Amazon courting Apple's iOS developers to port apps to Kindle

AppleInsider: "Amazon is actively enticing Apple's iOS App Store developers to bring their efforts to the Kindle platform, particularly educational apps, in a strategy that attempts to push ebook readers up into competition with more sophisticated, general purpose tablets. ... "

Portability: Does Apple's iBooks need to go Android?

Carnoy, CNET: "Amazon's app motto is, 'Buy once, read everywhere' and it ran a series of What if you switch?-themed TV ads promoting the concept. Barnes & Noble's app page screams: 'Read what you love. Anywhere you like.' It doesn't have quite as many app choices as Amazon, (B&N is missing Windows iPhone 7 and Amazon has announced a Kindle app for HP's Web OS), but it's pretty close. Kobo, too, has a set of apps for a wide variety of devices. iBooks, however, is relegated to Apple iOS mobile devices (we assume an OS X version is in the works), which is fine for all those people who just own Apple devices, but might seem limiting to those who would consider the possibility of dabbling in other platforms."

Yet Another Tech IP Lawsuit: Apple Sues Amazon Over App Store Name

DailyFinance: "Apple says it holds the trademark to the 'App Store' name. That may be decided in court. The suit was filed in the federal court for the Northern District of California. The complaint stated that people might think the Amazon Appstore is owned by or associated with Apple."

Apple Keeps Right On Approving Amazon And Netflix Updates Without In-App Purchases

TechCrunch: "Remember when everyone was freaking out over the Apple in-app subscription changes? You should. It was just a month ago. And while some of the fears that arose do appear to be very real, the two things most people focused on were Amazon’s Kindle app and the Netflix app. Well guess what? Both received updates today [March 15th], and neither includes the supposedly mandatory changes."

AppleInsider | Random House books come to Apple's iBookstore for iPad, iPhone

Well, of course they have.

AppleInsider: Random House may soon join iBooks -

Well of course. Hell, agency model was the only issue between them in the first place.

Apple Announces an iPad-2 Event

NYTimes: "Apple on Wednesday sent the news media an official invitation to an event that is expected to showcase the next iPad. The e-mail said Apple would be holding an 'invitation-only event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco on March 2.' Although invitations to Apple events are usually cryptic, this announcement was less subtle, as it shows a calendar page peeling back to reveal an iPad."

Apple’s Message to Publishers: Quality

Interesting "take" on Apple's new subscription model. Liam Cassidy via NYTimes: "Much publishing today is less concerned with quality than it is with quantity. The more copies there are of a magazine in circulation — or clicks on a web page — the more eyeballs see accompanying ads. In a world where, more than ever before, readers have more choice of content, but less time to engage with it, for many publishers, the key to generating appreciable revenue lies not in value, but in volume. ... Online publishing’s focus on advertising, sponsorship and syndication is problematic, for viewers and for Apple as a company that wants to provide worthwhile content for users of its platforms. Great quality content, in this model, is of little use to publishers, despite the fact that it happens to be precisely the thing readers actually want. Apple, I think, has noticed this problem, and is now taking positive steps to solve it. Apple wants to ensure that publishing on the iPad is never anything less than top quality, where the paramount priorities of publishers lie always in ensuring the quality of their content."

Pressure mounts over Apple's 30% subscription charge

BBC: "Pressure is mounting on Apple over subscription charges it plans to levy on some mobile content. The company wants a 30% cut of payments for newspapers and other publications downloaded to its devices. Anti-trust regulators in the US and Europe are reportedly poised to investigate the new pricing model. ... "

Apple Subscription Service Draws Antitrust Scrutiny

We all saw this coming, right? NYTimes: "Apple’s new subscription service for iPad and iPhone applications, which has drawn complaints from some publishers, has also drawn the attention of federal antitrust regulators, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. ... "

Apple: if we get you subscribers, we deserve a cut

Ars Technica:

It has been almost two weeks since The Daily made its debut on the iPad, but Apple has finally announced its in-app subscription terms for other offerings in the App Store. The system is open to all publishers of content-based apps—music, newspapers, video, and magazines, but not insurance policies. Anyone who sells subscription-based content outside the App Store must also use Apple's system, giving Apple a 30 percent cut. Hello in-app Netflix subscriptions?

