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Apple responds: we want a cut of Amazon, Sony e-book sales

arstechnica.com

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Re: Apple responds: we want a cut of Amazon, Sony e-book sales

#51

Post by YooLi »

naner wrote: post #27
YooLi wrote: post #13

What Apple actually said (emphasis mine): "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 ars interprets that to mean (emphasis mine): "If an app lets users access content that they purchased via Amazon's website, for example, then that same app must also let user…

Apple said if the app lets you buy books outside of the app, i.e. you click the buy button inside the app and are then sent to the webpage to purchase the book, then the app must also let you purchase the book without leaving the app by using in-app purchases. Okay. But they also said you cannot buy books inside the app unless Apple gets a cut: http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/02/change-in-apple-po... It appear…

"So that basically means if the Kindle app wants to let you buy books from Amazon, it has to go through the Amazon website and it has to allow you to purchase books from Apple? How does that make any sense?"

It doesn't at all and I totally agree with you on that. I was just making it clear what Apple actually said because everyone seems to be latched onto the "Apple won't let you access your own content if you didn't buy it from them" fallacy.

Obviously Apple wants in on the purchasing action, and by forcing both actions to be available (staying in-app to purchase or being sent to a web browser) they are hoping at least some people find in-app purchasing easier/smoother and use it instead.

Re: Apple responds: we want a cut of Amazon, Sony e-book sales

#53

Post by YooLi »

akmiller wrote: post #41
YooLi wrote: post #13

What Apple actually said (emphasis mine): "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 ars interprets that to mean (emphasis mine): "If an app lets users access content that they purchased via Amazon's website, for example, then that same app must also let user…

"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." That is exactly the way the Kindle app on the iPhone works. When you click "Get Books" within the app you are redirected to Amazon's website on Mobile Safari where you can purchase the book then return to your app. With t…

The kindle app wasn't denied, the Sony app was no one knows exactly how it offered the purchase of ebooks. It could have let the user search for books from within the app and only redirected to the web store for checkout. In that case it definitely "offers the ability to purchase books outside the app" as Apple states.

Re: Apple responds: we want a cut of Amazon, Sony e-book sales

#54

Post by thestoicattack »

pedanticfreak wrote: post #28

This reminds me of the "no intermediate code" snafu that was later repealed. Apple keeps testing the boundaries of what we will tolerate because it knows it can get away with it while the competition still lags behind. This newest development sets a truly frightening precedent, though. Any subscription service that sees significant growth through their iOS app is vulnerable to Apple's tax collectors. As soon as it lo…

> Apple keeps testing the boundaries of what we will tolerate because it knows it can get away with it while the competition still lags behind.

I'm not convinced the competition will lag forever. If Apple were not the market leader, would consumers or developers continue to give them the same leeway?

Re: Apple responds: we want a cut of Amazon, Sony e-book sales

#55

Post by Tycho »

warmfuzzykitten wrote: post #44
JunkDNA wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or possibility number 4: Amazon removes any mention of purchasing books from the app. The way I read the statement from Apple, they are not saying that if developers offer purchasing outside the app, then they must offer in-app purchasing. They are saying that if an app offers purchasing options, those have to go through the in-app purchasing model. It's still pretty crappy, but basically, all Amazon would have to do…

I doubt it. There would still be a non-Apple way to buy books (e.g., through amazon.com). I hope there is some fair trade law under which Apple can be prosecuted or sued. Apple is, after all, in the book business itself. How does one see this any other way than stifling competition?

I'm guessing the issue is when an app initiates the 'purchasing process' for a specific product, and then transports the user to Safari where whatever payment mechanism the vendor has set up completes the transaction. (And then gives a file to download which will open the original app again.)

Therefore Kindle would be safe, because you cannot search for books inside Kindle, it just has a link to the Amazon website.

That would make a little bit more sense to me, because I can see Apple's objection to 3rd party vendors circumventing the Apple-controlled purchase system when people shop via an iApp. For instance, some users might not even understand that the app has switched them to Safari, where none of the content is approved by Apple in any way. People go from feeling safe about using the AppStore/AppEcosystem, spending money etc., to worrying whether they'll be victims of fraud when ever they make an 'in-App' purchase.

It could just be that Apple wants a piece of the pie, but anything that makes iPad less attractive than Android will hurt its bottom line at the same time.

Re: Apple responds: we want a cut of Amazon, Sony e-book sales

#56

Post by warmfuzzykitten »

arjunnarayan wrote: post #43

Developers should simply add a 42% "Apple shipping and handling" tax to all in-app purchases, to let end-users know what is going on. That is the only way to attack Apple: to get the end users on your side.

Sounds like an excellent way to get your app removed from the App Store.

Re: Apple responds: we want a cut of Amazon, Sony e-book sales

#57

Post by rbanffy »

cletus wrote: post #29

I think we were all afraid of some move like this. Nobody cares about Sony's ebooks. Everybody (me included) cares about Kindle. I can sort of understand where Apple is coming from in this. They provide an ecosystem and apps live within their ecosystem. That being said, I can't see Amazon or any other big player rolling over on a margin of 30%. This is the problem with one fixed margin: it works well for apps and mus…

> Everybody (me included) care about Kindle.

I am very happy with my Nook and the no-DRM policies adopted by O'Reilly, Manning Pragmatic and probably others. I am also delighted with the amount of interesting material freely available on Feedbooks (in Kindle-friendly format too)

Re: Apple responds: we want a cut of Amazon, Sony e-book sales

#60

Post by dhimes »

cletus wrote: post #29

I think we were all afraid of some move like this. Nobody cares about Sony's ebooks. Everybody (me included) cares about Kindle. I can sort of understand where Apple is coming from in this. They provide an ecosystem and apps live within their ecosystem. That being said, I can't see Amazon or any other big player rolling over on a margin of 30%. This is the problem with one fixed margin: it works well for apps and mus…

A color Kindle can't come fast enough. Then I'll have no need (and little temptation) for a Kindle app on my iphone.
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