Hacker News Reader

Comment by bradleyland | Hacker News Reader

Marco really nailed it. He was also exceptionally level-headed considering that his application, Instapaper, is likely to find itself in exactly the situation he outlines. Marco's plans for Instapaper are based around paid accounts for API access, which would enable third-party apps for paid users. It would be an absolute shame if Marco's app weren't allowed on iOS. Quite honestly, if Instapaper, Dropbox, and Evernote are under threat to be removed from the App Store, I won't even consider a new iPhone until Apple revises its policy.

View on HN

Even more level-headed when you consider that the Readability app that was rejected today was written by him along with the fact that he's an advisor for the company.

I wonder if you'll see under the table deals where 3rd parties write apps for these services FOR the company to bypass the restriction, assuming 3rd party apps are still allowed by Apple's new policy.

I hadn't thought about it, but this is what they should do.

That would be a horrible business decision, in my opinion. "Under the table" deal is just another way of saying "violating the agreement I signed". Two wrongs don't make a right, etc, etc. But more importantly, operating in the background would just enable Apple. Cutting Apple out of the revenue won't really hurt them, but it will increase dependence on their platform, which gives them more leverage.

Under the table deals would be extremely short sighted and dishonest.

Yeah, I think you are right.. I was commenting on the third party part more than the under the table part.

I was thinking more along the lines of Amazon creating an open or liscensed API for it's ebooks, so that someone can make an app for me to log into and read books that I own. Users could still read their kindle books on their iphones, and amazon could keep it's position as the best book store for iOS users, expand to other devices, etc..

I don't think it is worth it for someone like Amazon or Pandora to stay off of Apple's platform just to give them less leverage, but I agree that they would have to be upfront about it.

Too level-headed for my taste. Since he wasn't going to write this to Apple, he really shouldn't be afraid to show some passion. What good is a startup with a founder who isn't passionate about his product.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com