App Store goes offline for developers between Dec 23-28

iOS developers have received notification from Apple that the company plans to take iTunes Connect offline over the Christmas, or holiday, period.

As stated in an email, iTunes Connect will be unavailable from December 23 through to December 28, with Apple taking the set up offline as Jobs and company swan off to enjoy the holidays.

Christmas closedown

"iTunes Connect access will be back online for use on December 29," Apple says in the email.

"If you choose to set an available date for your app to go live during the scheduled holiday shutdown, your app will not go live on the App Store until iTunes Connect resumes for business on December 29. Please plan your releases accordingly."

Significantly, this period is one of the busiest of the year, with million of people unwrapping new iOS devices, especially iPod touches. 

It's expected that the chart position of apps and games on the App Store will also be frozen during this period. 

The shutdown follows a precedent set by Apple over Christmas last year, although no reference has yet been made to a hiatus over Thanksgiving that had been expected by some commentators.

[source: MacRumors.com]