- Sep 24, 2010
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Last year, with much fanfare Wired Magazine declared the web dead, stating that the classic "WWW" addresses and Internet interaction was dead and was being replaced with Apps on smart devices that accessed content and services directly. At the time it certainly seemed that this would be the case, as more and more apps first for iPhone and iPads hit the Apple Store, followed closely by the explosive growth of Android and the Google Market.
Now, with the new services announcements from Apple and Google, it looks like they may have done away with this trend, returning us all to the realm of HTML5. Apple has announced that effective June 30 providers will no longer be able to embed links for subscription services into their content, and the only way they will be able to deliver subscriptions will be through the Apple Store. In return for this level of control they will provide this service at a 30% vig (commission) to Apple. Google responded with a similar plan, but decided that they would only charge 10%, much better, right?
Well no, not in my opinion. Since providers can opt to simply bypass these services entirely and provide content via web browsers, unless Apple and Google change their tunes why would they develop apps that are subject to these constraints? Apple also wants to have control over subscriber data, which coupled with their outrageous fee structure seems to me to smack of exactly the kind of Big Brother tactics Cupertino and Jobs railed against in the early days.
Both of these behemoths need to take a lesson from the credit card industry and look at their fee structures. Sub 5% at the most for commissions, taking volume over percentage is the better path here. Failure to do otherwise I believe we will see a move back toward fully web-based applications and content delivery and the end of purpose-specific applications.
Thoughts? Comments? Let me know what you think!
Now, with the new services announcements from Apple and Google, it looks like they may have done away with this trend, returning us all to the realm of HTML5. Apple has announced that effective June 30 providers will no longer be able to embed links for subscription services into their content, and the only way they will be able to deliver subscriptions will be through the Apple Store. In return for this level of control they will provide this service at a 30% vig (commission) to Apple. Google responded with a similar plan, but decided that they would only charge 10%, much better, right?
Well no, not in my opinion. Since providers can opt to simply bypass these services entirely and provide content via web browsers, unless Apple and Google change their tunes why would they develop apps that are subject to these constraints? Apple also wants to have control over subscriber data, which coupled with their outrageous fee structure seems to me to smack of exactly the kind of Big Brother tactics Cupertino and Jobs railed against in the early days.
Both of these behemoths need to take a lesson from the credit card industry and look at their fee structures. Sub 5% at the most for commissions, taking volume over percentage is the better path here. Failure to do otherwise I believe we will see a move back toward fully web-based applications and content delivery and the end of purpose-specific applications.
Thoughts? Comments? Let me know what you think!
