Apple Forcing E-Reader Apps to Remove Bookstores
While Apple is currently forcing vendors into removing links to their online bookstores, Google Books has vanished from the App Store.
For those who rely on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch to purchase and read e-books outside Apple's own virtual bookstore, the means of acquiring virtual novels and magazines are about to get painful. On Monday Amazon's Kindle Team reported that it was forced to remove the "Kindle Store" link from within the Kindle app in order to comply with Apple's new policy changes.
"We wanted to let you know that we've updated our Kindle app for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch," the Kindle team said. "The big change is that you can now use the Kindle app to read over 100 Kindle newspapers and magazines including the Economist, as well as share favorite passages from your reading via Facebook and Twitter."
"In order to comply with recent policy changes by Apple, we've also removed the "Kindle Store" link from within the app that opened Safari and took you to the Kindle Store," the team continued. "You can still shop as you always have - just open Safari and go to www.amazon.com/kindlestore. If you want, you can bookmark that URL. Your Kindle books will be delivered automatically to your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, just as before."
Both Canada-based Kobo and Barnes & Noble have also updated their apps to remove any links to their online bookstores. By doing this, the e-book vendors won't be required to cough up a 30-percent cut on sales their apps generate. Previously they got around Apple's monetary demand by adding a link to their websites within the apps. But then in February Apple changed its rules, demanding that vendors sell all content within their apps. Developers have until June 30 to remove in-app links to external storefronts, and to add all revenue-generating content if vendors wish to sell their products within the app.
Back in May, BeamItDown Software publicly criticized Apple for its new policy, claiming that it ultimately forced the studio to shut its doors for good. BeamItdown was behind the iFlow Reader app for iOS.
"We went onto this Apple platform led on by all the Apple PR talking about being a developer, making money, etc," said co-founder Dennis Morin in an interview. "We go onto this platform expecting the game to be fair. OK, Apple wants to sell books, fine. But, then they go and change the rules so nobody but Apple can make a profit on a particular category. I mean, this stuff is unprecedented. For all practical purposes you have a totalitarian country here. And I think Apple will ultimately lose from this strategy. But let's face it, in the short term Apple needs to make more and more revenue for its stockholders. They're doing sales of $300 million a day. But they've got to make that $400 million or $500 million and so on. "
Kobo CEO Michael Serbinis said on Monday that the new rules won't allow the company to mention the online bookstore or explain to readers from within the app how to purchase books and get them onto the device. "It's very simple to do, but some people downloading the app for the first time might not figure it out," he said.
Also on Monday, CNET pointed out that Google Books disappeared from the App Store over the weekend. So far Google and Apple have not provided any explanation although it's believed that Apple pulled the app because Google would not remove the link to its online bookstore. Sounds like another lawsuit in the brewing pot.
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Apple is taking the DVD drive out of the Mini so boot camping with Windows and playing DVD based games are gone unless I pay for a external drive. Autosave is like spyware. Lion is moving swiftly to a IOS on steroids and a piece of currently a piece of buggy crap.
It was a nice ride Apple from my 12" G4 Powerbook and Tiger but no more computers from you. Both my Mini and Macbook Pro will stay with Snow Leopard and my next laptop one day will be back to Ubuntu or another Linux distro.
Ubuntu is all downloaded too but it is free so I will not complain about that. If I pay good money I don't want to be forced into some app store.
I will never purchase anything manufactured by Apple, this article is reason enough. There are, however, many more reasons. I am free to install just about anything I wish on my PC, including e-reader apps with any number of links the publisher wishes. I hope the iron fist of Steve Jobs is laid to rest with his body when the time comes.
Guess what I'm done with Apple after my ipad, one of the reasons I bought it was for it to be an e0reader, fk um.
If this type of Greed isn't proof that Apple is inspired by Satan I don't know what is.
And this is why I never buy any apple products. I feel very smug today.
Apple's avarice is the most detrimental force against the consumer. Starting with book prices, whereby Amazon (and Barnes Nobles) had a $9.99 price tag - arrives the Apple Scrooge and now we all pay the same price for an electronic disty as a discounted hard cover - Apple your avarice is disgusting and I go out of my way to never buy your product. Vive Google!
