Last month when Cerulean Studios launched Trillian Astra, they also submitted Trillian for iPhone to the Apple App Store for approval.  Fast forward thirty days and they are still waiting for a response from Apple.

Astra is version 4.0 of Trillian, the multiprotocol instant messaging client.  Trillian connects to multiple instant messaging and social networks at the same time and eliminates the need for software for each individual service.  In addition to Astra, Trillian’s own instant messaging and video conferencing protocol, Trillian works with all of the major instant messaging and social networks.

Cerulean Studios has been working to keep Trillian’s momentum moving forward.  One month after releasing Trillian 4.0, a new build has been provided to resolve a few bugs and a version 3.x update was also rolled out.  Version 4.1 is on the horizon and is said include new enhancements, improvements to the user interface and features requested by the user community.

Meanwhile, Trillian for iPhone is in limbo due to slow response from the Apple App Store.  Cerulean Studios released a brief statement in its new build announcement.

Trillian for iPhone was submitted to the App Store on August 14th, the same day we released Trillian Astra 4.0.  We haven’t been accepted or rejected yet and are patiently awaiting a response from Apple. Should the app be rejected, we’ll update the blog and explain what we’re doing to address any problems Apple’s reviewers uncovered. In the meantime, we’re in the dark and keeping our fingers crossed.

Apple has dragged its feet on more than a few apps as it exercises complete control over the iPhone user experience.  The most notable app to hit a snag with App Store approval recently was Google Voice for iPhone.  While it was widely reported that the app was rejected, Apple reported to the FCC that it was still under evaluation.

Joe Hewitt, a loyal developer of Apple applications, recently experienced an eleven day approval time for his Facebook 3.0 for iPhone app and wasn’t happy.  He posted a respectful, but critical article describing his take on the App Store approval process and Apple’s hold on all iPhone apps.  I think most developers would agree with his complaint and solution for the approval process.  He says,

I have only one major complaint with the App Store, and I can state it quite simply: the review process needs to be eliminated completely.

While that isn’t likely to happen anytime soon, if ever, hopefully Apple will get the message that developers are very unhappy and improve their approval process.  Companies like Cerulean Studios put a lot of development hours into creating apps and related promotional materials.  When developers have apps ready to be released to consumers, Apple should not block the developers’ progress or consumers’ ability to obtain those apps.

Update 10/13/09: Two full months after submitting Trillian Astra for iPhone to the Apple App Store, Cerulean Studios has still received no response from Apple, other than generic form letters.

Update 11/18/09: More than three full months after being submitted for review, Apple has finally approved Trillian Astra for iPhone for sale in the Apple App Store.  This marks a great day for Cerulean Studios and its customers and another failure for the iPhone app approval process.  There is no excuse for Apple taking more than three months to approve an instant messaging application.