PublicKnowledge: Benefits of iPhone App Store tainted by 1984-like Control
- or - DO WE REALLY LIKE THE TASTE OF APPLE'S REMOTE-KILL KOOLAID? Today’s Wall Street Journal has a story about Apple’s App Store for the iPhone [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121842341491928977.html?mod=googlenews_wsj]. Clearly, having an easy way for mobile users to download apps is a good w
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Do We Really Like the Taste of Apple's Remote-Kill KoolAid?
Today’s Wall Street Journal has a story about Apple’s App Store for the iPhone. Clearly, having an easy way for mobile users to download apps is a good way to spur development and make money. According to Apple, over the past month the App Store has sold $30 million in iPhone and iPod touch apps. Of those sales, Apple should take in about $9 million, as it keeps about 30% of each app sold. While some application developers have complained about the revenue split, when one considers the costs associated with hosting the applications, cost of money changing hands, and general maintenance of the store, 30% is not unreasonable. What is increasingly unreasonable is the way Apple is controlling the App Store, both to the detriment of developers and consumers.