

Apple now bans e-books from the App Store - die_sekte
http://www.tuaw.com/2009/08/05/app-store-rejections-tied-to-third-party-rights-infringements/

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colinplamondon
To be clear- the app rejected here was originally made available on Cydia, and
is mainly used for putting your own content onto the device. In other words,
the selling point is putting torrents of books onto the device, just like the
main selling point of the iPod is storing 32gb of pirated music.

This still scares me, but I think it's overstating things to say that all
ebooks are banned. "This category of application" could be taken to mean
multiple things given the context- applications formerly available via Cydia
and applications that allow you to upload your own book content are both
plausible alternatives.

Once we submit Free Audiobooks in a couple weeks I'll have a more definitive
data point for everyone :)

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gojomo
Re: 'Free Audiobooks'

I was about to set my mother up with one of the earlier librivox audiobooks
apps when they suddenly changed to be streaming-only. Will your planned app
cache a whole book at a time? If so, I've got two customers waiting...

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colinplamondon
Absolutely!

By default we'll download two chapters ahead, but there will be a nice big
'Download Entire Audiobook' button available. So, you'll always have three
chapters available in full, and you can hit Download All to get the whole
thing available offline.

No streaming available- I think it just complicates the interface and is
totally unnecessary. Downloading will also be done from CloudFront, so they'll
be incredibly quick.

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jrockway
They say that no publicity is bad publicity, but Apple is beginning to prove
that wrong. "Think different" indeed.

~~~
axod
The app store whining is limited to a very small online bubble of developer
websites.

People crowding the Apple stores to buy the latest iPhone/iPod/etc don't know
or care. I'd be absolutely amazed if any of the constant appstore whining has
any effect on sales.

~~~
mpk
Yes, developers aren't end-users.

However, developers do form an important target for a platform vendor such as
Apple.

A few years ago you hardly every heard developers complaining about Apple, but
with the latest generation iPods, the iPhone and the App Store, this has
changed.

Over the last year or so there have been consistent and very negative
experiences reported by developers across the table.

Quite a change.

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tdavis
I think you mean "across the board".

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mpk
That works too.

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cstefanovici
They are planning to do their own e-book thing with the upcoming tablet.
Although for iphone and ipod the apps wouldn't hurt, they probably don't want
people getting used to e-books on iphone and ipod before the tablet comes
out.... ? The e-books would kill the battery on the iphone/ipod anyway. Don't
think it would work. Just some ideas, don't shoot me down.

~~~
gcheong
I just downloaded the free Kindle iphone app. I would think that if this were
a competitive thing that they would have killed this one off first. Or maybe
they're waiting until after the release of this rumored tablet?

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Derrek
Good god, when will the madness end?

"Another developer who built an e-book reader received a recent rejection
along the same lines. The application might be used to read copyright
infringing books, so Apple will not let it in App Store."

But couldn't OS X also be used to play copyright infringing MP3s, software and
videos?

~~~
Xichekolas
_Cupertino, CA - In a startling turn of events, Apple today announced that it
has decided to stop selling the iPhone, effective immediately. When asked for
more details, a spokesperson stated: "The iPhone might be used by people who
buy it. This use could lead to complaints, and in the age of the Internet,
these complaints could lead to bad PR for Apple. Therefore, Apple has decided
that selling the iPhone is just too risky."_

~~~
billswift
The problem isn't with selling the iPhone, it's with letting people DO
anything with it.

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chaosmachine
Every day is a bad PR day for Apple lately. And it all seems to stem from the
App Store.

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tallanvor
I can't help but wonder if they'll let Amazon's app remain. After all, since
you can send files to Amazon that are converted into their format, their app
could be infringing on copyright...

While I understand the conflicting pressures Apple must be under with regards
to various apps, I think it is hurting them quite a bit, but it's their own
fault. Because they've made themselves the gatekeepers, it's much easier for
other companies to sue them if they allow an app on that violates copyright or
other laws.

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cesare
I think Apple is really going backwards with this move.

The platform could have been a great medium to publish (and monetize) any kind
of multimedia content (everything that couldn't be considered strictly an
application, like interactive fiction, comics, reference books with a
customized interface etc).

From an author perspective this could have been a great medium to experiment
with. Much more interesting that the kindle or simple e-book reader apps with
a fixed user interface.

~~~
dtf
I see exactly where they're heading: Apple will create their own reader and
Book Store in iTunes, where they'll charge content creators 30%. Perhaps if
they're feeling particularly generous, they'll let you share your your DRM'd
iBooks between your Tablet and your iPhone. Third-party readers are obviously
a massive threat to this potential profit stream.

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bdfh42
The difference between the potential of iTunes being used to access
copyrighted material without payment and an eBook reader doing the same thing
is that Apple do not sell eBooks.

Apple is ensuring that the apps on the iPhone make them money without any
potential to cost them money. It's all upside for them.

~~~
derefr
Or, it could just be that the Apple Tablet thing, if it exists (10%
probability) will read e-books (100% dependent probability), and therefore
introduce a Book Store to complement the App and Music Stores (80% dependent
probability, I'd say), and the iPhone and iPod Touch will inherit it (100%
d.p.), and they'll want to shut out third-party Book Stores the same way
they'd shut out a third-party music store (97% d.p.) and are willing to lie on
rejection notices so as not to reveal their plan (20% d.p.).

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chanux
Dictionary, e-books .. what's next?

~~~
jrockway
<http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html>

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pclark
so what about apps already in the app store?

