

Supposed change in Apple policy has e-book fans worried about their apps - dean
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/02/change-in-apple-policy-has-e-book-fans-worried-about-their-apps.ars

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archgrove
Insufficient, and certainly one sided information is all that's so far
available. I'm taking it with a large grain of salt but if true, it's a
monstrously stupid move. Unlike most Apple App "restrictions", even the most
tech-unsavvy iOS owner will notice this one. You can bet it'd feature in
upcoming ads for other tablets.

For these reasons, I'm suspicious. It's either just wrong, a silent test of
the waters that will come to nothing, or a policy that won't last until Spring
(much like the "Only Obj-C" attempt). If it's anything else, I worry for the
future of the Apple App platform.

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natrius
So the choice will soon be between getting an iPad and repurchasing all your
books through the app, or buying an Android tablet and reading the books you
already own without having to pay again. Sounds like a tough choice. Good
thing Apple products have good resale value, because mine's ending up on
Craigslist fairly soon.

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jcromartie
No, because the story is wrong.

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natrius
Even if it's wrong, they're still pulling similar bullshit with publishers who
try to give their print subscribers free access to their apps. They're not
winning any friends here.

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jcromartie
I really doubt Apple would boot Kindle from the app store. I think what
happened here was just Sony getting turned down because they had an in-app
store that was not going through Apple.

I think Apple realizes how huge of a mistake it would be to ban Kindle from
the App Store.

Edit: this is pretty obviously just Sony feeling burned and wanting to spin
this into as scary a story as possible.

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wildjim
Apple seems to have a policy of regularly testing the water for further lock-
down/lock-out/lock-in.

Almost as if they think because an awful lot of people have accepted it on
iTunes, a similar number accepted it from Microsoft for such a long time (and
still do) that it's simply a matter of waiting until the public are too jaded
to care any longer.

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tvon
When have they tested the water for lock down as opposed to just doing it and
riding out the storm?

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beoba
Neat, everybody loses. Now that's thinking different.

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Legion
I just started using the Kindle app on my iPad. Loved it so much that I
planned on buying a Kindle 3G as a companion device for my iPad (to handle the
outdoor summer reading that iPad struggles with).

It looks like Apple is just testing the waters, but if they were to eliminate
the Kindle app as it lives now, my next tablet would be an Android one, for
sure.

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trustfundbaby
I always wondered why you couldn't purchase a book directly from the kindle
app on the iPad (it makes you open up a new browser window to do it)

