There's something that they can do, it's written as the first option:

"On our side: if Sparrow was to do Push today, we would have to store your credentials (login/password) on our servers to frequently poll your accounts, and send you notifications.

This is a responsibility we're not ready to take. As a startup focused on iOS/OS X development, we do not have the skills to secure your data on our servers and we do not want to put sensitive information at risk."

I like that they're being honest about this and are focussing on what they are good at. The request push option, useless as it may be with Apple in charge, might be just what is needed. As they already state, allowing an e-mail app into the app store in the first place is a step in the right direction. Why not try to prod Apple to take another one.

The problem is focusing on what they're good at leaves the user with only half a product.

I've just downloaded the app and it's awesome from a UI perspective, but it's never going to be an option as my primary mail app in it's current form which means I really can't recommend it to anyone.

Yes Apple might change their policy on this but it seems unlikely, at least in the short term. I think their best hope would be a new mechanism that allows something like this in OS6 rather than Apple just going "OK" but pragmatically they need to be looking at what they can do rather than crossing their fingers and waiting for Apple.

I'd say it's better to have half a product than to have a product that spills your e-mail credentials all over the web. It's not like they try to hide the shortcoming in their app, they are open about it. If you feel the lack of push is a dealbreaker then you can just not use or buy the app.

It might be better than that but it's not as good as the native mail app which doesn't have those issues, is the incumbent application for this sort of thing and is free and installed on all iPhones from the off.

But that's not really my point. My point is that petitioning Apple likely isn't a productive route for them to follow, they need to look at how they address this problem without relying on a third party who are unlikely to accommodate them.

Gmail has mechanisms for allowing access without you having to share you credentials with another organisation so it can be done. I get that it's not their core competence but if this is a market they want to be in, they might need to start expanding their skills base.

There is actually something _else_ they could do; run a service where you forward your email to an address on their end (with GMail's autoforward thing or whatever); they push notifications to you based on that. Of course, that would require server infrastructure, and there'd still be privacy concerns (though lesser ones, as they wouldn't have to _store_ anything).