As Apple Adds Restrictions to “Apps,” Independent MultiMedia eBook Distributor, Cathedral Rock Publishing, Holds the ...

Apple’s recent announcement that its “App Store” will no longer permit external mechanisms for purchases, such as “buy now” buttons and other external links (as reported by CNN on July 25, 2011), is the latest chapter in a string of moves by market leaders to impose limitations on how merchants can do business. Cathedral Rock Publishing believes it is only a matter of time before at least some merchants get fed up with these prohibitive restrictions and seek out distributors who are more focused on customer needs.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) July 31, 2011

Apple’s recent announcement that its “App Store” will no longer permit external mechanisms for purchases, such as “buy now” buttons and other external links (as reported recently by CNN), is the latest chapter in a string of moves by market leaders to impose limitations on how merchants can do business.

While App Store merchants, including book distributor heavyweight, Amazon, have been quick to comply, independent multimedia eBook distributor, Cathedral Rock Publishing, believes it is only a matter of time before at least some merchants get fed up with these prohibitive restrictions and seek out distributors who are more focused on customer needs rather than lining their pockets.

For more information, go to http://CathedralRockPublishing.com.

“It is somewhat bizarre when you look at the how well the iPad leverages ePub standards, and at the same time, the App Store nullifies those same standards,” says Cathedral Rock Publishing’s co-founder, John David Balla. “This squashing of the iPad’s capabilities by the App Store makes us even more committed to distributing multimedia eBooks without restrictions.”

In fact, Cathedral Rock Publishing’s “Book is the Store” application – not to be confused with an App Store “app” – is designed specifically so that multimedia eBook authors and publishers can fully leverage the capabilities of the iPad and other digital tablets, including providing external links to supplemental content.

“We see the multimedia eBook as much more than just a book,” says Balla. “Potentially it’s a micro-portal or gateway to additional information, products, and services. Services the publisher knows the reader is interested in, by virtue of the fact that the reader has already purchased an eBook dealing with specific subject matter. Whether merchants decide to provide external links for the purpose of selling additional products or services, or just do so free of charge, is entirely up to them. Cathedral Rock subscribes to the ‘disintermediation model’ that removes the middleman whenever possible and allows buyers and sellers to interact more efficiently and cost effectively.”

Over the past few decades, hardware and software companies’ attempts at closed architecture and business models have ultimately failed, in part because the main thrust of the Internet has always been one of an open framework, both technologically and commercially. Still, some market leaders, driven by an appetite for even greater dominance, occasionally stray from what consumers demand, namely more flexible and convenient products and services.

“Cases in point,” explains Balla. “Try to buy a song on your iPad that isn’t from iTunes. You can’t. It just won’t download. Or try to buy an eBook on your Kindle that isn’t from Amazon. Again, you can’t. Not because it can’t be done. Only because both companies force you to buy from them. We don’t think these kinds of restrictions are sustainable in the long run.

“Back in the 80s, we had Wang computers in our office,” continues Balla. “They were totally proprietary computers and now they’re gone. Today we see similar attempts to force people to do things ‘the vendor’s way.’ But people don’t like to be forced to do anything. At least, that’s what we’re betting on.”

In the meantime, Cathedral Rock Publishing continues to offer unrestricted multimedia eBooks to consumers that bypass the App Store entirely, seamlessly downloading directly to the iPad’s bookshelf. Only time will tell if Apple will deny access to non-App Store eBooks. But if the recent restriction on external linking in the App Store is any indicator, consumer demands may be on a collision course with increasingly uncompromising vendors.

For more information, go to http://www.CathedralRockPublishing.com.

# # #

Stephen Smoke
Cathedral Rock Publishing
310-704-8877
Email Information

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Lawsuit Filed Against Apple and Book Publishers Over Illegal Ebook Price Fixing [Apple]

Anything's possible when people club together—just look at the UK riots as a really bad example of that. Class-action law firm Hagens Berman's seeking more plaintiffs for its lawsuit against Apple and five publishers over illegal ebook price-fixing.

