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Apple sets deadline for Amazon's Kindle app to change - They want 30% per book

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Re: Apple sets deadline for Amazon's Kindle app to change - They want 30% per book

#71

Post by maayank »

zdw wrote: post #29
maayank wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Thus why you should only buy ebooks where you get easily transferrable formats, like unencumbered PDF or ePub" But is there any big player in the ebook market which comes even close to Amazon (collection-wise) and sells non-DRMed books/PDFs? From what I've seen there are no viable alternatives for non technical reading... (and no, shopping at several small publishers' websites is not a viable alternative)

I'm betting we'll get there in a few years, the same way it happened with music - DRM for a while, then once people get used to paying for stuff, the DRM goes away in most cases. Unfortunately, if history is any indication, the last place this will happen is in school textbooks which is honestly where the ebook revolution should start.

"the DRM goes away in most cases." It seems to me tough that music is the exception to the rule. Computer games mostly have some form of copy protection. Most computer programs have copy protection, minimally with a serial number, many with activation schemes. One of the "features" of web applications is that it's practically impossible to pirate them. How can we know that ebooks will be any different?

Re: Apple sets deadline for Amazon's Kindle app to change - They want 30% per book

#72

Post by tomjen3 »

beoba wrote: post #20
badwetter wrote: post #2

Pretty greedy isn't it?

For everyone's complaints about Microsoft back in the day, at least they didn't also control the hardware.

In addition, Microsoft made great development platforms available for their programmers, for free.

Apple never really cared about their developers, which is evident in the way they are treating them.

Re: Apple sets deadline for Amazon's Kindle app to change - They want 30% per book

#73

Post by bryanh »

ptomato wrote: post #36

The discussion here at least seems to ignore one thing: 30% will not happen because that would mean Amazon would make -no- profit and still incur expenses. The agency model under which the vast majority of Amazon's ebook sales are done has a requirement from the publisher's that they get 70% of the sale price, regardless of what said sale price is. If Amazon jacks up the price for iOS sales, then they get 70% of that…

I don't know... Hearing you say that you expect a drastically reduced cut for in-app purchases sounds like a move Facebook might make to become a ubiquitous PayPal type entity.

I really don't think Apple would let people get away with such a little surcharge within their walled garden.

Re: Apple sets deadline for Amazon's Kindle app to change - They want 30% per book

#74

Post by gte910h »

fredoliveira wrote: post #40

This article is incorrect, as far as I am aware. Apple has implemented a policy where by everyone who sells something through their app needs to provide the same set of products and services through In-app purchases. That means that the kindle app can maintain their current store but must also implement an in-app purchase alternative, powered by apple, and thus with Apple's 30% tax applied to it.

>sells something

Something electronically distributed. If you buy a physical book via amazon, then they do not.

Actually amazon should make a "Screw the apple tax" bumper sticker, sell that and include various free kindle books with purchase of the bumper sticker.

Re: Apple sets deadline for Amazon's Kindle app to change - They want 30% per book

#75

Post by gte910h »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #41
jaaron wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Clearly legal, because you're a lawyer? Don't be too surprised if this lands Apple in court eventually. Leveraging their OS to disrupt competitors in other business markets is the exact sort of behavior that got Microsoft in trouble with Netscape.

AFAIK, this behaviour is only illegal if you're deemed a monopoly. Certainly Apple doesn't have a monopoly on smart phones, but it could be argued that they have a monopoly on app store purchases, since I'm sure that they have a greater than 70% share (by dollars) of app store purchases.

Naw, there is stuff that can land them in court for restrant of trade issues.

I hope this motivates amazon to support the jailbreaking community and release a new amazon store, but really how this will pan out is apple will get like 5% of amazon sales on top of the fees for CC processing.

Re: Apple sets deadline for Amazon's Kindle app to change - They want 30% per book

#76

Post by moxiemk1 »

tomjen3 wrote: post #72
beoba wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For everyone's complaints about Microsoft back in the day, at least they didn't also control the hardware.

In addition, Microsoft made great development platforms available for their programmers, for free. Apple never really cared about their developers, which is evident in the way they are treating them.

Which development platforms did Microsoft make available for free?

The Express Editions of VS are a relatively recent phenomenon, and are crippled. Apple's tools are free and fully featured - paying gets you the ability to publish on their store.

Re: Apple sets deadline for Amazon's Kindle app to change - They want 30% per book

#77

Post by msbarnett »

halo wrote: post #54
kmfrk wrote: post #19

So, what do HN recommend that Amazon do now? Or at least expect them to do. * Leave the app as-is. (With what specific motive?) * Jack up the prices. (Perhaps they'll include a notification when the user is on the relevant purchase page.) * Leave the prices as-is and take the 30% hit. * Let Apple kill the app.

Replace the in-app purchasing functionality with a link to Amazon's site that does functionally the same thing with one extra step.

That's exactly how it works right now. There is no "in app purchasing functionality". There's just a link to Amazon's site that kicks you out to MobileSafari.

Re: Apple sets deadline for Amazon's Kindle app to change - They want 30% per book

#78

Post by tensor »

kmfrk wrote: post #19

So, what do HN recommend that Amazon do now? Or at least expect them to do. * Leave the app as-is. (With what specific motive?) * Jack up the prices. (Perhaps they'll include a notification when the user is on the relevant purchase page.) * Leave the prices as-is and take the 30% hit. * Let Apple kill the app.

I would like them to let Apple kill the app and focus on other devices and operating systems. I do not wish this due to a dislike for Apple, but rather as incentive for Apple to open up the iOS platform.

I find it a shame that there is so much focus on Apple devices due, it seems, almost exclusively the market buzz around their products. Competing platforms have similar user numbers, good technology, and far better market options as far as I am aware. That is a model I would like to see winning out over Apple's more restrictive platform.

Re: Apple sets deadline for Amazon's Kindle app to change - They want 30% per book

#80

Post by icarus_drowning »

allwein wrote: post #55
nika wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Amazon could resolve this really easily by doing a cross marketing deal with Apple. But at least Apple is only taking %30. Amazon has completely excluded Apple from selling books via the iBookstore app on the kindle. In fact, you can't even read iBookstore books on the kindle because Amazon doesn't allow Apple to produce an app for the kindle.

There's nothing preventing Apple from signing up to be a Kindle developer and using the KDK to develop an iBooks app for the Kindle. http://kdk.amazon.com/ I'd like you to point out any evidence that Amazon has excluded or rejected Apple's application, because I've never heard anything of the sort.

They don't even need to do this. If you could purchase iBooks in the Kindle Mobipocket format, there's nothing preventing you from transferring them to your Kindle and reading them.

There are plenty of bookstores that sell books that work perfectly well on the Kindle without having anything to do with Amazon. Sci-Fi AZ is just one such independent bookstore: http://www.scifi-az.com/

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