"Our philosophy is simple—when Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing," CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement. "All we require is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one-click right in the app."

Apple's announcement went on to emphasize that publishers are not limited to using the App Store for subscriptions; they're allowed to use their own websites to sell subs. They can even offer free access via their apps to existing out-of-app subscribers (so, if you subscribe to a magazine in print form and that magazine lets you get iPad subscriptions for free as part of your agreement, that's still allowed). However, companies cannot offer those types of subscriptions as the only options within their iOS apps—just like Apple's newly enforced rule with e-books, publishers must go all-in with Apple's subscriptions and their own, or they can't be on the App Store.

Oh, and the subscriptions offered within iOS apps must be the same price or less as the company's other offerings, and the apps can no longer link to an outside store where users can purchase content. ...

Time Inc. Strikes Blows for Publishers in Standoff with Apple

Jeff Bercovici - Mixed Media - Forbes:

For Time Inc., the world’s biggest magazine company, the quickest way to get it titles onto iPad screens may be getting them onto other tablets first.

While other publishers wrangle with Apple over the ins and outs of subscription sales in the iTunes store — How big a cut does Apple get to keep? Who gets control of the consumer’s information? Should the customer get to choose? — Time Inc. is moving ahead diagonally, making deals with the makers of other devices in hopes of gaining leverage in its negotiations with Apple.

Today, Sports Illustrated introduced an “All Access” subscription plan that will allow readers to pay one price to read the magazine in print, online, on Samsung Galaxy tablets and on Android phones. Although newspapers including The Wall Street Journal already offer such an option, SI is the first magazine to do so, according to managing editor Terry McDonell. The news comes just in time for the magazine’s swimsuit issue, its biggest annual seller. ...

Apple, Google and the Publishers: Here’s How to Make Subscriptions Work

John Squires | AllThingsD: "In recent weeks, we’ve heard growing concern from magazine and newspaper publishers regarding the challenge of providing content for mobile media while preserving their print franchises. The concern is nothing new, but it’s apparent that content providers are at risk of losing track of their customers like toddlers in a shopping mall. ... "

HP TouchPad and Other Tablets vs. the Advantaged iPad

Michael Hickins, WSJ: "Hewlett-Packard announced its entry into the mobile device space today, but is entering a market already crowded with strong contenders. The market, currently dominated by Apple’s iPad (which hogged approximately 87 percent of the worldwide market in 2010, according to research firm IDC), already includes Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, and will count the likes of Motorola Mobility Holdings, Research in Motion and Dell, all of whom intend to ship by the end of this year. But it’s that very timing that gives Apple such a huge advantage, according to Susan Kevorkian, who follows the mobile device market for IDC. ... "

Apple's New iPad in Production

Wall Street Journal: "Apple Inc. has started manufacturing a new version of its iPad tablet computer with a built-in camera and faster processor, said people familiar with the matter. The new iPad will be thinner and lighter than the first model, these people said. It will have at least one camera on the front of the device for features like video-conferencing, but the resolution of the display will be similar to the first iPad, these people said. It will also have more memory and a more powerful graphics processor, they said. The new iPad will initially be available through Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc., but not Sprint Nextel Corp. or T-Mobile USA in the U.S., according to some of the people familiar with the matter. ... "

European publishers upset over Apple's iTunes subscription fees, restrictions

AppleInsider:

A group of European newspaper publishers has warned Apple that a 30 percent commission on iTunes subscription revenue and restrictive conditions would be unfair, according to a new report.

The BBC reports that the European Newspaper Publishers' Association has expressed concern over Apple's revenue split for iTunes digital periodical subscriptions and possible restrictions limiting whether iPad users can subscribe to a periodical through the company's own website.

The ENPA warns that Apple is demanding too large a cut of publishers' profits while potentially banning newspapers from taking subscriptions via their own websites. ...

Apple rumored to hold "small event" in March to usher in new iPad

AppleInsider: "Apple may be planning a smaller than usual event to introduce its second-generation iPad as early as next month, according to a scant report, as rumors that the new device will include NFC technology persist. ... "

Apple sets deadline for Amazon's Kindle app to change

Tecca:

Apple has now taken the next step in its attempt to enforce the app store policy of not allowing iOS apps to use content which was purchased from an outside source. It's announced that as of March 31st, all apps must make the content they use available for purchase from within the app itself — paying Apple the customary 30% which it receives from every app store transaction.

