Apple: You say you want a revolution?

Despotic dictators, your days are numbered. Tempers have hit the boiling point. The people have had enough and are taking to the streets. Revolution is in the air.

I'm not talking about Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, or Libya (though I certainly could be). I'm talking about Apple and its app developers -- the army of thousands who, perhaps more than anyone else besides Steve Jobs, have made the iPhone and iPad the "magical, life-changing" devices Apple purports them to be.

Apple's recent app store diktat -– it will exact a 30 percent tax on every subscription made via the iTunes Store, developers can't offer a better deal elsewhere, and Cupertino will retain control over customer data –- has inspired a number of major mainstream app developers to go public with their discontent in a way we haven't seen before.

Rhapsody was the first to cry foul, saying the 30-point vig will cripple low-margin businesses like its streaming music service. Its official statement:

An Apple-imposed arrangement that requires us to pay 30 per cent of our revenue to Apple, in addition to content fees that we pay to the music labels, publishers and artists, is economically untenable. The bottom line is: we would not be able to offer our service through the iTunes store if subjected to Apple's 30 per cent monthly fee vs a typical 2.5 per cent credit card fee.
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http://www.infoworld.com/d/adventures-in-it/apple-you-say-you-want-revolution-295

Am I wrong?

This has nothing to do with that.

I have an Android phone. The iPhone's nicer, but Android is fine.

Android will eventually be the major marketshare leader and Apple pushed into a small but stable (and profitable) niche.



Just like Computers today are:
Windows 90%+
Apple: 5%
Everyone else: 5%

Someday phones & Consumer Electronic Devices will be
Android: 90%+
Apple: 5%
Everyone Else: 5%

Android is going to destroy on cost. Supporting an open platform can't hurt either. Virgin Mobile has LG Optimus for $149 w/ no contract and no activation. Prepaid plan is $25 a month for data, text, and voice. Now it is no iphone but it shows how "cheap" Android is getting. We will see $99 no contract smart phones by Christmas.

I regularly look for "apps" that I would be interested in. I rarely if ever find anything I'm looking for, and much of what I find is just crap. The vast majority seem to be games of some sort. There's a tremendous amount of marginally functional apps. And much of the "free" apps seems to border on advertising, or merely alternate avenues to on-line content. I'm not sure what everyone is buying.