~snip~
I think that, if you asked the vast, vast majority of the developers they would tell you that they get far more value from their relationship with Apple than they ever would with Lodsys.
Agreed. You have to pay to play, but the cost is pretty reasonable. I always liked the idea of the App store as Apple has implemented it. For developers it seems easier to reach a wider audience than going at it alone. They handle a lot of stuff that would be a headache for a small time developer to handle.
I'm not a fan of Lodsys. I think in-app purchases is a logical approach to having add-ons for applications in an environment like the App Store. I don't see anything strikingly innovative about it, not enough to justify a patent on such a concept. It's like trying to patent the concept of a device that tells you what the current time of the day is.