Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#181

Post by wanion » Wed, May 02, 2012, 4:36 AM UTC

creamyhorror wrote: post #174

cooldeal wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>so it would get more apps, and the platform would outsell Apple's iPad with its constraints. Apple has that covered. You cannot make your services cheaper on other platforms. You have to charge atleast what you charge iOS users for the same service. This is to prevent the success of alternative app stores that will take only 20% or 5% cut. The new ecosystem won't take off because the existing developers cannot affor…

So I can't charge less for an Android app equivalent to one that I'm selling for iOS? That boggles the mind, and it seems pretty anticompetitive to me. It's almost a means of strongarming their way to prime network dominance. Surely in a world where the network effect rules and the stakes (the global marketplace) are so high, we shouldn't allow networks to entrench themselves too easily? Else we'd just have a behemot…

I believe the pricing restriction only applies to In App Purchases. The iOS edition of your app is unique to iOS so it stands to reason to price it independently. Sell a subscription to your service in the app? Then it needs to be the same price as on your website. It's protecting customers, not Apple.

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#182

Post by judegomila » Wed, May 02, 2012, 4:37 AM UTC

I'm sure the competition commission in Europe will have something to say about this. Maybe a small $X billion fine or so.

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#183

Post by randomStuff » Wed, May 02, 2012, 4:37 AM UTC

The US gov & EU need to go sue Apple like they did MicroSoft fo they anti competitive behavior w/respect to Windows Exploiter. Apple better recognize, federal trade commission done come after publishers that signed up for Apple's iBooks and agreed to collude on prices. Apple need da see the da light and reform they ways before it be too late and they need da settle wida govament

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#184

Post by randomStuff » Wed, May 02, 2012, 4:39 AM UTC

jvm wrote: post #49

ChuckMcM wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[I have a zillion snarky type replies that itch to be free, but we'll keep that monster in the box today.] "Way to far" is an interesting characterization. Apple has rules about their playground, they like their rules, they make Apple very profitable. So the question becomes can Google leverage this liability to increase the penetration or market share of Android tablets? Once these tactics hurt Apple in the market t…

I think parent was speaking as a consumer, not moralizing about it. In the eyes of the law or economics, of course this is completely reasonable, it is absolutely Apple's right to do this. But the consumer experience is horrible, something parent is probably not used to from Apple.

Not according to the EU law, did you see how the microsoft IE case got resolved.

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#185

Post by creamyhorror » Wed, May 02, 2012, 4:41 AM UTC

azov wrote: post #144

What Apple is doing seems to be completely legal and completely disgusting (and not at all new). Given that there's no ground for legal action, here are a few things we, developers, can do: 1. Don't work for Apple . This one is really the easiest to implement, there's more then enough fine alternatives in the Valley. 2. Don't develop for Apple . Unfortunately, not really an option for most mobile developers. So, the…

I like certain actions of my country's government (Singapore) in promoting competition:

- forcing cable/telco companies to share the cost of broadcast rights to a major soccer tournament, despite the tournament corporation's remonstrations (previously the companies bidded for the exclusive rights against each other and passed the costs to consumers)

- requiring telcos to provide number porting services so people can switch telcos without losing their numbers, thereby freeing them from lock-in

These two actions cut the profits of the cable-telcos here but benefited consumers significantly. We would have been paying out the nose for soccer broadcasts otherwise, and been stuck with our old mobile providers even when competitors were offering better prices.

In a marketplace as huge as the smartphone+app+media ecosystem, I'm quite sure governments should be stepping in with regulatory tweaks to make sure users can use multiple services on each platform - even buy from competitors.

Antitrust law shouldn't just be against monopolies - it should be actively pro-competition.

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#186

Post by untog » Wed, May 02, 2012, 4:48 AM UTC

wanion wrote: post #181

creamyhorror wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So I can't charge less for an Android app equivalent to one that I'm selling for iOS? That boggles the mind, and it seems pretty anticompetitive to me. It's almost a means of strongarming their way to prime network dominance. Surely in a world where the network effect rules and the stakes (the global marketplace) are so high, we shouldn't allow networks to entrench themselves too easily? Else we'd just have a behemot…

I believe the pricing restriction only applies to In App Purchases. The iOS edition of your app is unique to iOS so it stands to reason to price it independently. Sell a subscription to your service in the app? Then it needs to be the same price as on your website. It's protecting customers, not Apple.

It's protecting customers, not Apple.

That's one way of looking at it. Another is that it protects Apple from having their users find out that 30% of what they're paying gets nowhere near the person they think is getting all the money.

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#187

Post by anusinha » Wed, May 02, 2012, 5:03 AM UTC

bo1024 wrote: post #122

jvm wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think parent was speaking as a consumer, not moralizing about it. In the eyes of the law or economics, of course this is completely reasonable, it is absolutely Apple's right to do this. But the consumer experience is horrible, something parent is probably not used to from Apple.

Well, but as a consumer, you have options, and your number one way to make your voice heard is to switch to a better option. (The number two way is to threaten loudly, I think.)

You have to do the latter. If you just switch without making any noise, then the company just sees you as percentage of users using the competitor's product. Not very meaningful.

You have to write a short letter saying why you once used or refused to purchase because of .

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#188

Post by rtrunck » Wed, May 02, 2012, 5:03 AM UTC

AJ007 wrote: post #6

I can not be the only one thinking there is an antitrust issue here? I would guess the book thing means Apple is under quite a bit of scrutiny. While I'm not involved in mobile, I've had similar experiences for over half a decade dealing with the banal, highly questionable, and non-uniformly enforced rules Google imposes on its own advertisers. Some of the stuff is bad enough it makes you think it would fall under RI…

Can most hn participants abstain from commenting on the law unless they actually have real knowledge of it, please?

It is so complex. I'm blown away daily with the knowledge of the hn community, it runs so deep. And everyone seems like a genius because they only comment seemingly on what they know.

Yet everyone seems to think they know the law. On the surface programming and the law seem so similar, yet they are so disparate. So, so far apart.

Ask an attorney what determinalistic is, and you'll probablly find a blank. Ask a programmer, and they think what is the law is the law if it maybe sort of fits part of what they heard about the law.

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#189

Post by throwaway64 » Wed, May 02, 2012, 5:05 AM UTC

baddox wrote: post #167

greggman wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it Apple's right to do this? Didn't IBM lose the case where they said you can only run IBM software on IBM 360s? IANAL but it sure would be nice for someone that is to speak up on why many of these old cases don't apply. Is it that it is legal, Apple just doesn't have to feature it in their store? Phone companies were forced to allow 3rd party phones on their network. So where/are mobile companies as far as I know…

> Is it Apple's right to do this? It should be.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is_ought_problem

Re: Apple rejecting applications which use Dropbox

#190

Post by FreakLegion » Wed, May 02, 2012, 5:14 AM UTC

bilbo0s wrote: post #112

nkassis wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you need a certain percentage of a market for this to start becoming a antitrust issue. And it could be argued that they have a strong monopoly on Tablets at this time. If this doesn't feel like anticompetitive behaviour, I don't know what does. They are using their rather large position in the smartphone/tablet market to enter another market (in this case storage) and snuff out the competition. And the…

Hmm... Be careful what you wish for. If antitrust laws can be applied even when there is no monopoly, indeed, not even a majority market share, you are basically giving the government a green light to do a WHOLE lot of bad things.

Antitrust laws regulate anti-competitive behavior. Coercive monopolies are simply one of the forms this behavior may take. It's possible to run afoul of antitrust laws without having a monopoly, and it's also possible to have a monopoly without running afoul of antitrust laws.