The publishers include HarperCollins, Hachette, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster—five of of the top names in the book publishing world. If Hagens Berman's case finds that Apple and the publishers colluded to set ebook prices at such a high level for their greedy little Mr. Burns moment, damages could be awarded to the plaintiffs, plus an injunction could see ebook prices lowered. More details are available in Hagens Berman's press release below, along with contact details at the bottom.

SEATTLE — August 9, 2011 – Hagens Berman, a consumer rights class-action law firm, today announced it has filed a nationwide class-action lawsuit claiming that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and five of the nation's top publishers, including HarperCollins Publishers, a subsidiary of News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWSA), Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Group Inc., a subsidiary of Pearson PLC (NYSE: PSO) and Simon & Schuster Inc., a subsidiary of CBS (NYSE: CBS), illegally fix prices of electronic books, also known as e-books.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit alleges that the publishers and Apple colluded to increase prices for popular e-book titles to boost profits and force e-book rival Amazon to abandon its pro-consumer discount pricing.

According to the suit, publishers believed that Amazon's wildly popular Kindle e-reader device and the company's discounted pricing for e-books would increase the adoption of e-books, and feared Amazon's discounted pricing structure would permanently set consumer expectations for lower prices, even for other e-reader devices.

"Fortunately for the publishers, they had a co-conspirator as terrified as they were over Amazon's popularity and pricing structure, and that was Apple," said Steve Berman, attorney representing consumers and founding partner of Hagen Berman. "We intend to prove that Apple needed a way to neutralize Amazon's Kindle before its popularity could challenge the upcoming introduction of the iPad, a device Apple intended to compete as an e-reader."

The complaint claims that the five publishing houses forced Amazon to abandon its discount pricing and adhere to a new agency model, in which publishers set prices and extinguished competition so that retailers such as Amazon could no longer offer lower prices for e-books.

If Amazon attempted to sell e-books below the publisher-set levels, the publishers would simply deny Amazon access to the title, the complaint details. The defendant publishers control 85 percent of the most popular fiction and non-fiction titles.

Berman noted that while Amazon derived profit from the sale of its Kindle and related accessories, likely allowing the company to discount e-books, Apple was steadfast in maintaining the 70/30 revenue split it demanded with its App Store.

"Apple simply did not want to enter the e-book marketplace amid the fierce competition it knew it would face from Amazon and its discounted pricing," Berman added. "So instead of finding a way to out-compete Amazon, they decided to choke off competition through this anti-consumer scheme."

The complaint notes that Apple CEO Steve Jobs foreshadowed the simultaneous switch to agency pricing and the demise of discount pricing in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in early 2010. In the interview, he was asked why consumers would buy books through Apple at $14.99 while Amazon was selling the same book for $9.99. "The prices will be the same," he stated.

While free market forces would dictate that e-books would be cheaper than the hard-copy counterparts, considering lower production and distribution costs, the complaint shows that as a result of the agency model and alleged collusion, many e-books are more expensive than their hard-copy counterparts.

"As a result of the pricing conspiracy, prices of e-books have exploded, jumping as much as 50 percent," Berman said. "When an e-book version of a best-seller costs close to – or even more than – its hard-copy counterpart, it doesn't take a forensic economist to see that this is evidence of market manipulation."

Berman pointed out that The Kite Runner, for example, costs $12.99 as an e-book and only $8.82 as a paperback.

"What is most loathsome about the behavior of Apple and the publishers is that it is stifling the power of innovation, the very thing Apple purports to champion," Berman added. "A few big-business heavyweights are taking a powerful advancement of technology that would benefit consumers and suffocating it to protect profit margins and market-share."

According to the lawsuit, Apple and publishers were concerned that Amazon's $9.99 uniform pricing for bestsellers would create market pressures for other e-booksellers – including Apple – to do the same, cutting into profitability.

