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Apple didn't think this through

Okay, this month Apple changed their hardnosed policy from "need to give me 30%" to "need to give me 30% only if you have button".

Apple has clout but certainly nothing that could sway a Amazon or Barnes and Noble so it was obvious from the beginning they would never be able to enforce their original policy. They clearly didn't think their initial position through.

I know I have no idea of how Apple will respond to applications which fail to comply with their latest licensing requirements. I also do not know how Amazon and Barnes and Noble will respond either.

None of the companies, however, can legally effectively deny customers access to the books they have purchased. I cannot imagine any company will want to take on the multiple lawsuits that will be filed by customers against all of them. If the US Supreme Court's recent decision on class action lawsuits applies to this issue, then these companies could be swallowed up responding to millions of small claims actions in every county in the US.

And would any of them want governments in general dictating policy in this area? Congress would love nothing more than not having to deal with the US budget and debt ceiling issues, and instead delve into areas they even know less about (if that is possible).
 
Ultimately I think Amazon would just pull the button and leave the app, they would piss off a lot of their customers if they pulled their app (its bound to need updates at some point).

Its crazy how all this works, there is an Amazon app where you can buy products from A to Z, as long as Apple doesn't sell any of those its ok I guess, interesting. At the same time I can understand Apple's desire to protect their ebook business. Be interesting to see how this plays out.
 
The rules are pretty clear, if they don't pull the button Apple have to pull the app from the store.

And, by the way, the title is a little misleading. I highly doubt Kindle as a whole will suffer from pulling Kindle iOS app from the App Store

Do we know for sure that the big players like amazon have to agree to the same terms & conditions as everybody else ? They could have negotiated a different deal with apple for all we know ?
 
Apple better not mess with my Kindle app. It is superior to iBooks in one very important aspect. Using Kindle I can view and sync all of my Kindle books on my phone, my iPad, AND MY COMPUTER!

Until Apple updates iBooks to allow me to read my books purchased at the iBook store on my computer (at home or the office), I will stick with Amazon and Kindle!
 
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roadbloc said:
Who stands to lose the most? Amazon.
Very unlikely since Amazon's Kindle device is selling excellently well and Kindle is still available on Mac, PC, Android, Gameboy Colour etc. The Kindle is the most popular, largest and arguably the best eBook store, Amazon is in no trouble.

The only losers here are the iOS users. Which, to be honest, isn't brilliant.

You forget the part where as of now it us likely most kindle ebooks are consumed on iOS devices. As for people saying that the iPad is horrible for books then why would you care if the kindle app went away
 
It's Apple's store, they have a right to dictate what is sold in it and their position is reasonable. They're not killing the app, they're simply saying that if Amazon wants to profit from Apple's store, Apple ought to get something out of the deal.

Funny thing, Microsoft lost in court because they had their own browser pre-installed on THEIR OS. They didn't even prevent any other browser to be installed or demand a 30% cut when it was.

In-app subscriptions is entirely a matter between the app and the content providers servers. Apple doesn't host or deliver the content, all they do is handle the money transaction, and a 30% cut for just that is rediculous.
 
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NoNothing said:
Yeah because there are more kindles than iOS devices

Really. >210,000,000 kindles have been sold? Are you sure about that number?

Haha. Then there are 10s of billions if iOS devices out there. 210 million kindles? Really? Thanks for a good laugh.
 
Do we know for sure that the big players like amazon have to agree to the same terms & conditions as everybody else ? They could have negotiated a different deal with apple for all we know ?

There is no evidence of this however. We need proof first.

Funny thing, Microsoft lost in court because they had their own browser pre-installed on THEIR OS. They didn't even prevent any other browser to be installed or demand a 30% cut when it was.
Have you actually *read* US versus Microsoft? I did since I wanted to understand what was going on. Bundling IE was only one of many, many things that MS was doing. For starters MS had 95% of the Desktop OS market. They were legally classified as a monopoly!
 
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NoNothing said:
Yeah because there are more kindles than iOS devices

Really. >210,000,000 kindles have been sold? Are you sure about that number?

Oops double check I was being sarcastic. The mobile interface does not allow multiquote
 
The rules are pretty clear, if they don't pull the button Apple have to pull the app from the store.

No, actually, they don't. They're a corporation, they have to do what's best for their shareholders, that's it. If they want to make an exception for certain companies, they can. It's not like they're a government and have to comply with Equal Protection principles.
 
I hardly think Amazon is shaking with worry about this. If anything, they're probably excited at the possibilities - millions of angry Apple customers suddenly left in the lurch. I know I'll be voting with my money and buying a Kindle, not going the route Apple hopes - by using iBooks. This will only hurt Apple - it could seriously influence my decision to buy an iPad in the future, as reading on it is one of the things that made it worthwhile.

They are two different devices. If you can't read your Amazon books on your iPad you're not going to automatically give it up. You get a broader range of experience on the iPad - you don't buy it just to read books. You'd might consider also buying a Kindle but not getting one to replace the iPad. That thinking makes no sense. And if you are a huge reader, like I am, you already have a Kindle for reading.
 