To illustrate what will be changing, we'll use Amazon's Kindle app for iPhone and iPad as an example: Prior to the change, Kindle customers could purchase their reading materials straight from the Amazon website, and then load and read them via the Kindle app on their iPhone or iPad.

Apple's problem with this setup seems to be that it isn't seeing a cut of the money; Amazon distributes the app for free and all transactions are made directly through Amazon. After March 31st, Kindle users will need to be able to purchase their reading material through the Kindle app itself, which means Apple will receive 30% of the revenue.

What happens next is anyone's guess. Amazon could comply with the decision, and either absorb the hit to its Kindle proceeds, jack up the price of app-purchased reading materials to offset Apple's cut, or simply call Apple's bluff and allow the app to remain the way it is. Whatever their decision, it's going to be an interesting and tense couple of months between Amazon and Apple.

Apple: Nothing Has Changed. Except For This One Thing ...

Jason Kincaid, Techcrunch:

Last night the New York Times published a report stating that Sony’s E-Reader application had been rejected from Apple’s App Store, because it used a transaction system other than Apple’s In-App Payments. What’s worse, Apple was apparently blocking applications from downloading content that had been purchased outside the application — which could spell bad news for Amazon’s Kindle platform.

Now an Apple spokesperson has given us this statement:

“We have not changed our developer terms or guidelines. We are now requiring that if an app offers customers the ability to purchase books outside of the app, that the same option is also available to customers from within the app with in-app purchase.”

Huh?

At first glance it looks like the NYT article was simply mistaken — Apple is saying that its terms and guidelines are the same. Except now it’s apparently choosing a different way to actually enforce those terms, which makes the report seem accurate after all.

The most relevant passage from Apple’s developer guidelines — which were only published in September, mind you — appears to be section 11.2, which states:

Apps utilizing a system other than the In App Purchase API (IAP) to purchase content, functionality, or services in an app will be rejected.

Now, Amazon’s Kindle app doesn’t conduct its purchases through the app itself — users are instead kicked off to a browser where they actually buy their books, and that content is then synced to the Kindle app. Apple’s rule is worded vaguely enough that it can claim this workaround is in violation of the guidelines. But it obviously hasn’t been enforced like this before now, so the notion that nothing has changed is clearly false.

It also doesn’t make a whole lot of sense from the user’s perspective. Apple is effectively telling developers that they can offer two purchase flows for content: one through the browser, and another via in-app purchases. Apple is obviously assuming people will prefer the latter because it’s quicker and simply requires the user to enter their Apple password. But developers have an incentive to push users toward the browser flow so that they don’t have to give Apple a 30% cut of each purchase. Which could mean we start seeing some bizarre checkout flows that are anything but user friendly.

Apple denies claim that Sony Reader, Kindle in danger on iOS App Store

AppleInsider:

... Wall Street Journal blogger John Paczkowski has reported official comment from Apple spokesperson Trudy Miller, who said the company has not "changed our developer terms or guidelines," while noting that "we are now requiring that if an app offers customers the ability to purchase books outside of the app, that the same option is also available to customers from within the app with in-app purchase."

That would be the reverse of the situation reported by the Times, and also makes more sense. Pulling popular titles such as Kindle, and similar content-access apps including Dropbox, Hulu , Netflix and Pandora, would do little to benefit Apple.

That would be the reverse of the situation reported by the Times, and also makes more sense. Pulling popular titles such as Kindle, and similar content-access apps including Dropbox, Hulu+, Netflix and Pandora, would do little to benefit Apple.

In-app option required, but not exclusive

Instead, as Paczkowski explained, "Apple wants its cut on sales enabled by its iOS devices, it has an established guideline that allows it to take it and that’s what it’s doing.

"Developers are still free to send customers to their own Web stores, but they must also offer them the option of purchasing content within their apps themselves, and they must route those sales through Apple which will then take its percentage."

This harmonizes with Apple's previous policy, enabling users to buy through iTunes (and allowing Apple to earn a cut for facilitating the convenience) without forcing all content to be purchased within iTunes. For example, Amazon can sell Kindle-DRM ebooks directly from its website or through its own Kindle device, and iOS Kindle app users can sync those purchases to their iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. ...