Amazon's New Mac Download Store Takes On Apple's Mac App Store

[NAG]

Between the App Store, Steam, MacGameStore and now Amazon, I’m really liking my options as a Mac gamer! Of the above, the Mac App Store certainly works the best, but having options is good. More selection, more price-shopping, more competition.

Much the same way I prefer to buy music from iTunes (MP4 format) than from Amazon (MP3 format), but if Amazon has a great deal, or an album Apple doesn’t, I’ll gladly buy from Amazon too.

Steam is still the best of the bunch. The App Store is okay with the occasional sales. I feel kind of sorry for the MacGameStore. And the Amazon store makes the Mac App Store look amazing in comparison. I really hope Amazon is going to do more than this. I know, how can I pass up on the amazing price reductions from $49.99 to the ridiculously low $49.99 that Amazon advertises. But I shall.

 

[spazzcat]

I think you're confusing Akamai.

Amazon does NOT have "most reliable servers." Amazon's systems are completely half assed. I know this because I have watched the store go down... regularly. Everyone in the company knows when it happens and it happens more often than you think. Something like once every other day, and more often than not, a major part of the store is down or at reduced functionality for hours at a time.

Further, I guess you didn't hear about the major outage of AWS that took out most of the silicon valley startups a few weeks back.... took days to get back on line, and some of those businesses never recovered.

The outage was purely due to incompetent design on Amazon's part, in fact.

Any one that uses reddit knows how much Amazon servers suck...

 

[Daveoc64]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

I'll bet that Amazon does not impose thugery about the code base like Apple does.

... and that is probably the reason that Amazon has got publishers like Microsoft on board.

 

[Diode]

Absolutely. For one, their overhead and labour costs aren't tied in any way to the cost of the application. Whether an app costs $0.99 or $100, Apple pays the same amount to host it on their server, but the higher-priced app nets them much more profit.

Steve always struts out numbers during keynotes like "We're proud to announce that we've paid out over $1 billion to our developers" -- which if you do the math means Apple's cut was over $400 million.

Well you have to remember a lot of the free apps are freeloading on Apple's system. Someone has to pay for it. And apple is barely making a profit on the 99 cent apps. You have to remember about credit card fees. Even with a large volume, they are still probably paying 10~15 cents a transaction + 1~1.5%.

 

[HMFIC03]

Awesome! Very cool to see they are selling Office at a marked down price - even cooler is they have the family editions.

 

[Yamcha]

I wouldn't be surprised if we see a lawsuit, lately it's been Apple's thing ..

 

[scottsjack]

Amazon has always worked well for me downloading MP3s (a few years ago) and for CD/DVD/Hardware purchases.

But really it doesn't matter if Amazon generally sucks or not. The important thing is competition. Bad competition is way, way better than no competition at all.

 

[unlinked]

Well you have to remember a lot of the free apps are freeloading on Apple's system. Someone has to pay for it. And apple is barely making a profit on the 99 cent apps. You have to remember about credit card fees. Even with a large volume, they are still probably paying 10~15 cents a transaction + 1~1.5%.

Apple is freeloading on free apps not the other way around. If every free app in the app store disappeared tonight then tomorrow Apple would have a less desirable product to sell.

 

[ericmooreart]

Because it becomes a major PITA to keep your software running from machine to machine, and from OS to OS.

You never get updates.

you have to remember the serial number.

and in a few years when amazon abandons this business (which odds are they will*) you're SOL.

Speaking for myself, I've never had a serious problem. An occasional serial search but nothing major. As far as updates most software have an option to check on launch

On the other hand I have gone through hoops of fire when I get a new machine or new os with my itunes license. Never works right until a de authorize all my machines. Makes me have to reload everything to my old school apple tv and other devices. Imagine this with the App Store.

And with Amazon as long as you back everything up (in more then 1 place) It doesn't matter if they drop the store. Your installer isn't dependent on them.

 

[ThaDoggg]

Well I've always loved competition but it will be interesting to see if Amazon can survive. If they only offer limited items it will be hard.

 

[GFLPraxis]

Really? I hadn't heard of that, and I feel like you must be wrong, because many of the games available on the Mac App Store (IE: Braid and Bejewled,) are also available on Steam for Mac.

That's because he's incorrect. If it's on the Mac App Store, you can't sell it anywhere else for a lower price.

 

[rmwebs]

The Mac is going to become fragmented with all these AppStores popping up...

- Steam
- Mac AppStore
- Amazon

 

[slembcke]

To be clear, as a developer who talks to a lot of other developers, not many are upset that Apple takes 30%. You can set up your own webstore easily enough and pay much lower fees for other similar services, but most developers seem to want to avoid doing that.

What they are upset about is the stupid restrictions that Apple has tried to slap on developers, and the subscription crap they are trying to push.

Fortunately they finally gave up on trying to enforce their ridiculous language war with Flash. By trying to keep Flash developed apps off the iPhone, they were basically saying that you had to develop your apps in a small subset of languages none of which developed in the LAST TWO DECADES. 95% of the code that I write doesn't need down to the metal performance. Instead I'd like to use something that saves me time (and money). They still forbid developers from using JIT compilation though (or trampoline functions for that matter).

They also put other stupid restrictions on you too. You software has to be completely clear of references to other platforms or modes of availability. You can't even mention that your program also runs under Windows or Android. Also, say that you have a screen recording program with an optional kernel extension for recording system audio. You can't offer the sound recording to MAS customers. In fact you can't even mention that the functionality is available if you get the non-MAS version.