The lawsuit goes on to claim that because no publisher could unilaterally raise prices without losing sales, they coordinated their activities, with the help of Apple, in an effort to slow the growth of Amazon's e-book market and to increase their profit margin on each e-book sold.

The lawsuit claims Apple and the publishers are in violation of a variety of federal and state antitrust laws, the Sherman Act, the Cartwright Act, and the Unfair Competition Act.

The named plaintiffs, Anthony Petru, a resident of Oakland, California, and Marcus Mathis, a resident of Natchez, Mississippi, each purchased a least one e-book at a price above $9.99 after the adoption of the agency pricing model.

Once approved, the lawsuit would represent any purchaser of an e-book published by a major publisher after the adoption of the agency model by that publisher.

The lawsuit seeks damages for the purchase of e-books, an injunction against pricing e-books with the agency model and forfeiture of the illegal profits received by the defendants as a result of their anticompetitive conduct which could total tens of millions of dollars.

Hagens Berman invites potential plaintiffs to contact the office at ebooks@hbsslaw.com or by phone at 206-623-7292.

You can learn more about this case by visiting www.hbsslaw.com/ebooks.

View the original article here

Lawsuit claims Apple alleged ringleader in eBook price fixing conspiracy

 Ed Kaiser/Edmonton Journal

The popularity of Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle eBook reader (above in white) forced Apple to conspire with publishers to raise eBook prices in order to "neutralize" its iPad competition, a class action lawsuit filed this week alleges

Jameson Berkow? Aug 11, 2011 – 9:31 AM ET | Last Updated: Aug 11, 2011 1:51 PM ET

Today in technology: Apple Inc. faces a class action lawsuit claiming the company allegedly conspired with major book publishers to raise the price of eBooks, NASA issues its first private sector space flight contract and a mysterious face is caught on YouTube in the clouds over New Brunswick.

Is Apple making eBooks more expensive?
The same day Apple Inc. surpassed Exxon Mobil Corp. as the world’s most valuable company, the freshly crowned King of capital markets was slapped with a class action lawsuit claiming it was abusing its dominant market position.

In a 44-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court of Northern California on Tuesday, Seattle-based firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro argues the iPad maker illegally conspired with five major book publishers to fix the price of eBooks. The goal, according to a subsequently issued press release from Hagens Berman, was to “neutralize” the competitive threat of Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle eBook reader prior to the introduction of the first iPad last year.

Simon & Schuster Inc., HarperCollins Publishers, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers and Penguin Group Inc. are all named as parties to the price fixing scheme. Because those five companies control about 85% of the most popular fiction and non-fiction titles, the complaint argues, they feared Amazon’s original eBook pricing structure of about US$9.99 per title would permanently lower consumer expectations for the cost of eBooks as well as eBook readers.

“Fortunately for the publishers, they had a co-conspirator as terrified as they were over Amazon’s popularity and pricing structure,” Steve Berman, founding partner with Hagen Berman, said in a statement.

“And that was Apple.”

“We intend to prove that Apple needed a way to neutralize Amazon’s Kindle before its popularity could challenge the upcoming introduction of the iPad, a device Apple intended to compete as an e-reader.”

Once Apple had established its own iBookstore to compete with Amazon, the lawsuit claims the Cupertino, Calif.-based company convinced publishers to adopt its own 70/30 revenue split model and raise prices accordingly for both sides to maintain profitability. Should Amazon refuse to accept higher prices, the publishers allegedly denied the retailer access to their titles.

Mr. Berman notes the price of many popular eBook titles such as The Kite Runner quickly became more expensive than their dead tree-based counterparts as a result of the purported conspiracy.

“Apple simply did not want to enter the e-book marketplace amid the fierce competition it knew it would face from Amazon and its discounted pricing,” Mr. Berman said.

“So instead of finding a way to out-compete Amazon, they decided to choke off competition through this anti-consumer scheme.”

The case has two plaintiffs so far and Hagens Berman is actively seeking others who have purchased costly eBooks in recent months to join as well. John Simpson of U.S. advocacy group Consumer Watchdog told Computerworld on Wednesday the plaintiff’s appear to have a “very strong case.”

