Built For BlackBerry

[georg22]

Hi,

one of my app was recently rejected, but I am not surprised - its a very basic, free app, and more a result of my QNX learning time - and i dont want to talk about "user benefits" related issues.

There is one point  in the explanation of the reviewer which causes my question: "Please comply with BB10 UI".

Its a Cascades app and i have used the QNX UI controls.

I see 4 places, where i "might" have done the mistake(s).

- I used a different header-color (blue-grey)

- I used a background texture (paper) for a calculation result field. 

- In the main-menue list a list-item does not show the blue rectangle when clicked (can be easyly fixed).

- The place of the "Calculate" button and "Clear" button in the header (i had good reasons to place them there).

If you want to have a look: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/19967845/?countrycode=EN , there are 4 screenshots.

What do you think is the "crunchpoint"?

Is it allowed to use a different header-color than the default loud-blue one?

Is it allowed to use background textures generally?

Is it allowed to place a custom button inside the header?

Is there any room to differentiate the look of the app quite a bit (not the navigation of course)?

I did not manage to contact the reviewer, so i can only guess.

Working on the design of my next app, this issue freezes my activities completely. 

Thanks.

[peter9477]

I see nothing wrong with those as far as the UI Guidelines go. I doubt that the header colour should not be changed, but that's the closest possibility that you suggested. Seems a bit unlikely to me.

I would suggest that you properly align the labels and the fields, since it looks awkward with the labels top-aligned instead of middle-aligned. It's ugly like that (in my opinion) but even so I can't see that being a reason for the rejection. I've examined some of the existing low-end Built For BlackBerry apps that were approved and noted numerous little things like that, which apparently weren't enough to disqualify them.

[georg22]

Thanks peter9477. It was rejected because of the user-benefits criteria (what else), but the UI was also mentioned. 

I actually want to keep the design if possible, the header color and the paper texture.

Its not only because of this app... i just dont understand.

Oh boy, I really dont know what to do. BFBtestingteam never responds 

[jabennett]

Hello georg22,

I just loaded your app, and you have made some changes from what your screenshots showed.  The addition of the action menu for the clear, and share options.  This is a recommended type action, you can see here: http://developer.blackberry.com/devzone/design/bb10/menus.html

I will email you with more details.

thanks,

Jason

[QuiteSimple]

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jabennett wrote:

Hello georg22,

I just loaded your app, and you have made some changes from what your screenshots showed

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So the reviewers judge the app based on the screenshots? Oh my, and I left the BBJava screenshots for a BB10 port (and got rejected for "not using BBUI" while it is WebWorks app built with bbui.js) 

[georg22 · Accepted solution]

@ QuiteSimple. I dont know. The new version of the app was approved a few days ago and i did not update the screenshots yet. 

I want to share with you, that my tweet was successful and Jason Bennett from BB sent me a mail with more information. Thank you, Jason. Regarding the UI he remarked, that the interest rate input field should be a drop down and the calculate button should be on the bottom. 

Everything else (Header color, texture etc.) seems not to be an issue - thats the good news and helps me to continue to design my next app.

With respect to Jason points:

Using drop down for interest rates is difficult because of the huge span (accurate more than 2 places) of possible values so entering by the keyboard should be much faster. 

With an calculate button on the bottom the user needs to close the keyboard before the button is visible - an additional step, so i placed it on the top. The enter button of the keyboard cycles the focus through the input fileds. I tested different positions for the button and was sure, the top position is the best.

I am still not sure if this little (reasoned) aberration from the UI-guidlines can be responsible for a rejection.

I have the impression BB has a very cramped point of view, how a BFBB-app has to look, and every single little divergence could be a risk that the reviewer presses the reject button.

I have seen countles very similar interest calculators on websites, so i thought it might be a nice idea to make a corresponding BB10 app and add a feature to share the calculation - its a business phone, so a "business" app can't be wrong.

But this app was also rejected  for "not meeting the criteria as outlined in user benefits". Now i could add some more features, a tutorial for example. But who knows, maybe the reviewer will still not see any benefits "in every day use". With the lack of comprehensible criteria and examples and no possibility to contact the reviewer i will not try to improve this little app.

I have cancled all my utility-apps targeting a small audience and now planning an app for a wider audience. Not sure, if this trend was originally intended by BB. Maybe its better to make games

[georg22]

UPDATE

I have got an additional information. I was told, that a misplaced button does not cause problems with the UI-guidelines. In other words. Nothing is wrong with UI.

The term "Please comply with BB10 UI" is randomly used, when the reviewer didn’t think the app overall was Built for BlackBerry quality.

Oh boy, i feel so misguided, looking all day long for the UI mistake.

[QuiteSimple]

Thank you, you saved my time. My app was rejected with "comply with BB10 UI", while it is a WebWorks app built with bbui.js. When I asked which of UI elements don't comply with guidelines, I just received a link to the guidelines and advice to read them again.
As the app is a simple one, I expected to be rejected, but not because of the UI... Anyway, maybe you are right that games seems to be the better way to go

[TheMarco]

The 'feedback' is all over the place. You can't really act on what they tell you. It's just random banter at this point.

The only 'useful data' in the feedback is "APPROVED" or "NOT APPROVED".

Supposedly they're working on fixing all this (see Alec Saunders in the 'This program is a joke' thread).

[georg22]

With all we know now you can translate every rejection email this way :

Dear Vendor,

Thank-you for your submission to the Built for BlackBerry program.

You should know, this program is a competition for showcase apps.

Sorry,  you didn't win. Maybe there is nothing wrong with your app, but its just not good enough to win.

Feel free to make some improvements, add some features for example or have a second look into the UI Guidelines, and try it later again. 

We wish you the best for the next lap of our competition. 

Good luck!

But keep ever in mind, it's just a competition, there is no guarantee to win.

If at any time you have questions regarding the above issue, try to email us. Good luck with it!

Regards,

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