With iOS, the app store is the only way that you can get software onto your iOS device. Beyond that, you are basically at Apple's mercy if your software does well. They've completely broken all the traditional ways that you can promote your software and you are at the mercy of their promotions and top 100 lists. The app store model also drives prices down to levels that make it completely uneconomical to try and advertise outside. Because everybody just looks at the app store anyway, it's largely pointless anyway. Browsing the app store is just painful. Have you ever tried? The subcategories are practically hidden and once you get to them all you see is an icon and a name anyway.

Lastly, their subscription fees are downright stupid. Sure, their appstores give you a bunch of stuff for that 30%, but the subscription fees give you absolutely nothing. They take 30% of your content profits so that you can provide all of your own servers and do all of your own communication. You can't even get any demographics on who is subscribing to you.

 

[Consultant]

Apple is getting looted left & right, now Amazon.

WRONG. Apple already dominated Amazon in music sales.

Amazon is just playing catch up.

Adobe. Microsoft. Anyone big enough that they don't care about the free marketing the app store gives them (or don't consider it worth 30% of their product because they're known enough and their product is very expensive).

So Amazon isn't taking a cut?

Microsoft Office for Mac Home & Business 2011

Microsoft.com: $280
Amazon.com: $203

Amazon price is 28% off MSRP. Is Amazon not making any money?

How much is credit card fee? Close to 2%?

Perhaps Amazon is taking 30% cut.

 

[Žalgiris]

The Mac is going to become fragmented with all these AppStores popping up...

- Steam
- Mac AppStore
- Amazon

No more than a year ago without any app stores.

 

[munchies]

I must say, the prices are pretty good, plus they have $5 off any purchase. The code is SAVE5MAC.

Picked up COD 2 for $24, no tax. Bye bye, free time

Amazon.com: Software: Mac App Store

 

[maflynn]

I snagged office for 110, I can't pass that up, I've been wanting the latest version for a while and so much money off the family pack makes its a no brainer.

MS sells this direct for about 150 so I'm saving 40 bucks.

 

[Mac-Rumours]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-gb) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8C148)

The "auto update" feature of the Mac App Store is the thing I hate the most about it. The fact that you have to open the App Store program in order to check for updates is a step backwards.

Incorrect. Previously there was no central place to check for app updates, so it's a step forwards. However, I do believe that one of the first changes they'll make to the store is a background update checker. Perhaps it'll be a part of Lion.

How is he incorrect because you think differently? Facts are correct/incorrect, not opinions!

 

[hexor]

Am I missing something? Does Amazon have an app store for windows? If not wouldn't it make a lot more sense to have one for windows (which MS doesn't yet have) instead of Mac OS X which already has a store built-in to the OS???

 

[rjohnstone]

Am I missing something? Does Amazon have an app store for windows? If not wouldn't it make a lot more sense to have one for windows (which MS doesn't yet have) instead of Mac OS X which already has a store built-in to the OS???

They already sell PC software via direct download.
They just added Mac software to the list of downloadable choices.

 

[Oletros]

Also, remember, Apple only takes %30 and pays well and regularly.

Amazon? For their android stor they take up to %70, AND they get to dictate what price the app sells for. You want to sell it for $9.99 but Amazon wants to run a special to bring in new customers? They get to have a sale on your app, and you get paid only $0.70! That's a whole lot worse than the guaranteed %70 apple pays you.

This is the case for Android apps and kindle books. I've not looked at the terms for their mac store, but I bet they are the same.

You can't be real. No normal person can have so much hatred and lie so much about non Apple companies.

 

[macsmurf]

Lastly, their subscription fees are downright stupid. Sure, their appstores give you a bunch of stuff for that 30%, but the subscription fees give you absolutely nothing. They take 30% of your content profits so that you can provide all of your own servers and do all of your own communication. You can't even get any demographics on who is subscribing to you.

I don't get the subscription fee either. I wouldn't mind doing a couple of small apps for my own benefit, at least at first, but I'll be damned if I'm going to pay Apple $100 a year for the privilege. Having to program in Obj-C should be a high enough price in itself. Come to think of it, they should be paying me

I think Apple are missing out on a lot of potential developers down the line because of the subscription fee.

 

[MacPhyle]

I'll be looking for improvement from the new Amazon Mac Downloads...

Unless Amazon can very quickly and very hugely improve the selection, Apple will have absolutely nothing to worry about. The selection Amazon has at the moment is what I can find at the local Office Depot, which has a selection of Mac software that's just pathetic.

 

[kRobbin]

I love Apple but I'm glad to see some competition. It just doesn't seem right to allow one company to sell all add-ons to their products. Imagine if you had to buy tires from GM just because you bought one of their cars.

This will also put a bit of pressure on Apple to innovate as they certainly are capable. Right now it's almost impossible to get refunded for app store purchases, that isn't right. They should make it possible but dissuade abusers.

my 2 cents...

 

[spacepower7]

You can't be real. No normal person can have so much hatred and lie so much about non Apple companies.

Obviously you haven't read any of the independent developers/writers stories about how Amazon decides the pricing. If Amazon wants to sell your $10 android app for $1, you're only getting $0.70 per sale, unless you have something huge like Angry Birds.