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The poison apple
Although everyone has been talking and worrying about changes to Apple’s crackdown on third party in-app purchases, the
discussion focuses on how this affects the retailers. I completely agree that looking to take 30 cents of every dollar another company makes simply because you can was never a good idea. Apple is not hosting ebook content or handling any part of the transaction themselves. It’s a no pain situation for them. Were they housing or serving data, then a portion of sales would make good business sense. But here it just looks like plain old greed and control issues.
What they are trying to do is basically impose a tax on retailers for the privilege of being present on their devices. Apple seems to feel that they own exclusivity to how people use their devices. Taking away the choice of where to purchase merchandise ties users to Apple more securely than ever. Owners of Apple products become completely beholden to Apple’s way of doing things. No you can’t buy from them or use their gift cards, you must buy from us or use our gift cards.
Apple’s position on this seems rather short-sighted. They are already in a position where alternative operating systems have gained more market share in the smartphone market. As more alternatives arrive in the tablet market the trend toward increasing competition will likely continue. This heavy-handed push to remove user choice in purchasing could put Apple at a disadvantage. People like their in-app purchase experience, whether it’s through iTunes or not. Forcing them to the web to interact with their preferred retailer may just be too bitter a bite for those who aren’t full indoctrinated into the Apple way of life.
The android marketplace will be all too happy to welcome retailers and users onto their platform. The draw to Android is its flexibility and open market, this situation just highlights that and draws comparisons that benefit Android and create image issues for Apple.
Posted in Business, Digital Media, Mobile Publishing, Online Publishing
Tagged Android, app purchases, Apple, ebooks