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It's been quite a while since Apple's tight reins on the App Store
were a subject worth discussing, but they're back in the spotlight now
following the company's rejection of Sony's Reader app for iOS. The
reasons given to Sony were that Apple will not no longer accept
applications that permit in-app purchases of content that don't go
through Apple itself, and, moreover, will not tolerate apps that
access material purchased through external content stores. So the Sony
Reader Store is out -- but wait, doesn't the Kindle app spend its time
serving up Kindlebooks? No comment has been offered on the matter from
either Apple or Amazon, while Sony's Reader Store page describes the
situation as "an impasse" and promises to seek "other avenues to bring
the Reader experience to Apple mobile devices." In the mean time, you
can get the Reader app for Android or just read your ebooks on a
device dedicated to that task.
Update: As noted by Harry McCracken over at Technologizer, it has
actually been Apple's longstanding policy to forbid in-app purchases
-- the Kindle and Nook apps send you to a browser -- so Sony's desire
to do so will have been the major cause for the Reader application's
rejection. That doesn't invalidate the second concern expressed in the
New York Times article, that Apple will no longer tolerate content
brought in from external stores, which is a displeasing development,
if true.
Update 2: Looks like McCracken nailed it -- Apple's come out with a
statement pointing out that the App Store guidelines require that apps
that allow content purchases must also allow them in-app through
Apple's official iTunes-backed system. We can't imagine that Sony is
thrilled with the idea of cutting Apple in on Reader content, but if
they want to play ball, they should be able to score an approval.
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