Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Rejecting All e-Book App Store Submissions?

deconstruct60 said:
And when those young folks get to be old folks what is their eyesight going to be? It isn't just because what you are used to, the e-ink and using light is easier on the eyes.

With a backlight screen you are staring into a light.

http://mayoclinic.com/health/eyestrain/DS01084
http://www.ergoindemand.com/Eyestrain-Solutions.htm


Note, there are few super glossy e-ink displays. Nor are most books printed on extra deluxe glossy paper.


Sure, you can read off of a screen. What are the long term effects though?
Click to expand...

I'd like to see a Poll with Honest feedback from the users of Kindle and like E-Readers asking us how much time do you spend reading on your reader verses how much time do you read on your computer?

In my case and I own a Kindle, I have say that I may spend 1 - 2 hours a day on the average reading an ebook on my Kindle and a hell of a lot more time each day reading web content etc on my computer.

So to me I see no great advantage eye strain wise whether IM using an E-ink or lcd display and my eye sight is not 20/20.

The only advantage I see is the battery life and the kindle lasts forever compared to an LCD screen device.

However, I would settle for more frequent charging IF I could have a large enough device that displays in color and proper format when I read newspapers, magazines etc... Most ebooks are in black and white but I would love the color for books that contain pictures etc.... ;)
 
DipDog3 said:
Wow, the rejections are getting pretty bad...

This needs to stop!
Click to expand...

I agree - it'd be great if they just open up the App Store fully. I wonder if the general public is hearing about all of this bad press, or is it really just people like us that frequent sites such as MacRumors that ever become aware of these controversies?
 
I don't mind this at all. I think that eBooks should remain on an separate device from cell phones ... at least for the next few years until eBooks catch on. Remember when you were in college and had to carry all of those books around? Wouldn't it be nice to have an eBook that is the size of a full sheet of paper and color and touch screen and you can take notes on it? I wouldn't want to have to squint on a cell phone.
 
This is some kind of weird, bizarre knee-jerk reaction by App Store reviewers, that's the only conclusion I can draw from this.

The next step is going to be that they are going to reverse this decision and let back general purpose readers, or the App Store reviewers are going to band together and ban the iPod app on iPhones/iPod Touch until the remove the ability to play unprotected mp3 and AAC files.

This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
 
Ted13 said:
My first reaction is that Apple has lost its corporate mind. This is beyond nuts.

On the other hand, if you read the article, it makes nothing clear. Are we talking just single books, e-book readers, what? There isn't a single concrete example given -- it is all anonymous. It makes no sense, you'd think that the developers in question would be publicly jumping up and down -- as have those who in the past have gotten rejections reversed.

So lets not bring the pitchforks out just yet -- but if this is true, Apple needs an intervention.
Click to expand...

The original article seems to make it very clear- the developer had their general ebook/text reader rejected.

EDIT- Oops, another poster gave a link to the original post by the app developer:
http://alexmak.net/blog/2009/08/06/the-most-ridiculous-app-store-reject-ive-ever-seen/

This link makes it pretty clear exactly what was rejected, and why.
 
Steampulp said:
No, I think it'd be a disaster for my magazine. I'm not selling just a typical eBook reader, it is a reader that re-creates the look and feel of a hundred year old pulp fiction magazine. A good part of the fun is in the proprietary reader application that I painstakingly crafted.


John
www.steampunktales.com
Click to expand...

Since we're all just speculating about what Apple did or didn't do anyway, I'm going to speculate that Apple is just trying to keep the App Store an app store, rather than let it become a means for distribution of pure content. If that's the case (who knows; it makes sense to me), then your application should be fine as long as the application has (i) some sort of functionality and (ii) it loads the content from a source other than the App Store (e.g., Kindle).

There are lots of good reasons why Apple might want to take this approach, from avoiding copyright issues to saving server space and bandwidth (imagine if these ebook "apps" contained video images, a la YouTube, instead of text?)

It's too bad that Apple is not more transparent about its reasons, but Apple may have legitimate concerns that transparency will reveal future product and marketing plans. Like I said, who knows? Time will tell.
 
madmaxmedia said:
The next step is going to be that they are going to reverse this decision and let back general purpose readers, or the App Store reviewers are going to band together and ban the iPod app on iPhones/iPod Touch until the remove the ability to play unprotected mp3 and AAC files.

This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
Click to expand...

Are you referring to Apple's reported decision or your own post?

Why would Apple remove the ability to play unprotected mp3 and aac files? The have an obvious liability in distributing unlicensed ebooks. They don't have any liability in being able to play unprotected music.
 
unfair to the devs, but it's ridiculous how many single book apps there are. clutters everything up and screws up all the apps that track new apps.

apple should be more open, but i'm glad they're doing something about it.
 
