Apple Transfiguration Publisher ** Sony eBook App

What should Little Jobs do?

Apple's profit comes mainly from hardware, not software platforms. However, the recent intensive action shows that Apple will not be willing to be in this situation.

Now, Apple is strengthening the control capabilities of the trading platform. In the past two weeks, Apple has issued three series of actions in a row, and even the identity has had a subtle change: it has participated in the distribution of content and has become a publisher.

Earlier this month, Apple launched an iPad newspaper, "The Daily," which was provided by US News Corporation. The night before, Apple launched a broader range of independent subscription services on the App Store, allowing users to subscribe to magazines, newspapers, videos, and music.

In the past, many print media have put content in the form of software on the Apple App Store for download, and it looks no different.

However, Apple in these two actions is not a simple platform service provider but participates in the content distribution process. As mentioned above, Apple is responsible for its distribution and transactions. Of course, the price and reading period of content are set by the content company. Apple CEO Steve Jobs also stressed in a statement that if Apple can bring a new subscription to its partners, it will be divided into 30%; if the publisher brings in new subscriptions, Apple won't take it. "Opening March and July" is the proportion that has continued between Apple and its partners. Apple has three, and its partner has seven.

Is Apple's participation in the distribution limited to the 30% share? I'm afraid not only that. It looks more like fighting for value-added services created in transactions. It stressed that if a partner's software application involves other authorized services, subsequent transactions must be completed on the App Store and completed through the "in-app purchasing" of Apple's trading system.

For example, a daily newspaper puts daily reading files on the App Store. After downloading, users find that this file also provides follow-up updates and subscription services. This part of the transaction must still be completed through Apple's own system. This also means that although Jobs claims to not participate in the new subscriptions that the content publishers themselves bring, it is clear that follow-up transactions are also required by the Apple platform.

Is there anything strange about this strategy? Looking at what happened recently, you will probably understand why Steve Jobs did this. In early February, the "New York Times" reported that Apple's App Store blocked Sony's readers because the latter used other trading systems to help users subscribe to e-books when they provided reading services to users instead of in-app purchasing. .

By this means, Sony has used the influence of the Apple platform to create a window for the release of its follow-up content, and consumers are less likely to read new content through Apple's end-products after acquiring new services.

Apple's ban was immediately controversial. Developers, publishers believe that it violates the developer guidelines, they just use Apple as their own distribution platform. Sony even threatened that its music might be withdrawn from Apple iTunes. As the nation's largest music website, iTunes has always been the object of Sony's record challenge.

If the contradiction between Apple and Sony intensifies, the Amazon Kindle application model is bound to be threatened.

For example, Amazon's e-book content on Apple's platform, such as providing subscription services to readers, can only be completed on Apple's platform. Due to the apparent competition between Apple's iPad and Kindle, the latter's sales may be adversely affected.

However, Apple officials stated that they did not change the terms of the developer. The company only required that all transactions be completed on the Apple platform. In September last year, the developer's guidelines issued by Apple were clearly stipulated.

Wang Bangjiang, vice president of Hanwang, noticed this trend. He said to this newspaper, it seems, Apple is a selective ban on the business of those who directly compete with their own object, Sony is obviously very clear, its business model conflicts with Apple, and its rich content resources.

"Apple platform is only a semi-open mode." He said that the conflict between Apple and Sony, apparently competing for value-added services, Apple strengthen the application store transactions, intended to enhance the control of content or software companies. The cooperation between Hanwang and its partners is relatively more open, and it will still maintain the "28" division model.

Apple should not go to extremes. If there is no software application and content resources, the App Store will only be a shell. Today it is starting to become an independent publisher, perhaps trying to balance its conflict of interests with its partners.

Forrester Research analyst Mike McQuay of the US market research institute believes that this change shows that Apple has gradually realized the great value of its own platform. Initially, it made money by selling hardware terminals, but the most valuable is not it but the platform.