“I have long been concerned about the apparent monopoly power Apple has been able to exercise through its Apps Store,” he said.

Long considered to be the only worthy challenger to Apple in the tablet market, Amazon is expected to launch its own touchscreen iPad competitor in the fall. If the claims of price-fixing are proven in court, those actions would be in violation of several anti-trust laws at the state and federal levels.

Apple declined to comment on the lawsuit.

(Updated at 1:51 p.m. ET to include a response from Apple Inc.)

NASA awards first ever private space flight contract
Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is the new shuttle program. According to a contract released by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) on Wednesday, Virgin will soon be making sub-orbital spaceflights on the agency’s behalf. As noted by Virgin, “this arrangement marks the first time that NASA has contracted with a commercial partner to provide flights into space.”

What is that in the clouds over New Brunswick?
Opinion is split on what image can be seen in the following YouTube video shot last week just outside of Grand Falls, New Brunswick. All the guesses relate to a human face of some kind, though whether it is the face of Vol-demort, Zeus or Abraham Lincoln remains open for debate. Skip to about 1:40 in the video to make your own determination.

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Apple and Big Publishers Conspired To Fix Ebook Pricing, Lawsuit Alleges

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Apple and major publishers face lawsuit over ebook 'price fixing'

 Bitter fruit ... an Apple store in California. A law firm is alleging the company worked with publishers to push ebook prices up. Photograph: Russel A Daniels/AP

A class-action lawsuit has been filed in the US alleging that Apple and five major publishers "colluded ... to illegally fix prices" of ebooks.

The lawsuit, filed by law firm Hagens Berman in California northern district court, claims that HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster conspired with Apple to increase ebook prices in order "to boost profits and force ebook rival Amazon to abandon its pro-consumer discount pricing", and that they are "in violation of a variety of federal and state antitrust laws".

The complaint centres on the agency model – used by Apple for iTunes and by most major publishers for ebook sales – in which the publisher, rather than the retailer, sets the retail price of ebooks. The model has already sparked investigations in Europe and the UK, with the Office of Fair Trading investigating whether certain publisher-retailer arrangements "may breach competition law", and the European commission looking into whether companies have colluded to keep ebook prices high.

Naming two plaintiffs, California resident Anthony Petru and Mississippi resident Marcus Mathis – both of whom purchased at least one ebook for over $9.99 after the adoption of the agency pricing model – the lawsuit, once approved, will represent any purchaser of an ebook by a major publisher after the adoption of the agency model and could, according to Hagens Berman, be worth "tens of millions of dollars".

It alleges that the five publishers "feared" Amazon's move to price ebooks at $9.99 – a figure considerably below physical book prices. The pricing "threatened to disrupt the publishers' long-established brick-and-mortar model faster than [they] were willing to accept", and to set low consumer expectations for ebook prices.

Pointing to Macmillan's battle with Amazon over the agency model last year, which ultimately saw the online retailer capitulate to Macmillan's introduction of the model "because Macmillan has a monopoly over their own titles", the lawsuit says the five publishers "forced Amazon to abandon its discount pricing and adhere to a new agency model ... If Amazon attempted to sell ebooks below the publisher-set levels, the publishers would simply deny Amazon access to the title." This has, the suit says, seen the prices of new ebooks increase to an average of $12-15 – a rise of 33 to 50% – and reach a point where they are often more expensive than physical editions.

"As a result of the pricing conspiracy, prices of ebooks have exploded, jumping as much as 50%. When an ebook version of a bestseller costs close to or even more than its hard-copy counterpart, it doesn't take a forensic economist to see that this is evidence of market manipulation," said Steve Berman, founding partner of Hagens Berman, in a press release about the suit. "Fortunately for the publishers, they had a co-conspirator as terrified as they were over Amazon's popularity and pricing structure, and that was Apple. We intend to prove that Apple needed a way to neutralise Amazon's Kindle before its popularity could challenge the upcoming introduction of the iPad – a device Apple intended to compete as an e-reader."

