Mar 10
3
Earlier in the month, Apple went on an unannounced purge of its iPhone App Store and removed any application that it deemed too adult to be purchased. It unleashed a flurry of protests from tech bloggers, app developers and pornstars. They felt Apple was being far too paternalistic in their decision to eliminate apps they had previously approved through their already controversial process.
However, the problem didn’t end there. Within days, it was discovered that apps such as Playboy and Sports Illustrated, both of which feature women in bikinis or lingerie, were allowed to remain in the store without any interruption whatsoever. When pressed for an explanation to what appeared to be a discrepancy in their original explanation, Apple’s Phil Schiller, head of worldwide product marketing, claimed that organizations with a well-known brand would be allowed to keep their apps alive since Apple was aware of what it was they were offering Apple’s customers.
Yes, you read it right, indie apps are screwed. While Apple has been making inroads to the developer community in recent months after a couple of years of imposing rather Draconian roadblocks like the length of time between submission of an app and inclusion to the App Store, awkward reasons for refusing an app, and deleting apps after initially approving them, this represents a huge step backwards. I suspect this could be a game-changer for some who have simply become fed up with the entire process. Some will likely walk away as did Facebook iPhone App guru Joe Hewitt after he became frustrated with Apple. Others are going to figure out a way around the roadblocks. Below is a short list of who I think will be the winners and losers in the upcoming months:
WINNERS
Google: Google was the first major company who had an app submission rejected for no good reason by Apple (which resulted in a legal battle being fought in the courts and through the FCC). Depending on who you ask, the Google Voice iPhone app was rejected by Apple shortly after submission because 1) AT&T wanted any competition with their services killed 2) Apple’s growing unease about Google starting to move in on their territory 3) it genuinely violated the terms of agreement Apple has with its developers to not submit apps that duplicate native features already present on the iPhone.
Google responded by bypassing the App Store altogether and reconfiguring the app in the new HTML5 format and releasing it on their own (much like they did with their Google Wave application). Unlike traditional web apps, which consume an inordinate amount of battery life, HTML5 presently requires much power and apps built on it tend to operate more like an App Store application. This could very well be a game changer for many who feel they have been shafted by Apple.
This is a significant development by Google. By bypassing the gatekeepers in Cupertino, Google has shown there is a way to produce a quality app without the need to craft 5 different versions of it for every smartphone out there. Just one. Now all they need is for some other major industry to embrace it to get the ball rolling (see “the adult industry”).
HTML5 Developers: If you’re a web developer and not already familiar with this very new and increasingly popular format, you would be doing yourself a favor to start learning it now. Those skills are going to be in demand soon as tech companies start to realize the advantages to having more control over an app’s development and content. Besides, learning something new is fun (and profitable when you’re the only one on the block who knows it).
The Adult Industry (potentially): Traditionally, the adult industry has always played the role of kingmaker to new technology (BetaMax anyone?) and this could be no different. But could is the operative word here. Since HTML5 is so new, no one has really taken the time to exploit it, but now that Google has entered the fray, the industry is in a position to be the force that drives it into regular use. There are already so many apps available that have been stymied (and now banned) by their inability to use Flash. The industry is in an excellent position to show the world what this format is capable of, if they chose to do it.
LOSERS
Adobe and/or Flash developers: Sorry, guys, it’s been a nice run, but your days are numbered. Either stop fighting the tech community’s embrace of HTML5 or get on board. You don’t have to like it, but Jobs’s refusal to use your product has boxed you into a corner and you don’t need to look around all that hard to see the number of companies Apple has damaged or put out of business by their own refusal to adapt to a changing marketplace. AIR will never be the product you keep hoping it will be, so it’s time to face facts; you’re at a crossroads (or think of it as a technological Darwinian state, if you prefer) – adapt or die.
Steve Jobs: Jobs is one of the last corporate titans who will so willingly and often buck the marketplace and do what he wants. Most of the time, that instinct has served him well. It’s hard to argue that when it comes to hardware design, his vision has revolutionized the technology industry. The eMac, iPod, iMac and iPhone have each changed the way tech companies approach hardware design and made Jobs a household name. Even his commercial failures, like the Newton, have been profitable for the tech industry.
However, his record in terms of software design has been more spotty. Sure, iTunes changed the way people consume content online and put a major dent into online piracy, but applications like MobileMe and iWork and have never really taken off in comparison with its competitors, many of which are offered at little or no cost to the consumer.
Jobs’ refusal, right or wrong, to prevent Flash applications from finding a home on the iPhone has spurned development into other ways to get web-based video or animation to the iPhone. Many have opted to use Apple’s own Quicktime, but it’s an extra step to cater to the iPhone market (one that is too large to simply ignore). Embracing the HTML5 format could potentially create a situation where the notoriously control-conscious Jobs no longer has any input over what goes on the product he created.
The Adult Industry (potentially): At some point, Apple will probably relent and re-introduce adult-themed apps back into the store (there are some signs that in addition to the parental options available via the 3.o software update, iTunes will introduce an “Explicit Content” section of the store), but that fix is only temporary until someone else throws a fit about Apple profiting from porn on the iPhone. Suicide Girls, iEva and iTeagan will probably make their way back on your phone, but for how long?
If the industry fails to embrace the challenge laid out by Google, content producers will find their fortunes minimized and at the whim of a corporation who does not have their interests at heart. Going independent has always been a hallmark of the industry when all other avenues have been closed to them. This time the door was slammed in their face and if producers and studios fail to take up the challenge and go their own way, they could see one of the most profitable aspects of the industry throttled and bottlenecked by the very technology that should be their greatest ally.
Cross-posted at OnHerCam
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