11–20 of 48 posts
JWZ had a very valid point the first time around, and he got everyone's attention, deservedly so. But in Part II he comes across as being whiny and rude, even misrepresenting the Palm press release.
Maybe he's just angry and needs to cool down?
I agree; what he wants is a stellar idea and how it should work for definite. The problem is twofold. Firstly Apple. They achieved unbelievable lockin (even accounting for jailbreaking) with the App Store and are certainly raking in a fortune with it. Im not surprised Palm want a portion of the pie. Secondly; I bet you the Pre is "sold" at a loss. Because Palm looked at the App Store and thought "hey that is a limitl…
The device won't install apps directly off the developer's website - it will only install apps either through the actual app catalog, or through a free link that somehow goes through Palm. However they said that they would provide these links for any app, even without any formal review process. Really, this is a good thing.
Why? Because Palm needs to be able to yank an app if it turns out to be malicious. They are doing this to protect their platform, and it's a reasonable security measure.
I agree; what he wants is a stellar idea and how it should work for definite. The problem is twofold. Firstly Apple. They achieved unbelievable lockin (even accounting for jailbreaking) with the App Store and are certainly raking in a fortune with it. Im not surprised Palm want a portion of the pie. Secondly; I bet you the Pre is "sold" at a loss. Because Palm looked at the App Store and thought "hey that is a limitl…
Actually, Apple makes a mint on every iPhone and iTouch (see http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2009/06/iphone_3gs_cost... ) to the tune of about 50% of the retail price, or 100% of the manufacturing cost, whatever way you want to look at it. This excludes all research, development, and marketing of course.
Firstly that you do really have to include R&D cost - I bet that adds a reasonable amount.
Secondly that your using the retail price of the phone; I don't imagine Apple gets that full amount per sale. Plus dont forget upgrades - my upgrade phone [it's coming tomorrow. woo! :)] is costing £50 ($80 ish).
However; good link. I stand corrected, sorry.
So, $99 fee and $50 per app for the "real" app store. I wonder how this is going to effect the developer's decision on what pricing should be and how feature filled the application will be?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Roughly on the app store topic, an app store for TVs/set top boxes is going to be big one day in the near future. Could quickly take the Apple TV to a new level.
You can see the start of this with the XBox market place where you buy downloadable games. If Apple had a app store for a next generation AppleTV, it would be a very interesting platform.
Maybe a modular, generic box to include in the manufacturing process, with built-in wireless or ethernet plug, ability to update firmware via the net, and a central app store and paywall.
Alternatively, just build it as a STB with a fairly killer feature out of the box, loss-lead on getting them out there, and control the app sales. The 360 is probably the closest thing to it, but it's large and expensive compared to what would gain greater market penetration.
One day we're going to look at these dark days of app approval processes, registration fees, application fees, fragmented platforms, crazy APIs and laugh. Or cry. What an awkward phase. I for one hope for a decent cross-platform browser API that lets me access mobile phone functions (database / GPS / camera) in js and just be done with all this drama.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Roughly on the app store topic, an app store for TVs/set top boxes is going to be big one day in the near future. Could quickly take the Apple TV to a new level.
You can see the start of this with the XBox market place where you buy downloadable games. If Apple had a app store for a next generation AppleTV, it would be a very interesting platform.
I think JWZ has some of the details wrong. The Palm app catalog may resemble the Apple app store. This is not a bad thing. This is a repository of apps that are easy to find and install from the device itself, and it carries a certain seal of approval from Palm/Apple. There should be quality requirements for this distribution channel. However, there is no "2nd citizen" app store. What Palm is doing is providing a lin…
I agree; what he wants is a stellar idea and how it should work for definite. The problem is twofold. Firstly Apple. They achieved unbelievable lockin (even accounting for jailbreaking) with the App Store and are certainly raking in a fortune with it. Im not surprised Palm want a portion of the pie. Secondly; I bet you the Pre is "sold" at a loss. Because Palm looked at the App Store and thought "hey that is a limitl…
What he wants is basically what Palm is giving him, except for one point.. The device won't install apps directly off the developer's website - it will only install apps either through the actual app catalog, or through a free link that somehow goes through Palm. However they said that they would provide these links for any app, even without any formal review process. Really, this is a good thing. Why? Because Palm n…
I think JWZ has some of the details wrong. The Palm app catalog may resemble the Apple app store. This is not a bad thing. This is a repository of apps that are easy to find and install from the device itself, and it carries a certain seal of approval from Palm/Apple. There should be quality requirements for this distribution channel. However, there is no "2nd citizen" app store. What Palm is doing is providing a lin…
That's just semantics. Palm is still in control of it. It is their catalog, and the app is surely hosted on their servers.
So maybe the user-facing interface for getting at apps is a web page instead of a "store" application that runs on the device. That's just an implementation detail. Palm is still mediating my interaction with my customers.