But while publishers were likely to be "concerned" at the law suit – "it's another force ranging against them, and another example where they look like they are against rather than for the consumer" – The Bookseller's deputy editor Philip Jones said there was "no smoking gun" in the evidence.

"There are lots of accusations of collusion and conspiracy, rather like a John Grisham novel, but I couldn't find a single instance where they had proof, or even hinted that they had proof," he said. "There is a question over how the agency model has been implemented and whether that is illegal in the US and Europe, and that is what the regulatory bodies on both sides of the pond are looking into, but they are insinuating that there was collusion between Apple and these major publishers and I don't believe they can make the case. The lawyers can write that collusion was necessary for agency to occur, and give logic to that argument, but that doesn't prove that collusion actually took place."

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Apple blamed for death of ebook reader company

The publishers of the iFlow Reader ebook app have launched a stinging attack on Apple, blaming the computer giant’s controversial agency publishing model for putting it out of business.

In an angry blog post, publishers BeamItDown Software announced the death of the company and iFlow app for iPad and iPhone which it said had been caused by Apple’s insistence on taking a 30 percent cut of every book sold.

“Apple has made it completely impossible for anyone but Apple to make a profit selling contemporary ebooks on any iOS device,” the publisher writes in a blog announcing the demise of the app and the company itself. “We cannot survive selling books at a loss and so we are forced to go out of business.”

Users of iFlow Reader, launched as an iPad version only months ago, are being urged by the company to download all purchased books to their computer by May 31, or risk not being able to access them at all.

Trouble appears to have started with Apple’s recent insistence that developers sign up to an agency agreement through book publishers, which effectively forces them to sign away any profit they had previously been making on book sales to Apple itself. ?

Unable to sign an agency agreement with publishers Random House without incurring losses on every sale, BeamitDown had been forced to pull 17,000 titles previously offered through that relationship.

“Five of us spent nearly a year and a half of our lives and over a million dollars in cash and sweat equity developing the iFlowReader app,” reads the blog. “We put our faith in Apple and they screwed us.”

The number of users of the app is not revealed by the company but it claims to have been connected to six million book downloads in its three years of existence.

Apple’s hefty levy on ebook sales has been widely criticised as excessive and in contrast to the lower percentage being asked by Google to sell ebooks on Android devices.

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Apple kills an ebook company with its pricing greed

 

HomeNewsReviewsVideoINQdepthBlogsJobsDownloads store Chips Hardware Software Communications Week to date Chips Hardware Software Communications Hardware Software Features Opinion Polls White papers Boffin Watch Numb Thumbs Friction Friction Apple kills an ebook company with its pricing greed Will cease trading this month By Spencer Dalziel Wed May 11 2011, 14:15

EBOOK SOFTWARE COMPANY Iflow Reader has said it's shutting its doors because of Apple's inflated pricing structure.

The small e-reader software company developed its Iflow Reader for use on Apple's shiny Ipad and Iphone devices. But the company said that it will go out of business at the end of May because Apple greedily changed its pricing policies "in the middle of the game".

This isn't just implied by the long sign-off that Iflow Reader staff wrote on the company's web site. It is a direct finger pointed at Apple for introducing an agency model pricing structure that means any ebook seller has to give Jobs' Mob 30 per cent of the selling price of any iOS app.

Like a lot of big companies, Apple wants to own the end to end product, which includes hardware, software, content and distribution. That kind of approach is stifling competition, killing innovation and making smaller developers go bust.

"Apple has made it completely impossible for anyone but Apple to make a profit selling contemporary ebooks on any iOS device," wrote the incensed and soon to be unemployed software team at Iflow.

"We are a small company that thought we could build a better product. We think that we did but we are powerless against Apple's absolute control of the iOS platform," they added.

