Apple's message to eBook vendors and users isn't yet clear, but points toward only in-app purchasesIt's been a busy day for App Store watchers. With a New York Times article last night citing in-app book purchasing as a key issue in the rejection of the Sony Reader app, and Apple's later non-clarifying clarification of the company's policy on parity for purchasing in and out of apps, we're all left a bit confused. Can you have a third-party ereader app on iOS at all without Apple's purchasing infrastructure? Where can you buy content? Is the Kindle app doomed?
I don't think the Kindle app is going anywhere right away; for one thing, it's always handled book sales through Safari rather than in-app (something Sony's infrastructure wasn't tuned for, as Christina Warren points out, but that it may be ready for now -- see the second half of this post). Sony says that it "submitted [the app] in accordance with the precedent set by other eBook retailers," which could mean just about anything. Jason Snell's analysis over at Macworld is intriguing.
But there's a deeper question that needs to be asked: Can Amazon or Barnes & Noble remain on the App Store without introducing a way to send more money in Apple's direction?
When Apple's new in-app purchase policies came to light recently, pundits wondered what it might mean to eBook developers in the App Store. Apple had initially allowed web-based commerce to provide content for App Store items, including subscriptions or individual purchases. Then, Apple began rejecting subscription-based magazines that used external channels rather than in-app purchases to make money and updated its developer agreement to make this stance clear.Continue reading Apple's message to eBook vendors and users isn't yet clear, but points toward only in-app purchasesApple's message to eBook vendors and users isn't yet clear, but points toward only in-app purchases originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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