We buy the product therefor we shouldn't have to jump through hoops to use it... It is very apparent at how much greed these people have.
...I never have and never will buy an Apple product.
If you want freedom, buy a android and get a PC. Apple=fail.
I really hope Apple continues these practices. Maybe the consumers will wake up. Too bad they'll probably never notice. "It just works" my a$$.
And Apple avoids the antitrust lawsuits that befell Microsoft HOW? I mean for craps sake, in Europe, Microsoft has to distribute their OS (no computer, just the software mind you), with a screen that lets you select and download your own web-browser, they can't even offer other web browsers AND install IE anyway. They even got in trouble when that selection screen wasn't "random enough".
But somehow, Apple is allowed to tell companies that not only must they use Apple's billing system (i.e. give Apple 30%), but these companies can't even include a link, or DESCRIPTION of a website that would allow the users of these apps to make purchases outside of Apple's control? How many politicians around the world are being paid-off by that $70+ billion in cash and assets Apple announced the other day?
And here in America, our own president is a damn shill for Apple, lugging around an iPod and giving one to the damn queen of england. HOW MUCH DID THEY PAY YOU OBAMA?!?!!?!?!? Are the thousands of American jobs shipped overseas to produce Apple products worth it to you? Bush didn't even KNOW what an MP3 was, now there was a leader! (*end semi-sarcastic political rant*)
Apple is taking the DVD drive out of the Mini so boot camping with Windows and playing DVD based games are gone unless I pay for a external drive. Autosave is like spyware. Lion is moving swiftly to a IOS on steroids and a piece of currently a piece of buggy crap. It was a nice ride Apple from my 12" G4 Powerbook and Tiger but no more computers from you. Both my Mini and Macbook Pro will stay with Snow Leopard and my next laptop one day will be back to Ubuntu or another Linux distro.Ubuntu is all downloaded too but it is free so I will not complain about that. If I pay good money I don't want to be forced into some app store.
if you were a real apple fanboy you would no there is no way to get a good cheap apple computer
Ah, just as well another way for Steve Jobs to reach into everyone's pocket's and at the same time control what they can and cannot do with their device. So how come what they do is never considered monopolizing. No different than forcing everyone back in the day to use IE and not be able to remove it,
It is there product, and they have all right to determine in what ways it can or can not be used.. whether anyone thinks that's extreme or not.. And, as much of a pain in the ass it is.. They should have total rights as to what they allow within their online "store". And when something in their store is directing someone to a different store... Why wouldn't they get mad? Sounds perfectly logical to me.. It would be like selling a brand of coffee in a starbucks, but on the bag it says something like "Like this coffee? Buy it over here too.!" Yeah, coffee isn't the best example I suppose, but it doesn't make it any less valid.. Apple is a company, and they want money.. Plain and simple.
Wow really? Not only do their products rip you off at every turn but now they rip you off before the turn. Way to go apple, ill stick to M$ and android.
Too bad the article was not written by Gruener, he would have put a positive spin on it, like this can actually be a good thing!
I, for one, vote with my wallet and I am NOT buying anything Apple. I am not interested in some greedy f..k to tell me what I can and mostly can not do with my devices.
Wow, what a bunch of idiots posting - worse than the usual garbage.
Google and Amazon already have their Apps back up, sans the Buy button. Why? Because having their App in a store with 200 million plus users is sending a lot of money their way. And sending ZERO money to Apple since the Apps are free and Apple makes no commission on any of the books people buy. They never made money before and they don't make mobey now.
If the Buy button was included THEN Apple would have made 30%. So Apple is letting these companies produce a free App, host and distribute it at Apple's expense on Apple's servers, and make money without any going to Apple. And people are talking about antitrust. How stupid can you be?
And I guess people forgot when the majority of publishers were asking Apple to provide the CC numbers of users to enable one-click buying without them having to require the user to provide it themselves.
Funny thing is, apple will still make money because must of their customers will still buy their products. I wonder how Apple is the only company i see that can get a away with anti-competitive pratices in plain sight.
