My Apple MD

iPhone Repair – New hints are surfacing that Google is following Apple’s in-app purchasing model for their popular Android app marketplace. A story surfaced this week that visual voicemail app developer PhoneFusion was removed from the Android Market for using an outside platform to accept in-app payments.

After Apple announced its plan last week to deny its app content developers from using out-of-app platforms for accepting subscription payments beginning this June, many skeptics pointed to the Google Android app marketplace as a model for a free and open market for content developers where they wouldn’t be subject to the strict rules Apple is planning to introduce. Now it seems Google is employing similar policies of its own and could be eyeing the more controversial policies that developers like Sony are currently railing against.

Section 3.3 of the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement states that, “all fees received by developers for products distributed via the Market must be processed by the Market’s Payment Processor.” This is the section that Google cited for banning PhoneFusion’s app, which had over a million downloads. Google said PhoneFusion violated the policy when they routed users to their own payment system for upgrades instead of using Google Checkout.

Google will likely claim this is a security issue for payments and that they can only ensure secure payments through their own payment platform, but app developers have been put on notice that the app world is changing and they need to think about playing ball with Apple and Google if they plan of remaining in the game.

Apple also drew fire for the provision in its upcoming subscription policy that stipulates Apple will receive 30% of all app subscription payments received through its iOS platform. This is the biggest source of contention for content developers that say this stipulation is economically untenable for their businesses. The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission are looking into the matter for antitrust concerns.

Google is likely waiting on the DoJ and FTC to rule in Apple’s case before making a similar move. If all goes well for Apple, will Google make a move to adopt a similar policy for its Android app makers that forces them to cut Google in on a significant percentage of app sales? What do you think? Leave a comment below.

iPhone Repair- The new Apple subscription policy for iPad and iPhone content publishers in which Apple gets 30% of app sales and stipulates that providers may not offer lower prices for the apps anywhere else is getting the attention of federal antitrust regulators.

Since the announcement, content publishers have been complaining publicly that Apple’s new subscription model isn’t economically feasible for them. The policy also stipulates that publishers cannot include links inside apps to outside sources in which Apple does not get a share of the proceeds of content sales.

No formal investigations have been announced, but the NewYork Times is reporting that the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are currently reviewing the matter for violation of antitrust laws. The new Apple policy is also being monitored overseas by the European Commission for similar concerns.

This latest controversy swells at moment when Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs has been reported to be in extremely poor health. Apple’s stock has been taking a beating recently and this news isn’t helping. Big name content publishers like Sony are already saying they may opt to forego the iOS network entirely is Apple doesn’t revise its new policy which is set to take effect June 30.

This isn’t the first time Apple has drawn attention from the FTC and European Commission. In 2010, Apple was investigated for prohibiting third-party tools like Adobe Flash from iOS applications. Apple withdrew the policy before the governing bodies came to a decision.

With all the pressure mounting over its latest policy combined with Jobs’ ailing health and a falling stock price, will Apple again concede defeat and revise its decision? What do you think? Leave a comment below.

iPhone Repair – Apple has just rolled out a new subscription policy for businesses that provide content on the iPhone and iPad. The new policy comes soon after the first iPad only newspaper, News Corp.’s The Daily, began charging users a subscription fee through Apple’s iTunes.

The policy states that content providers (newspapers, magazines, video providers, music channels, etc.) must pay Apple 30% of any subscription revenue earned through Apple’s App store. This does not include subscriptions made on the content providers’ own sites or through other sources.  The content provider also cannot provide links inside an app to purchase a subscription from another source.

Apple founder Steve Jobs talked about the subscription policy from his company’s point of view.

“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. 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.”

The new policy raises many questions and choices for content providers. Will they opt instead to use Google’s Android network exclusively where they can still keep all of their subscription revenue? Is utilizing the Apple iOS network worth losing 30% of its app subscription revenue? Will content providers consider raising their subscription prices across the board? How will the new expanding Verizon iPhone network impact all of these decisions?

This decision further highlights the difference between the two tech superpowers Apple and Google. Google has yet to roll out such a policy, perhaps waiting to see how Apple’s latest gamble pays off. Apple, unlike Google, wants to be the first in line to profit from the use of its network. Since perfecting and dominating search advertising, Google can afford to be more patient in its policy development while it follows its usual practice of eyeing what its competitors do first and then capitalizing on their missteps and offering a similar and more profitable product later.

The new policy will surely test the long-term viability of apps as a profit-driving mechanism. Many websites already offer their content for free and most content can already be accessed online for free, so the question becomes – Will iPhone and iPad users pay for easy-access content subscription when they can access the same content online for free by putting in a little more effort? The answer to this question will likely shape e-commerce policy for a long time.

What do you think? Leave a comment.