2:40 PM Apple's revenue-sharing policies in its App Store are crystal clear. So why is everyone so upset?

Phil Harvey, Editor-in-Chief

February 28, 2011

1 Min Read
App Developer Oppression?

2:40 PM -- Ahead of this week's announcement about the iPad 2, the iPhone 5, the 30th Century Mac or whatever Steve Jobs has in store for us, I wonder: Is writing apps for Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL)'s iOS still the best deal going? Does developing apps for carrier networks directly have any more appeal now than it did a year ago?

Big Bob McGarvey summarized a wave of recent thoughts about Apple and its revenue-sharing arrangements with content producers and developers. In general, people think Apple's greedy for wanting a big cut of revenues generated via its App Store.

I replied that I think Apple is being fair. They invented a platform. They have a clear value proposition to consumers, and consumers continue to buy Apple products. Developers are presented with a clear cost of doing business, and it either turns them off or helps their business grow.

But I wonder: What can AT&T and other carriers who are courting developers do to appeal to the handful of publishers and content producers that are angry at Apple for, well, acting like a for-profit, publicly held company?



— Phil Harvey, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading



About the Author(s)

Phil Harvey

Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

Phil Harvey has been a Light Reading writer and editor for more than 18 years combined. He began his second tour as the site's chief editor in April 2020.

His interest in speed and scale means he often covers optical networking and the foundational technologies powering the modern Internet.

Harvey covered networking, Internet infrastructure and dot-com mania in the late 90s for Silicon Valley magazines like UPSIDE and Red Herring before joining Light Reading (for the first time) in late 2000.

After moving to the Republic of Texas, Harvey spent eight years as a contributing tech writer for D CEO magazine, producing columns about tech advances in everything from supercomputing to cellphone recycling.

Harvey is an avid photographer and camera collector – if you accept that compulsive shopping and "collecting" are the same.

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