Quote:
Originally Posted by tomsem
I've pored through the Apple submission guidelines and can find nothing that states that "if an app offers customers the ability to purchase books outside of the app, that the same option is also available to customers from within the app with in-app purchase." But I guess it is all a matter of interpretation.
Technically, an app cannot prevent purchase of a book outside of the app. In the case of the Kindle app, what we are talking about is that it launches Safari with a particular URL. So are they saying apps can launch some links but not others? Pretty silly.
Amazon (or sony) can simply develop a web app that can be installed on the Home Screen (it takes a couple of clicks, and authentication). As a web app, it is able to store data securely (such as an account name and password), behaves like a native app in some important ways (has its own icon on the home screen, appears like any other app in the dock, etc.), and updates can happen seamlessly. Web apps don't require iTunes Store approval. All that is missing is that the user needs to find the (Kindle or Sony) Store button on their home screen or running in the dock when they want to purchase something from their iThing. Such a web app uses few system resources and would not need to be shut down very often.
Then, in the app, instead of a 'Kindle Store' button they have a 'Install Kindle Store web app' button somewhere, which takes you to a web page where you can install the web app.
However, many reader apps integrate the store-browsing experience directly in the app, and only launch Safari to complete a purchase. They will need to shift the store-browsing over to the web app, and somehow get people to install the web app.
But really, Apple: why put us all through this? Everybody is happy with the way it has been, you won't generate a dime more revenue from enforcing this policy, and on the contrary will sow a lot of distrust and angst and defection to competing platforms.
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I put "apps" on my homescreen that are nothing more than web bookmarks all the time. Amazon, Kobo, Sony, etc should really invest in HTML5 - until Apple takes away our bookmarks.