Access to my Kindle library is one of the major reasons I bought and use my iPad. I wish Apple would back off. There are some people that will buy an iPad in part to have an e-reader. That benefits Apple. But now they want a cut because they say that Apple is bringing Amazon sales. Nope. I'm buying Kindle books because I like Amazon's system.

I'm sure iBooks is great, but are they going to give me free copies of everything I bought through Amazon to compensate me?

If Amazon removes their Kindle Store link from their app, that makes it more difficult to buy Kindle books. I can still do it through Amazon's website, but isn't the point of Apple to make the user experience better?
 
If Apple kill the Kindle App, I now have a reason to actually buy a Kindle

iBooks is crap

The new Kindle is a very decent little e-Book reader (I have one), and the new Nook got good reviews in the press. I don't think Apple pulling the Kindle app will really hurt Amazon--if anything, Amazon will sell more hardware.
 
They are using their dominant position in the market to either coerce transfers of money to their coffers, or to outright exclude competitors. Even if Amazon were to agree to pay 30%, it would be at a competitive disadvantage relative to the iBookstore, and that competitive disadvantage is only caused by Apple's coerce policy. That smells like anti-trust to me.

In fact, every iPad owner with a Kindle app could potentially sue Apple under the Sherman Antitrust Act, and receive 3 times their damages.

That is not quite right. One could argue that Apple's practice is anti-competitive, but for anti-trust Apple would have to hold a monopoly first. Secondly, there is the fact that you can simply sell your content outside of Apple's ecosystem.

If Apple does flip the kill switch on the Kindle App removing it from my iOS devices, I will be wiping them to base line specs and returning both my iPhone 3GS (purchased on day one) and iPad (last September) to the Apple Store. I WILL NOT take no returns for an answer.

Not allowing updates, okay. Killing the App entirely, I WILL destroy Apple.:mad:

I doubt you could "destroy" Apple -- 10s of millions of folks who agree with you could put a dent in their profits though. But let's face it, they are not going to use the "never-been-used" kill switch. They would simply either pull the app or deny future updates, leaving the current app on the store as-is.

Haha. Then there are 10s of billions if iOS devices out there. 210 million kindles? Really? Thanks for a good laugh.

First off, you should re-read that post. He was saying there are 210M iOS devices and that Kindle does not come close to that. And if you really think there are 10s of Billions of iOS devices you should go count again -- it's actually closer to 200M devices. Although your assumed ratio of iOS devices to Kindles is probably correct.
 
The new Kindle is a very decent little e-Book reader (I have one), and the new Nook got good reviews in the press. I don't think Apple pulling the Kindle app will really hurt Amazon--if anything, Amazon will sell more hardware.

That's what I'm thinking too. Most people who use the iPad as an E-reader rely on the Kindle App and already have a huge collection of Kindle e-books. They also know that iBooks sucks, both in terms of book selection and because it lacks a ton of features that the Kindle app has like desktop reading, community highlighting, etc.

Apple forcing the Kindle app off iOS will just make Kindle users migrate their library to another device.
 
Think of it this way, if you open a store that sells physical books you choose what to sell in that store. You probably also have a competitor down the street who does the same. If that competitor came into your store and asked to sell books in your space--and give you nothing in exchange-- you would laugh them out the door.

It would not be in your interest to let someone else use your valuable space to sell items that you already offer. No, not just not in your interest...completely and utterly ridiculous.

No, they are not using Apple space to sell books, the correct analogy is a catalog distributed through a store.
 
I guess it's busy times over in North Kore... sorry, Cupertino; keep the borders to our supreme and promised land closed, and don't you dare THINK DIFFERENT.

:D
 
I must be missing the legal ruling that States that Apple has a monopoly and is considered a trust. Care to point that Out. I am sure that Google is perfectly willing to show that they have more devices. Not to mention that Amazon still sells their own device.

I can guarantee you the button in the app is more than "one line of code."

You don't need a monopoly to have an anti-trust case. And in this case, where Apple artificially limits its competors in the app store so that they can gain, leads me to believe Amazon, B&N, and Borders could sue Apple for anti-trust.


Here's the wikipedia article on US anti-trust laws, for all you armchair lawyers :p

The United States antitrust law is the body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior (monopoly) and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. [1] These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both, or generally to violate standards of ethical behavior. Government agencies known as competition regulators, along with private litigants, apply the antitrust and consumer protection laws in hopes of preventing market failure. The term antitrust was originally formulated to combat "business trusts", now more commonly known as cartels. Other countries use the term "competition law".
 
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Yeah because there are more kindles than iOS devices

So, because there is more iOS devices than Kindles if Apple pulls Kindle App from Apple Store Kindle could disappear as the title (before changing it) said?
 
You don't need a monopoly to have an anti-trust case. And in this case, where Apple artificially limits its competors in the app store so that they can gain, leads me to believe Amazon, B&N, and Borders could sue Apple for anti-trust.

I don't think so, because they can sell their books on other devices. It's not as if the iPad is the only venue for them to sell their books, so there's no restraint of trade.
 
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