There apparently is a disturbance in the iOS caused by Apple Execs at Cupertino (with Steve Jobs blessing of course).
In a bid to make the user experience “even better,” Apple is requiring that subscription services (like Amazon’s Kindle app or Pandora) provide in app purchasing to users which means Apple gets a 30% cut right off the top.
This rule wouldn’t be so bad if it were not for the fact that Apple is dictating (yes I said it!) that developers maintain the same price within the iOS ecosystem as they do upon other platforms.
Instead of cursing Steve Jobs, Cupertino and all things starting with “i,” here are several alternatives iOS developers can take in order to avoid Apple’s ridiculous fees without having to leave the iOS universe.
Raise Prices, But Offer Coupons
For music services like Rhapsody (who allow users to stream music for $10 USD/month), 30% is enough to force them out of the iOS universe entirely.
Instead of alienating iPhone and iPad lovers by ditching iOS completely, they could instead raise the price to $13/month to cover the “iTax” but offer users logging into their website a monthly coupon that would give them a discount for the month at $10.
In order to take advantage of the discount, users would be required to manually type in a coupon code or phrase (say “I love Rhapsody”) every month in order to take advantage of the lower price.
While this would slightly annoy some users, it would allow music companies to maintain their presence upon iOS without taking food off of the table or sacrificing fans due to higher prices.
Android Before iOS
Instead of releasing services upon iOS first then porting the changes to Android, music and subscription services could instead give primary attention to Android users first.
If people start seeing some of their favorite apps receiving glorious updates upon Android first, the masses will begin to slowly leave the iOS universe robbing Apple of some of its power.
Over time this could force Apple to reconsider it’s 30% tax as well as help ensure in the future that Cupertino doesn’t create draconian rules that end up screwing over entire industries upon iOS.
Note: Showing some love to Windows Phone 7 might be good too in order to keep Google from being corrupted by how much power they will have over the mobile ecosystem.
Cydia For The Win
If all else fails, the developers could simply announce (en masse) that they will no longer provide support for their iOS apps within Apple’s walled garden and instead launch apps upon Cydia via jailbreaking their iPhone (with some help from Green Pois0n).
In order to help iPhone and iPad fans access the apps, Amazon, Rhapsody, Pandora, etc. could create user friendly videos on how users can easily jailbreak their devices and install apps from Cydia or elsewhere.
This would not only freak out Apple (who doesn’t like losing control over anything) but also guarantee a presence upon iOS without any more interference from Cupertino.
What Else Could Developers Do?
While I personally have no problem with Apple forcing companies to use in app purchasing (a feature I use heavily), what is really disturbing is Cupertino’s attempt to dictate how companies run their businesses outside of iOS.
For those of you who use subscription apps (or even create them for a living) what else could companies do to avoid Apple’s excessive fee?
Image Credits: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, Bind Apple
Originally posted on February 21, 2011 @ 3:35 pm