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More on Apple's 30% cut of Kindle book sales, etc.

computerworld.com

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Re: More on Apple's 30% cut of Kindle book sales, etc.

#11

Post by evilduck »

randrews wrote: post #5

Well, this invalidates what I thought Amazon should do: remove all purchasing of books from the Kindle app and make it only able to download and read books bought from the website (which it would not link to). Apple's now saying, if you sell something somewhere else that can be shown in an iOS app, you need to also sell it through Apple for the same price. I guess when Amazon pulls the iOS app, I can break the DRM on…

Some alternatives to yanking the app would be to adhere to the rule but make it laborious and sufficiently buried beneath menu layers that it becomes too difficult to use versus a link that breaks out to the web browser. Or begin charging on the AppStore for the Kindle app at a price point they believe will compensate for the losses.

Re: More on Apple's 30% cut of Kindle book sales, etc.

#12

Post by gst »

jordanroher wrote: post #6
bowmande wrote: post #2

I find this absolutely insane. Apple is acting as a payment processor that is charging 30%. I thoroughly enjoy Apple's product, but taking 30 percent of in-app purchases seems crazy.

I wonder if it's going to extend to content as well. If Amazon is forced to sell books directly through the Kindle app, will Apple get veto power over the books they sell? Will they be able to ban an "Android for Dummies" book?

Based on Apple's current track record: Yes

Re: More on Apple's 30% cut of Kindle book sales, etc.

#13

Post by invertd »

barista wrote: post #3
bowmande wrote: post #2

I find this absolutely insane. Apple is acting as a payment processor that is charging 30%. I thoroughly enjoy Apple's product, but taking 30 percent of in-app purchases seems crazy.

They made the platform. You need to realize that if the platform didn't exist, there wouldn't be all these mobile apps in the first place.

So did the shopping mall owners for their tenants but I have never seen such a mall charges you 30% commission for the privilege and convenience (parking, indoors, cleanliness, food court etc) of buying stuff there.

Re: More on Apple's 30% cut of Kindle book sales, etc.

#14

Post by ezy »

barista wrote: post #3
bowmande wrote: post #2

I find this absolutely insane. Apple is acting as a payment processor that is charging 30%. I thoroughly enjoy Apple's product, but taking 30 percent of in-app purchases seems crazy.

They made the platform. You need to realize that if the platform didn't exist, there wouldn't be all these mobile apps in the first place.

Why do people argue this point? It's not insane because people have to do what Apple wants, no one except for a few entitled folks are arguing this. They can do what they please.

It's insane because Apple have been suckered by their own advertising. Yes, the iPad is one of a kind at the moment, but the android tablet is right around the corner. And that android tablet will be running Kindle and Nook apps.

While the payment platform and app store helps create the ecosystem for apps to exist, the iPad owes it's current success to the the apps people sell for it, not to the payment platform or the app store. The app store and the UI library is a precondition, but it is not sufficient -- if no one made apps for it, no one would buy an iPad.

An iPad without Kindle is slightly worse than a sh*tty microsoft win7 tablet IMO. iBooks is currently not very successful as an alternative. because unlike iTunes, Apple has established competitors who execute very well in this space.

If they try to play hardball with Amazon, Google Android tablets will then just wipe the floor with Apple... same way microsoft did in the 90's. More likely, Amazon is playing hardball with Apple... Maybe Apple will make an "exception" using some tricky accounting to get a part of that 30% back to Amazon.

Re: More on Apple's 30% cut of Kindle book sales, etc.

#15

Post by YooLi »

"That link [Shop in Kindle Store Link], which opens the iOS browser and displays Amazon's Web-based e-bookstore, is currently the easiest way for Kindle app users to purchase new books."

Does anyone know or ever heard any metrics about what percentage of users use that link to purchase content? On a regular Kindle (the reader, not the app), even though I have the 3G Kindle, I never shop from it, choosing to use a desktop browser instead (easier, prettier, etc). Do users of the Kindle app do the same, i.e. just shop on their laptops and use the Kindle app to only read the books?

Re: More on Apple's 30% cut of Kindle book sales, etc.

#17

Post by ryandvm »

randrews wrote: post #5

Well, this invalidates what I thought Amazon should do: remove all purchasing of books from the Kindle app and make it only able to download and read books bought from the website (which it would not link to). Apple's now saying, if you sell something somewhere else that can be shown in an iOS app, you need to also sell it through Apple for the same price. I guess when Amazon pulls the iOS app, I can break the DRM on…

> I guess when Amazon pulls the iOS app, I can break the DRM on the books I buy from them and read them on Stanza.

Nobody can blame Amazon from pulling the iOS app. I'd be shocked if they don't. Apple is literally requesting all of Amazon's margins. I guess you can do whatever your ethics permit, but my takeaway is that perhaps you shouldn't be buying devices from such tyrannical manufacturers.

The Honeycomb tablets cannot come soon enough...

Re: More on Apple's 30% cut of Kindle book sales, etc.

#18

Post by ROFISH »

What about incumbent subscription services? For example, Hulu requires you to be paying $8/mo to view their shows on an iPhone or iPad. Since a subscription is required, MUST they be required to Apple's subscription service, or can they just not do anything until you sign up elsewhere?

Re: More on Apple's 30% cut of Kindle book sales, etc.

#19

Post by ryandvm »

ezy wrote: post #14
barista wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They made the platform. You need to realize that if the platform didn't exist, there wouldn't be all these mobile apps in the first place.

Why do people argue this point? It's not insane because people have to do what Apple wants, no one except for a few entitled folks are arguing this. They can do what they please. It's insane because Apple have been suckered by their own advertising. Yes, the iPad is one of a kind at the moment, but the android tablet is right around the corner. And that android tablet will be running Kindle and Nook apps. While the p…

> iBooks is currently not very successful as an alternative. because unlike iTunes, Apple has established competitors who execute very well in this space.

Furthermore, Apple is demonstrating a very real tendency to retroactively fuck people over. I'd be pretty worried about my book collection if it were in Apple's hands and I stopped paying Caesar.

Re: More on Apple's 30% cut of Kindle book sales, etc.

#20

Post by randrews »

evilduck wrote: post #11
randrews wrote: post #5

Well, this invalidates what I thought Amazon should do: remove all purchasing of books from the Kindle app and make it only able to download and read books bought from the website (which it would not link to). Apple's now saying, if you sell something somewhere else that can be shown in an iOS app, you need to also sell it through Apple for the same price. I guess when Amazon pulls the iOS app, I can break the DRM on…

Some alternatives to yanking the app would be to adhere to the rule but make it laborious and sufficiently buried beneath menu layers that it becomes too difficult to use versus a link that breaks out to the web browser. Or begin charging on the AppStore for the Kindle app at a price point they believe will compensate for the losses.

I didn't think of that but it's a good idea: charge $5 for the app (or whatever). People who have already bought it don't lose anything, people who do buy the app don't cost Amazon any money.

Or maybe Amazon's margin is over 30% and they just won't care.

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