy developers" but "developers with a day job." I've got two apps I hack on on the weekends, and the review process has been frustrating and painful. (almost 2 months now.)
But, that's it. I don't worry about bills or lost funding or any of the highly stressful aspects of app development there'd be if this were my "real job."
As perverse as this is, this "review process endurance" stamina I have is a real competitive advantage, when you consider the fact that most iPhone apps that do well have a huge first-to-market advantage for whatever thing it is that they do. Ie, other folks who may have been building the same app as I have probably won't have the ability to endure the process, and hence my app will be the first to market with this capability, albeit much later than would have been possible without the review process.
"As perverse as this is, this "review process endurance" stamina I have is a real competitive advantage, when you consider the fact that most iPhone apps that do well have a huge first-to-market advantage for whatever thing it is that they do."
That is if you get your app first to market. Maybe the person developing the same app gets lucky and gets a more lenient or faster reviewer - bam there goes your first to market advantage. Or maybe there is already an app ahead of you that will get approved just a bit sooner.
Oh of course, I never said that the app review process wasn't a horrible mess. My only point was that the dynamic in the post is true: being able to survive two or three months before launching (after development stops) has become a necessary precondition for writing iPhone apps. This plays to hobbyist developers as an advantage, but the overall process is still a disaster and a crap shoot.
But, that's it. I don't worry about bills or lost funding or any of the highly stressful aspects of app development there'd be if this were my "real job."
As perverse as this is, this "review process endurance" stamina I have is a real competitive advantage, when you consider the fact that most iPhone apps that do well have a huge first-to-market advantage for whatever thing it is that they do. Ie, other folks who may have been building the same app as I have probably won't have the ability to endure the process, and hence my app will be the first to market with this capability, albeit much later than would have been possible without the review process.