Why App Stores Should Be As Unrestricted As Possible — Links of Interest

slitchfield 05 Mar 2009, 17:58

Would you be happy if you were told by someone how much you had to charge for your application? Not in a gentle “perhaps you should try this” way

, but in a “choose one of four prices, no variance.” It's not something that I think developers would take to kindly, but Research in Motion have set up a bank of fixed prices for their soon to arrive App World, with a minimum charge of $2.99 per application.

Read on in the full article.

Unregistered 05 Mar 2009, 19:02

So the measure of success of an app store is to have at least as much crapware as the Apple one? If the minimum $2.99 charge keeps apps like iFart Mobile out of the BB store, I'm all for it.

Unregistered 06 Mar 2009, 02:43

Maybe if AAS imposed a $2.99 minimum charge on all comments, it would rid us of comments like that of my predecessor. If so, I'm all for it.

Unregistered 06 Mar 2009, 08:16

It would be nice for RIM to update the firmware on the Storm before opening the apps store. I put up with the Storm handset for 3 months before deciding enough is enough. It is now consigned to my bedside cabinet until RIM/VF get it in a less buggy condition. I bought a Nokia N85, which has been fine. I actually miss the touchscreen but not the daily lockups....

Forcing potential users to use paypal to pay for products in the Blackberry Apps store, why can't they set up credit/debit card instead?

PaulyLaw 06 Mar 2009, 09:06

I wonder whether there are any implications under the Anti-Competitive laws of the development of all these manufacturer AppStores being shipped with new devices, or even being built into device OS.

Look at the trouble Microsoft have had over the years building Internet Explorer directly into Windows.

With the convergence of computers and mobile devices it is not unreasonable to think for example that Nokia (or Apple or whoever) could soon become the largest phone, camera AND computer manufacturer. If their own AppStore become the main point of purchase of applications due simply to the fact that it come preloaded on devices then maybe that would stifle competition.

Unregistered 06 Mar 2009, 11:19

I wonder whether there are any implications under the Anti-Competitive laws of the development of all these manufacturer AppStores being shipped with new devices, or even being built into device OS.

It depends. Will the wireless service provider be able, in creating its own branded version of the firmware, to exclude the store application, or replace it with a different one of their own choosing? Say, Vodafone signs a deal with Handango to replace the Nokia store app with a Handango one in all Vodafone-branded Nokia phones, in exchange for a percentage of store sales profits; will it be allowed to do it? In the past, cellphone makers have always granted the wireless service providers a large degree of freedom in customizing the system software, so my guess is the answer is yes. If that's the case, there is no problem.
One crucial issue in the Microsoft trial was that IE was not bundled with, but rather integrated into, the OS, and it was not possible for a OEM (or even Microsoft itself) to remove it completely without rendering the OS inoperable.