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Comment by kmfrk | Hacker News Reader

I like to think of Apple's side of all the negative stories, but this time, I can't come up with a cogent excuse for what they are doing - save inept App Store policies/reviewers.

By this logic, flattr will never get a native iOS app. And when are Apple going to shut the Instapaper app down, when Marco decides to let his one-dollar monthly subscribers[1] receive premium benefits?

Apple really hates newspapers and magazines.

[1]: http://www.instapaper.com/subscription

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I think a large chunk of Instapaper's revenue comes from the iOS apps so assuming Apple continues to keep acting like a douche, Marco would probably just as soon cancel the subscription plan rather than let his app get rejected.

How dare you answer my rhetorical questions?! :)

That's the most obvious route for Marco - the (rhetorical!) question was directed at Apple, because they appear to thwart a large domain of what iOS could be used for.

When he doesn't, and when he adds in-app subscriptions, will it cause you to revise your perspective?

Instapaper is exactly the kind of app this is directed at. It is a SaaS subscription. It would be foolish to turn away all the additional sales you'd get by being able to offer subscriptions within the app (something you couldn't do previously, forcing Marco to take paypal.)

When he doesn't, and when he adds in-app subscriptions, will it cause you to revise your perspective?

Sure, I'd be curious to see if it's economical to hand over 30% of whatever subscriptions he receives to Apple.

If it triples the number of subscriptions then it could be.

Triple of zero is still zero. The open letter states that their current share is 30%. Apple would essentially get 100% of their profits.

You can't sell at a loss and make it up in volume.

Possible Apple's side: App revenues may not make for a sizable part of their revenues as of now but they are expecting a humongous growth in both - iOS devices sales and Apps sales (and hence In-Apps sales). They feel the need to get in right now or before it's too late. They might also be contemplating Apple Television and more iOS based form factors. This can be huge.

Apple's side: Imagine most popular newspapers and magazines sites use Google One Pass to collect subscriptions fees via website, and offer free iOS app to consume the content. Apple collects nothing. I'm not totally with Apple but they have their points.

> Apple collects nothing

How about they sell the phone?

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