Comments on: Financial Times Apps Finally Pulled From iOS

By: Etyman

Etyman — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:13:09 +0000

Argghh! OK, so I’ll wait until I can download it directly from the FT site ;) Thanks for the heads up!!

By: Sim

Sim — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 10:52:26 +0000

“I’ll subscribe to it on my Galaxy tab and the FT can skip the whole “apptax” thing that Apple have created.”

No they won’t – Google also take 30%
https://www.google.com/support/androidmarket/developer/bin/answer.py?&&answer=112622

By: nomster

nomster — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 09:55:13 +0000

Well done Apple. FT wanted Apple to give them details about me I’d given on the strict understanding that it would not be passed to any third parties.

By not giving in to the demand, I still have faith in Apple and trust that they will stick to what they promised when I signed up with iTunes.

By: Hoppy

Hoppy — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:56:53 +0000

Come on, be honest, if Apple were in FT’s shoes, they would have exactly the same reaction. Both want to “own” and be able to communicate directly with their primary customer. With all that iTunes offers that is good (marketing, if you are lucky, one-stop shopping, etc.), the pale in terms of customer contact and the 30% commission. 30% along for someone like the FT is probably double their current marketing spend.

For us small developers, it is a deal, but if we every become big enough, we will likely all feel the same as the FT. Just smart business. Apple can be greedy now, not for every though.

By: Subscription Insider

Subscription Insider — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:57:08 +0000

Curious to see how FT will do with new web app

By: Etyman

Etyman — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:55:00 +0000

What “compromise?” Apple has simply stuck to its “30% or you don’t play” and clearly the FT has decided to take its ball back. Apple may well be able to make money with a flat-rate tax on all “content” but most other businesses cannot afford to give up 30% of their margins and remain profitable. Kudos to the FT for standing up to the neo-monopolists in Cupertino. I’ll subscribe to it on my Galaxy tab and the FT can skip the whole “apptax” thing that Apple have created.

By: Ric Desan

Ric Desan — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:08:19 +0000

Woooooo! Sick to death of crApple greed to be honest!

By: Greg Golebiewski @znakit

Greg Golebiewski @znakit — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:55:35 +0000

If it was only the FT, but there are hundreds of content providers in line to get exploit by Apple, and happy about it. I really do not underspend it. Are the publishers and editors responsible for revenue generation unable to do a little research and find out alternative solutions?

As you say Stefan, nothing simpler than have a sub or on-demand payment gate on their own sites. It can be done in a few minutes using technologies and payment services available now. Why to give away 30% of one’s possible income? Why to become one more subject in Apple’s user farm?

By: milesgalliford

milesgalliford — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 10:14:36 +0000

Apple is playing a risky game alienating the very content providers that made their hardware useful. Many Android Tablets and the new Amazon Tablet have better hardware than the iPad and their operating systems/UI are not far off from competing with IOS. These competitors are looking for the chinks in Apple’s armor and in-app subs and data hoarding could be two areas worth targeting. Lose the support of the major publishers and the value of the iPad, IPhone and iPod could be seriously undermined.

Dominant players, driven by arrogance and greed, are usually the architects of their own downfall.

By: Stefan Constantinescu

Stefan Constantinescu — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 05:24:24 +0000

There’s no other way to say this, but the FT is dumb. How easy would it be to just sell subs through their site and then make their app accessible via a login, similar to how The Economist works?

While the FT web app is nice, it’s no where near as polished as their app once was.