This is a good analysis, but I'm still curious why Apple, known for excellence in every area, including customer service, has such a shoddy app review process. In my opinion, it just doesn't fit within the way they approach everything else.
It's a completely separate entity from their main product lines.
Until there is financial incentive to fix it, change will be slow. This includes the emergence of serious alternatives. Serious being defined as platforms that make developers money. So far, Nokia, Palm and BB and even Android don't count (though they may in the future).
