In his first extensive interview on the App Store’s frustratingly prolonged and capricious approval process for iPhone applications, Phil Schiller, Apple’s Senior VP for worldwide product marketing, outlined the numerous factors that affect the app approval process and the reasons why Apple keeps close tabs.

With the App Store boasting over 100,000 apps, and nearly 10,000 new submissions per week, Schiller said that most of the problems arise due to the ever-increasing volume.

Noting that Apple’s role is akin to that of a retailer, Schiller added that the company needs to ensure that only quality products find their way to its shelves. As such, nearly 10 percent of apps with notable technical flaws and “inappropriate content” are rejected.

Furthermore, along with the company reassuring itself that the apps, upon download, will work the way the customers expect them to, Schiller stated that Apple also has to be on its guard in terms of potentially illegal use of trademarks, predominantly its own.

Making a strong case for Apple’s role as the arbitrator of what the iPhone supports, Schiller said: “We've built a store for the most part that people can trust. You and your family and friends can download applications from the store, and for the most part they do what you'd expect, and they get onto your phone, and you get billed appropriately, and it all just works!”