It is there product, and they have all right to determine in what ways it can or can not be used.. whether anyone thinks that's extreme or not.. And, as much of a pain in the ass it is.. They should have total rights as to what they allow within their online "store". And when something in their store is directing someone to a different store... Why wouldn't they get mad? Sounds perfectly logical to me.. It would be like selling a brand of coffee in a starbucks, but on the bag it says something like "Like this coffee? Buy it over here too.!" Yeah, coffee isn't the best example I suppose, but it doesn't make it any less valid.. Apple is a company, and they want money.. Plain and simple.
Their product!? THEIR PRODUCT??? I bloody buy the product, when i buy it, it is MINE!!!! I do what i want to it!!!
Scuba Dave, the PC market is just as vibrant. I don't see MS telling PC software vendors this BS. Plus apple is forgetting, it's the external content providers/developers that make the apple what it is. They are just slitting their wrists with this decision. If there wasn't any content for IPAD, would you still want to use it?
Wow, what a bunch of idiots posting - worse than the usual garbage.Google and Amazon already have their Apps back up, sans the Buy button. Why? Because having their App in a store with 200 million plus users is sending a lot of money their way. And sending ZERO money to Apple since the Apps are free and Apple makes no commission on any of the books people buy. They never made money before and they don't make mobey now.If the Buy button was included THEN Apple would have made 30%. So Apple is letting these companies produce a free App, host and distribute it at Apple's expense on Apple's servers, and make money without any going to Apple. And people are talking about antitrust. How stupid can you be?And I guess people forgot when the majority of publishers were asking Apple to provide the CC numbers of users to enable one-click buying without them having to require the user to provide it themselves.
ericburnby you may want to brush up on your reading comprehension. The article says that they can't talk about an external store or link to the app store, so it makes buying content that much harder for the average user. Try reading the story before bashing others.
Wow, what a bunch of idiots posting - worse than the usual garbage.Google and Amazon already have their Apps back up, sans the Buy button. Why? Because having their App in a store with 200 million plus users is sending a lot of money their way. And sending ZERO money to Apple since the Apps are free and Apple makes no commission on any of the books people buy. They never made money before and they don't make mobey now.If the Buy button was included THEN Apple would have made 30%. So Apple is letting these companies produce a free App, host and distribute it at Apple's expense on Apple's servers, and make money without any going to Apple. And people are talking about antitrust. How stupid can you be?And I guess people forgot when the majority of publishers were asking Apple to provide the CC numbers of users to enable one-click buying without them having to require the user to provide it themselves.
huh? since when does apple deserve a cut on the profits on external content provided on some else's servers? if free apps is such an "expense" to host on apple servers then ban them altogether. i won't be surprised if they actual do ban free apps and still have customers worship Jobs like some god.
This really is a sad development for users. We generally have to shop around to find an e-store that has a particular book, and so far my experience with the Kobo upgrade has been terrible. I purchased a book, they debited my credit card, and I have yet to be able to read the book. The version that was loaded into my ipad was a preview with all the chapters locked. I deleted that version and there does not seem to be a facility to get the full version of the book into my Kobo reader. Apple, Kindle and Kobo have trashed users’ experiences in their smutty rat race for profits. My next pad will be an Android.
People, who keep buying Apple products, are extremely stupid.
It is lucky that something like Android exists or I would have become stupid too.
Haters out in force ranting about nothing as per usual.
Anyone from Canada able to find the Google Books android app? I did a search for Google Books, or just Books, or even searched for Google and browsed for it, but I can't find the google bookstore when searching on my Galaxy S Captivate.
This company most certainly has become a true 1984 example.I would do a good boycott unless they smarten up.Hopefully a court case will arrive because of greedy behavior like this example.
Jailbreaking FTW!
Haters out in force ranting about nothing as per usual.
There is a lot of anti-apple here, but as a apple product owner who has been shafter by this (and a few other apple owners have posted here), it seems apple are in the wrong - legally in the wrong. But nothing is being done about it.
I
All of these e-reader companies should just start producing official apps for cydia and give you the full experience on jailbroken phones and pads - then advertise for it, and give instructions on their own webpages on how to jailbreak phones. Screw the man who is trying to screw you!
Somebody needs to put Jobs in his place!!