Apple is entitled to reject whatever they wish. It's their platform and I am sure they have it spelled out in the T&C's. But, their random policy changes and cavalier rejections will ultimately discourage developers from investing their time and resources to develop for a platform that could reject an App without proper cause or explanation. Just because they are seeing record growth right now doesn't suggest they cant shoot themselves in the foot.

And for those who say "no big deal apple is making a tablet so they should just accept the rejection" without so much as a whimper, you are ridiculous. You could possibly argue this if Apple was transparent about their pipeline.

Apple is secretive about their upcoming products. So, unless you're making farting apps, you shouldn't bother developing because you can only be certain they wont be making an iFart product. Who knows what other Apps will be rejected on spurious grounds only because of an impending product release. It's an asinine argument at best and detrimental to the platforms future.
 
Funny how all of this outrage is over one developer's interpretation of a vague email, an interpretation that was then reported as fact by another blog (TUAW).

Yet the app store Books category is still filled with e-books and readers, some of which have just appeared today.
 
deconstruct60 said:
And when those young folks get to be old folks what is their eyesight going to be? It isn't just because what you are used to, the e-ink and using light is easier on the eyes.

With a backlight screen you are staring into a light.

http://mayoclinic.com/health/eyestrain/DS01084
http://www.ergoindemand.com/Eyestrain-Solutions.htm


Note, there are few super glossy e-ink displays. Nor are most books printed on extra deluxe glossy paper.


Sure, you can read off of a screen. What are the long term effects though?
Click to expand...

The Mayo Clinic blurb simply states that you can get eyestrain from working at a computer too long---it's from constant point of focus, not from the light. The light is irrelevant, and it's adjustable in any event, as is the size of the visuals you are reading/observing. There are NO long term effects from reading on a computer screen, if we're talking ophthalmic issues. If we're talking about getting your big butt out of the chair and going and doing something active, then maybe...
 
If what is said to be happening, is actually happening, it is a very bad thing. However there is no indication that it is yet. All of the major ebook readers still seem to be there in the app store. I'll get worked up when I know that there is something to get worked up over.
 
Ladies and Gent,

Finally we have real undeniable proof that Apple's iTablet is coming to town and that Apple will be launching its own bookstore.

Apple is prepping the environment for its launch and laying down false tracks for the dogs to sniff.
 
BaldiMac said:
I do not know where you come from, but in the US, we generally don't receive a bill every time it rains. :)

The analogy is sound. Like you can package free water in a bottle and sell it, you can package free public domain books in an ebook reader and sell it.
Click to expand...

Umm... I think you'll find unless you live a remote rural area. The Government owns the Rain, you pay when they pipe it back to you. Maybe in the form of Council Rates or a direct water bill, if your in an apartment building then the Body Corp may have to pay every ones bill and your paying in strata fees or rent.

Even in rural areas then the water rights might be controlled by the title to the land.

Someway you pay.
 
Awesome. Glad I just downloaded the amazon reader and bought two books. Now as soon as I'm done, I'll have a dead app to keep around just in case I ever want to read those two books again.

I'm going back to paper books. Feels more authentic anyway.
 
escap0 said:
Ladies and Gent,

Finally we have real undeniable proof that Apple's iTablet is coming to town and that Apple will be launching its own bookstore.

Apple is prepping the environment for its launch and laying down false tracks for the dogs to sniff.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Remember when Apple said they were dropping FireWire from MacBooks because people didn't need it for their video cameras? Now all MacBooks have FireWire, not a word said.

Apple says eBooks can't be policed, just like those naughty mp3 sharing services before iTunes… Watch this space.

Ihnatko thinks Apple have been working on a bookstore for ages. I agree.
 
madmaxmedia said:
The original article seems to make it very clear- the developer had their general ebook/text reader rejected.

EDIT- Oops, another poster gave a link to the original post by the app developer:
http://alexmak.net/blog/2009/08/06/the-most-ridiculous-app-store-reject-ive-ever-seen/

This link makes it pretty clear exactly what was rejected, and why.
Click to expand...

Thank you for submitting i2Reader 3.0.1 to the App Store. We’ve reviewed i2Reader 3.0.1 and determined that we cannot post this version of your application to the App Store at this time because this category of applications is often used for the purpose of infringing third party rights. We have chosen to not publish this type of application to the App Store.

I don't think this is clear at all. This could be the same fiasco that amazon went through. You have a thrid party selling ebooks that they do not own the rights to. This doesn't just mean ebooks someone downloaded.....
 
Here is the update from TUAW:

Update


Apple wrote to TUAW to clear up the speculation around ebook app approvals. From a representative at Apple:


"We have not stopped approving ebook readers and ebooks in fact we've approved 221 new ebooks to the App Store since 7/30/09. The book category in the App Store lists 6,000 apps and this doesn't cover the full scope since ebooks are included in other categories like medical, reference and education."
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back