Apparently Apple created the agency model to siphon off 30 per cent of gross margin and developers can't choose the price points of their products. Prices of ebooks are decided by the publisher instead, which is also Apple. The math means that Iflow Reader would lose money on every ebook it sold.

Apple's cut-throat pricing policy is exactly the same model used on Amazon's Android app store, which is also killing off games development by smaller software companies. μ

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Share this: del.icio.us Digg Facebook Linkedin reddit! StumbleUpon Twitter Share Related articles Apple denies that 'app store' is a generic term Amazon’s Android Appstore still offends Apple Friday, 20 May 2011, 09:15 AM Read more Apple's IOS holds a massive lead over Google's Android The Ipod Touch is the key Thursday, 21 April 2011, 15:33 PM Read more Apple's IOS 4.3.2 gets jailbroken within a week The Ipad 2 holds out a bit longer Tuesday, 19 April 2011, 11:03 AM Read more Apple's Ipad 2 rivals will fail, says analyst firm Jobs chalks up another fan Friday, 11 March 2011, 15:16 PM Read more The Iphone 4 failed to increase Apple's smartphone market share Drops the call and the ball Wednesday, 2 February 2011, 11:59 AM Read more Apple shoots itself in the foot with the Ipad Fanbois buy mirrors instead of Macs Wednesday, 26 January 2011, 17:32 PM Read more < Previous article| Next article > Comments Can't decide if article is more stupid or dishonest

A failure of a company is a failure of a company. Apple's cut is for a vast distribution network, and quibble if you like, but every channel has its costs. The company failed because their product was unable to differentiate itself, promote well enough, and find a market, much like many other companies. Their failure to create a compelling product and find a market is their own, and sniveling about Apple just underlines their inability to compete or accept the consequences of their own failure.

posted by : Eric Mellon,?15 May 2011 Complain about this comment Apple has become IRS

For those of you blaming iFlow for their demise, you should read interview with founder: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-18438_7-20062030-82.html

It's an eye opening read that illustrates the absolute totalitarian control Apple has over marketplace. The fact that other developers will not speak as candidly is another sign of fear of Big Brother, Apple.

posted by : Bob,?12 May 2011 Complain about this comment no suprise there then

i'm suprised at articles like this. It's as if Apples greed has only just started or only just been discovered.

i'm suprised that any intelligent company does business with Apple at all.

i'm not suprised that another company got screwed by Apple - you know that any company that puts 'no suicide' clauses in it's work contracts is going to have no integrity

goodbye Iflow, you were to stupid to exist

posted by : sarah,?12 May 2011 Complain about this comment @Aaron:

Your contribution to this - let's call it a discussion - being what? Are you working for BeamMeUpScotty-Software?
Reading all comments I think nobody here says there's no responsibility on Apple's part. You'd have to have Stockholm syndrome to think that, since it really was the change in policy that caused their demise. But from reading their sob-story I conclude that the company made unreasonable decisions at numerous points.
The very first being to sell on iThings and iThings only. Why not, say, Android? The fastest-growing and soon to be #1 smartphone OS. Maybe because statistics show that iThing-users spend much more money on their devices? Here's to being too greedy.
Then, to continue anyway even though Apple explicitly said they don't guarantee anything and have a history of arbitrarily changing their policy and booting apps out of the AppStore. And still not thinking it might be a bad idea to bet everything they had on Apple.
And last but not least, just now to simply give up. If what they're saying is true, that their reader-app really is that good and well recognized, why give up so soon?
My thoughts are based on what BeamThing software are saying on their closing-page. I don't think I'm being unreasonable here. And if all of what's written on their page is true, it just means they're some company that made wrong decisions and went bust.

posted by : riDDi,?12 May 2011 Complain about this comment their own fault

yep, I agree with the comments that point the blame at iflow.

They can say all they want that they tried to "clear" it with Apple. By their own statement Apple told them they can't guarantee anything. Iflow went ahead and did it anyways...that's their responsibility and their gamble!

