Showing posts with label Apple subscription. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Apple subscription. Show all posts

Monday, February 21, 2011

Readability To Apple, "Apple Your Greed Suck!"! SaaS Need To Pay Too.

Readability To Apple http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
I really think FTC or DoJ really need to look at Apple's subscription laws.When we thought it has cooled down, another victim of Apple's practice, Readability, posted an open letter to Apple. This time Apple wants to charge 30%, if the app provides functionality, or services in addition to content sellers like Murdoch. SaaS (Software As A Service) is in Big Trouble, if they are planing to leverage Apple iOS popularity and customers. Readability pointed out the following from 11.2 in the App Store Review Guidelines:
11.2     Apps utilizing a system other than the In App Purchase API (IAP) to purchase content, functionality, or services in an app will be rejected.

Those who are thinking of bringing SAAS to Apple platform, get ready to poke out 30% of your income or charge 30% more from your customers, either way you lose. People with RSS readers, if you are planing to charge customers, add 30%, oops you too lose.


Great way to do business Apple, you are turning away the same apps that made you successful. Remember Google Voice App, yes I too think you suck and will stay away from you as much as possible.
Readability, as you can see from the video below, strips unnecessary bits, (yes ads too but authors are compensated, read below) and presented to the reader in a readable way but their app got rejected by Apple.

We’re obviously disappointed by this decision, and surprised by the broad language. By including “functionality, or services,” it’s clear that you intend to pursue any subscription-based apps, not merely those of services serving up content. Readability’s model is unique in that 70% of our service fees go directly to writers and publishers. If we implemented In App purchasing, your 30% cut drastically undermines a key premise of how Readability works.


Well Apple, do not worry, I am exchanging my iPhone for an Android phone and I have made a request at work for Android Tablet, perhaps a Motorola XOOM, After Bestbuy Verizon game ends.
Readability via Techcrunch

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Apple Introduces A Subscription Service Through App Store.

Subscription Service Through App Store. http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Today Apple launched a subscription service through it's App Store aimed at subscribers to magazines, newspapers, videos, and music bought at App Store. Subscriptions bought at App store will sold through Apple billing system and publishers set the price and length of the subscription. Every subscription sold through App store, Apple snatches a hefty 30% that has become the industry standard.
"Our philosophy is simple, When Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share. When the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing," said Steve Jobs.
With the wide acceptance of iPad as a media consumption device, equally on the move and at home, Magazine and newspaper subscriptions might become widely accepted as well. But looking at recent reporting of Egypt news, who wants still get news papers? They are too old and too slow. On the other hand what is going to happen when all these Android Tablets hits the market.

But Tabloids and Magazines, do still sell, every time I go to the supermarket, I get a laugh at these tabloid news displayed near checkout, just  before sighing over food prices.

apple press release;

CUPERTINO, California—February 15, 2011—Apple® today announced a new subscription service available to all publishers of content-based apps on the App Store℠, including magazines, newspapers, video, music, etc. This is the same innovative digital subscription billing service that Apple recently launched with News Corp.’s “The Daily” app.
Subscriptions purchased from within the App Store will be sold using the same App Store billing system that has been used to buy billions of apps and In-App Purchases. Publishers set the price and length of subscription (weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly or yearly). Then with one-click, customers pick the length of subscription and are automatically charged based on their chosen length of commitment (weekly, monthly, etc.). Customers can review and manage all of their subscriptions from their personal account page, including canceling the automatic renewal of a subscription. Apple processes all payments, keeping the same 30 percent share that it does today for other In-App Purchases.
“Our philosophy is simple—when Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “All we require is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one-click right in the app. We believe that this innovative subscription service will provide publishers with a brand new opportunity to expand digital access to their content onto the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone, delighting both new and existing subscribers.”
Publishers who use Apple’s subscription service in their app can also leverage other methods for acquiring digital subscribers outside of the app. For example, publishers can sell digital subscriptions on their web sites, or can choose to provide free access to existing subscribers. Since Apple is not involved in these transactions, there is no revenue sharing or exchange of customer information with Apple. Publishers must provide their own authentication process inside the app for subscribers that have signed up outside of the app. However, Apple does require that if a publisher chooses to sell a digital subscription separately outside of the app, that same subscription offer must be made available, at the same price or less, to customers who wish to subscribe from within the app. In addition, publishers may no longer provide links in their apps (to a web site, for example) which allow the customer to purchase content or subscriptions outside of the app.
Protecting customer privacy is a key feature of all App Store transactions. Customers purchasing a subscription through the App Store will be given the option of providing the publisher with their name, email address and zip code when they subscribe. The use of such information will be governed by the publisher’s privacy policy rather than Apple’s. Publishers may seek additional information from App Store customers provided those customers are given a clear choice, and are informed that any additional information will be handled under the publisher’s privacy policy rather than Apple’s.
The revolutionary App Store offers more than 350,000 apps to consumers in 90 countries, with more than 60,000 native iPad™ apps. Customers of the more than 160 million iOS devices around the world can choose from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.
Press Contacts:
Trudy Muller
Apple
tmuller@apple.com
(408) 862-7426

Tom Neumayr
Apple
tneumayr@apple.com
(408) 974-1972