TechCrunch’s Jason Kincaid makes the most cogent case I’ve seen against Apple’s new policy of mandating that apps that offer content make it available through the App Store, and charging a 30% distribution fee when they do so.
Tag Archives | Apple iOS
Rhapsody Isn't Rhapsodizing Over Apple's New App Store Rules
How are content providers going to react to Apple’s new App Store rules, which mandate that providers of music, video, e-books, and other stuff sell their wares using Apple’s in-app purchasing and subscriptions–at least as an option–and give Apple a 30 percent cut when they do? Music purveyor Rhapsody is the first company I’ve seen to respond in public. And it’s taking an almost-hard line–it doesn’t say it’s pulling out of the App Store, but it does call Apple’s 30 percent fee “untenable” and says it “would not be able to offer” Rhapsody under Apple’s new terms.
It issued this statement by Rhapsody’s President, Jon Irwin:
Rhapsody is the leading digital music subscription service in the U.S.,with 750,000 subscribers. Music fans can access the service using free apps from any Internet-connected device, be it on an Android, Sonos, Tivo, BlackBerry, iOS or personal computer. Today, Rhapsody subscriptions are available for purchase exclusively via Rhapsody.com.
Rhapsody offers a content-based subscription service that makes millions of tracks available to fans pursuant to longstanding partnerships with thousands of rights holders, all of which then distribute revenues to artists and other creators.
Our philosophy is simple too – an Apple-imposed arrangement that requires us to pay 30 percent of our revenue to Apple, in addition to content fees that we pay to the music labels, publishers and artists, is economically untenable. The bottom line is we would not be able to offer our service through the iTunes store if subjected to Apple’s 30 percent monthly fee vs. a typical 2.5 percent credit card fee.
We will continue to allow consumers to sign up at www.rhapsody.com from a smartphone or any other Internet access point, including the Safari browser on the iPhone and iPad. In the meantime, we will be collaborating with our market peers in determining an appropriate legal and business response to this latest development.
Sounds like someone’s going to have to call someone’s bluff here: Either Apple reduces the fee, or Rhapsody pulls out (unless it chickens out and stays in). That’s assuming that the reference to “appropriate legal…response” doesn’t turn into a lawsuit.
Apple says that content companies need to abide by the new policy by June 30th. It’s going to be an interesting four and a half months…
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The Known and Unknown of Apple's New App Store Subscriptions
This is one of the more significant moments in the history of the iPhone and iPad: Apple has announced its system for selling subscription-based content through its App Store. As with apps and one-time purchases such as game content, it’ll take a 30% cut of the sale.
The company’s announcement says that content owners will be free to sell their wares outside the App Store as well–no 30% fee to Apple involved–as long as they provide the same (or better) offers within the App Store. That’s a relief. But it also says this:
In addition, publishers may no longer provide links in their apps (to a web site, for example) which allow the customer to purchase content or subscriptions outside of the app.
That means that the current content-acquisition system used by Amazon’s Kindle and numerous other apps–which all happens in the Mobile Safari browser, not the app–is now verboten. Continue Reading →
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Four Reasons Why a Cloud-based iOS is Ridiculous (For Now)
While there’s good business in posting Apple rumors, sometimes one comes along that is just so out there that you have to think, where do they get this stuff? The latest is that the newly rumored “iPhone Nano” will sport a cloud-based OS. While “to the cloud” has become a popular idea in tech, the mobile world is not ready to join it just yet.
Why wouldn’t a cloud-based OS work for the newest Apple iPhone? There’s a multitude of reasons, and all seem to indicate that Cult of Mac’s sources (the originator of this rumor) may be a little off base.
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Absolve Your Sins With an iOS App
For those of the Catholic faith, the confessional is an important rite to be forgiven of the sins of daily life. It seems like it was only a matter of time before a mobile app was created to do just that. Confession was developed by Little iApps in conjuction with two Catholic priests, and was given an imprimatur — essentially the blessing of the Church that it is not damaging to the faith — the first time an mobile app has been given such an honor.
Pope Benedict made embracing the Internet and technology a priority as a means to connect to other faithful. Indeed, Benedict has been very technology-forward — the Vatican has its own official Twitter and YouTube accounts — and has made other efforts to spread the word of God online.