It's obvious Apple did not single them out....did they expect Apple to make a special exception just for them? Why don't they blame the publishing companies for signing on? They all decided to go a different route, and they all signed on....sucks for iflow, but that happens in business. Maybe next time they'll think about how they can secure their business BEFORE they throw the time/money into it they claim they did. Apple actually warned them...

posted by : richard,?12 May 2011 Complain about this comment There we go again...

What kind of a business model is that?
So all they were doing was selling ebooks through a single channel - apps on Apple's iThings - where they compete with so many other companies that do exactly the same. Their business was completely dependent on a third party that straight forward told them there were no guarantees.
And now that things have changed, they simply give up. No backup plan.

I guess I know why they're so pissed. They couldn't find anyone dumb enough to invest with that business plan and had to use their own money instead.

posted by : riDDi, 12 May 2011

Aah was just hoping when a jack-ass comment like this would be surfacing... And it did! Way too soon than I estimated though.

posted by : Aaron,?12 May 2011 Complain about this comment Amazon pricing policy

Is that the retailer of the app sets the price and the author/publisher has no control of it. This is COMPLETELY different from the above situation. The publisher is setting the price (and it's untrue that all agents get the same percentage under the agency model or that they had to sign an agency deal) and retailers have no control of it.

posted by : Steve T,?12 May 2011 Complain about this comment What kind of a business model is that?

So all they were doing was selling ebooks through a single channel - apps on Apple's iThings - where they compete with so many other companies that do exactly the same. Their business was completely dependent on a third party that straight forward told them there were no guarantees.
And now that things have changed, they simply give up. No backup plan.

I guess I know why they're so pissed. They couldn't find anyone dumb enough to invest with that business plan and had to use their own money instead.

posted by : riDDi,?12 May 2011 Complain about this comment Apple rumoured to make a TV set!

Does this mean a TV license will cost ￡189.15 per year for the Apple television if it uses IOS?

posted by : Alan Denman,?11 May 2011 Complain about this comment What did they expect?

If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas.

posted by : Anonymous Coward,?11 May 2011 Complain about this comment Amazon may kill smaller devs...

But no one is forced to load apps from amazon store.

posted by : J,?11 May 2011 Complain about this comment iOS ereaders only is a risky ventur

Seriously, an e-reader company failed and they blame Apple? Ereaders apps are a dime a dozen (actually apps like Kindle are free) and there is no compelling reason why anyone would pick this particular ereader and ebooks over any other ereader.

I just read the article and I don't remember the company's name, so I guess their advertizing sucked.

Nutron Jack used to say, "if you don't have a competative advantage, don't compete". An ereader on iOS only = fail.

posted by : mike,?11 May 2011 Complain about this comment Most read Most commented Most watched Playboy launches fully uncensored on Apple's Ipad Nokia chooses Qualcomm to power its first Windows Phone devices Apple denies that 'app store' is a generic term Nokia picks ST-Ericsson chips for 12 Windows Phone devices China’s great firewall creator gets hit by a shoe Tablets are a 'fad' like netbooks, says Dell No leniency for Gary McKinnon Mozilla is mulling plans to get users off Firefox 3.5 Intel invokes Linux to calm fears of Windows 8 on ARM Microsoft calls Intel's Windows 8 claims 'factually inaccurate' and 'misleading' Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 review

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iFlowReader developer accuses Apple of killing eBook competition

The developer of the eBook sales and reading application iFlowReader says new rules set by Apple are killing applications that compete with the company's iBook? app.

According to the home page on iFlowReader.com, the developers state that they will be going out of business due to the rule change and they explain why.

Simply put, publishers using Apple products were using a business model set up by Apple where eBook sellers would get 30% commission on any book sales. The makers of iFlowReader say Apple recently changed their rules so that Apple would receive a 30% fee on every item sold.

iFlowReaders developers say this forces them to operate at a loss or not at all. On their site they posted some harsh criticism of Apple:

"They now want 30% of the sale price of any books, which they know full well, is all of our profits and more.? What sounds like a reasonable demand when packaged by Apple's extraordinary public relations department is essentially an eviction notice to all ebook sellers on iOS."

