Re: more on Apple

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Andrew W. Donoho" <awd () DDG com>
Date: July 30, 2009 9:36:32 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] more on Apple

For IP:

On Jul 29, 2009, at 3:37 PM, David Farber wrote:

> Wait until they do their much-rumored new tablet. This will be a big  
> test of how evil they plan to be. Will it use the iPhone OS or  
> something like it, and officially only allow apps from the Apple  
> store? Or will it run the regular MacOS that still includes user  
> choice? The company's trajectory and recent history don't give me  
> much comfort.


We should consider another view from this third party, me. The iRush  
from developers is an important source of user choice. ('09ers v.  
49ers: the only difference is the dirt.) That user application choice  
is almost exclusively due to the App Store. Without an App Store,  
small developers like myself and other single proprietor developers  
have a very tough time getting to market. Let me repeat -- very tough.  
The App Store is a one stop place for potential customers. One that a  
small developer could never replicate.

The next complaint is that Apple takes too much cash for their  
distribution service (30%). My answer is pretty simple: compared to  
what? Almost every other retail channel takes that much or a larger  
percentage. A vendor has to get to substantial volumes of product  
before that retail percentage can be negotiated down to a lower  
percentage. Try to sell something through Amazon. You'll find a  
similar or larger percentage. Try writing an app for other subsidized  
platforms, such as Xbox or Playstation or Wii. The approval process is  
more onerous and the publishing fee to the platform vendor is large.  
You then subtract your retail vendor's percentage and you see a larger  
reduction in developer revenue than from Apple. The business story to  
other consumer platforms is much worse for small developers.

Finally, the cost to enter the game is extremely low -- a MacBook or a  
Mac Mini plus an annual $99 developer fee. The only competitively low  
barrier to development is for Windows. And that requires a copy of a  
multi-hundred dollar Visual Studio license. Apple's tools, because  
they are based upon open source technologies plus a custom Mac  
specific wrapper, is free. Due to the lower cost of Windows systems,  
it is just about a wash in upfront costs between the two platforms.

The iRush is real. For example, I'm hosting a pro bono iPhone DevCamp  
in Austin this weekend. It "sold-out" in under 48 hours. A huge number  
of developers are migrating to this platform. The competing platforms,  
including Windows Mobile, do not have a comparable developer  
community. Apple has nurtured a profound and important platform  
resource. Developers who have apps on both iPhone OS and Android tell  
me that the relative sales between the platforms is extremely biased  
towards the iPhone. (That relative ratio is scaled with respect to  
each platform's population of devices.) Also, because the iPhone  
market's size is supplemented by the iPod Touch, the iPhone OS's  
market is over 40 million devices. No other phone has that size of an  
available developer market with a uniform OS platform. Carriers  
require special proprietary tweaks that really hurt one's testing  
budget. That is part of why no other platform has a large developer  
community. It is just too expensive to deploy on their phones -- even  
in the same country. An iPhone in Germany, other than the language, is  
the same platform is the same. The iPhone OS, due to its roots in Mac  
OS X, has excellent language localization tools.

If app diversity is important to you, then Apple is actually doing the  
things necessary to promote that diversity.

As to the Apple/AT&T "unholy" alliance, get over it. Every other  
vendor/carrier have unique, special purpose deals and 2 year  
contracts. Try buying an Android, Palm Pre or Blackberry phone without  
a lock-in contract or a significantly higher price for an unlocked  
phone. If you really want an unlocked iPhone OS device, then buy an  
iPod Touch.

Furthermore, if you really want to do something that is very good for  
consumers, then promote a law to require carriers to unlock phones  
after the subsidy contract expires and requires the option to allow  
buying an unsubsidized phone.

Anon,
Andrew
____________________________________
Andrew W. Donoho
Donoho Design Group
awd () DDG com, PGP Key ID: 0x81D0F250
+1 (512) 453-6652 (o), +1 (512) 750-7596 (m)

"To take no detours from the high road of reason and social  
responsibility."
   -- Marcus Aurelius









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