No word if Benedict’s seen Confession though, which costs $1.99 on th App Store. What the app will do is track the user’s last date of confession, as well as give the confessor a guide through the pennance process. In case you forgot how you sinned, Confession will keep track of that too. Don’t know how you may be sinning? The app will even attempt to give you an “examination of conscience” to see how you can live a more sin-free life.
Don’t worry about revealing your sins by some nosy onlooker: the app is password-protected, and once you confess, it’s wiped away forever. It’s not intended to absolve you of those sins though, you’ll still have to pay a visit to your local Father.
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Smuggle Truck: Tasteless Satire on a Serious Issue
It seems every so often, some developer comes along with the need to produce a mobile app that makes you say, “Dear God, what is wrong with our society?” Enter Smuggle Truck, a proposed gaming app for the iOS and Android platforms which the goal is to smuggle as many illegal immigrants over the US-Mexico border as possible, without killing them.
The app pushes just about every possible stereotype possible: images of a rickety truck packed with people speeding across the desert countryside. Better watch out: drive too recklessly and people may be ejected from the truck bed –maybe even a newborn baby.
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Clarity on Apple's E-Reader Rule Runaround. Depressing Clarity!
John Paczkowski of All Things Digital got Apple to comment on the unexpected rejection of Sony’s Reader e-reading app for the iPhone. Spokesperson Trudy Miller told him:
We have not changed our developer terms or guidelines. We are now requiring that if an app offers customers the ability to purchase books outside of the app, that the same option is also available to customers from within the app with in-app purchase.
What Miller is saying is that it’s okay for developers of e-reading apps to provide access on the iPhone to e-books bought in the browser or elsewhere–but that they must also make it possible for users to buy those books using iOS’s in-app purchasing feature, which would let folks buy books in the app itself (and would give Apple a 30 percent cut of the profits).
As Paczkowski points out, this is a big change for e-book merchants, and one that might drive them crazy; they’ll now be forced to cut Apple in on book sales. But it’s conceivable, at least, that if they play ball and implement this feature, it’ll be a modest plus for consumers: They’ll be able to buy books without leaving their favorite iPhone e-reading apps.
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The End of the Zero-Sum Game
“It is not enough that I win. Everyone else must lose.”
–famous quote variously attributed to Attila the Hun, Genghis Kahn, Don King, Larry Ellison, and Ross Webster (the villain in Superman III)
Back in the 1990s, in the world of technology, it certainly seemed that if one company was a winner, everyone else was by definition a loser. It’s a concept known as the zero-sum game. And back then, nobody played it better than Microsoft.
When Office got popular, 1-2-3, WordPerfect, Harvard Graphics, and other programs fizzled. Internet Explorer surpassed 90 percent market share in the browser business, reducing Netscape Navigator to a has-been. Windows boomed, and the Mac’s market share went in only one direction: down.
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EA Brings Dead Space to iPhone, Not PSP or Nintendo DS
Over the last two years, I’ve enjoyed chronicling the iPhone’s rise as a gaming platform, and had an even better time watching Sony and Nintendo pretend that Apple isn’t really a competitor.
Today marks another milestone, as Electronic Arts releases Dead Space for iPhone and iPad, in conjunction with the launch of Dead Space 2 for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Windows.
That alone wouldn’t be a big deal, except that EA isn’t releasing a portable version of Dead Space for Nintendo DS or Sony’s PSP — more evidence that the iPhone and iPad are not only capable of providing weighty video games to hardcore players, they’re also better for business.
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Bump: iOS 4 Has 90% Adoption Rate, Android 2.3 Only .4%
One of the biggest differences between Android and iOS continues to be the fact that by nature, iOS users continue to far outpace their Android counterparts in keeping their devices updated. According the makers of the popular app Bump, nearly 90 percent of its users are running iOS 4 or newer.
What’s even more interesting is the fact that the latest iOS release, 4.2.1, is used by about 53% of its users. That means over half of all iOS users are fully up to date. Now compare this to Android’s latest release — 2.3 — who only has a measly 0.4 percent adoption rate.
As MG Siegler pointed out over at TechCrunch, we should be fair and compare Android 2.2 and iOS 4 against one another, since Android 2.3 is currently available only on Google’s own Nexus S handset (although Android 2.2 has been out much longer than iOS 4) . Google doesn’t fare much better here: 52 percent.
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