To see iFlowReader's developer remarks, visit iFlowReader.com.

Copyright 2011 WBRC. All rights reserved.

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iPhone SDK 3 Programming: Advanced Mobile Development for Apple iPhone and iPod touch (Wiley)

Get the expert guidance you need to begin building native applications for Apple's new iPhone 3G as well as the iPod Touch

Apple's iPhone is the hottest mobile device on the planet. More than one million iPhone 3G phones were sold in the first three days of release and millions more are sure to be in the hands of iPhone fans each year. Apple's iPhone SDK has been updated and includes more than one thousand new APIs that developers will want to get their hands on.

iPhone SDK 3 Programming shows you how to build great applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Inside, veteran mobile developer and Bell Labs scientist Maher Ali begins with a foundational introduction to Objective-C and Cocoa programming, and then guides you through building programs with Apple's iPhone SDK 3.

• Covers the complete application development process, and highlights all the key device features including the camera, location awareness, and more
• Completely revised and redesigned with more than 100 new pages of content
• iPhone's new SDK release contains more than one thousand new APIs you will want to use right away
• Includes a focused introduction to the Objective-C language and Cocoa frameworks that new iPhone developers need

With this advanced resource, you'll get the expert guidance you need to begin building native applications for Apple's new iPhone 3G as well as the iPod Touch.

Price: $49.99

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Apple Pro Training Series: Aperture 3

This Apple-certified guide to Aperture 3 starts with the basics of image management and takes you step by step through Aperture's powerful editing, retouching, proofing, publishing, and archiving features. It delivers comprehensive training - the equivalent of a three-day course - in one project based book. With complete coverage of Aperture's new features, you'll learn to organize your photos using Faces, Apple's face detection and recognition tool, take advantage of Places to find photos by the location where they were shot, and retouch your images precisely with new nondestructive edge-aware brushes. You'll create advanced slideshows that include HD videos, titles, and layered soundtracks, and with the full-screen Browser you'll now be able to use every inch of your Mac display to browse and edit. Real-world exercises feature professional photography from a variety of genres, including fashion, sports, wedding, commercial, and landscape photography. About the Author: Dion Scoppettuolo is a photographer who has taught classes on Aperture and other Apple products world wide. Before starting his own company, he was at Apple Inc. for 7 years, where he worked as a Senior Product Manager on Shake, Motion and iPhoto, and was involved in the first release of Aperture.

Price: $54.99

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Advanced iOS 4 Programming: Developing Mobile Applications for Apple iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

With Advanced iOS 4 Programming, developers have the expert guidance they need to create amazing applications for Apple's iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Inside, veteran mobile developer Dr. Maher Ali begins with a foundation introduction to Objective C and Cocoa Touch programming, and then guides readers through building apps with Apple's iPhone SDK 4 – including coverage of the major categories of new APIs and building apps for the new Apple iPad.

This book concentrates on illustrating GUI concepts programmatically, allowing readers to fully appreciate the complete picture of iOS 4 development without relying on Interface Builder. In addition, Interface Builder is covered in several chapters.

Advanced iOS 4 Programming delves into more advanced topics going beyond the basics of iOS 4 development, providing comprehensive coverage that will help you get your apps to the App Store quicker.

Key features include:

• Objective-C programming language and runtime
  
• Interface Builder
  
• Building advanced mobile user interfaces
  
• Collections
  
• Cocoa Touch
  
• Core Animation and Quartz 2D
  
• Model-view-controller (MVC) designs
  
• Developing for the iPad
  
• Grand Central Dispatch
  
• Parsing XML documents using SAX, DOM, and TouchXML
  
• Working with the Map Kit API
  
• Remote and Local Push Notification
  
• Blocks (closures) in Objective-C
  
• Building advanced location-based applications
  
• Developing database applications using the SQLite engine
  
• GameKit framework

Price: $49.99

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