One reason startups and developers are so excited about the iPhone is because they can create richer mobile applications for it and it promises to become a more open platform than the carrier-controlled home decks on most other cell phones. But don’t be so sure that they are not trading one walled garden for another. The home deck is being replaced by the iPhone App Store on iTunes. And Apple controls which apps get virtual shelf space in that store, and which ones get featured. There are only 700 or so apps in the App Store, but there are thousands that want to get in.
On a VC panel at MobileBeat a right now, Accel partner Richard Wong points out:
Apple is the new gatekeeper. It is a walled garden. Hopefully it is a more benevolent one [than the mobile carriers].
So far Apple is more benevolent than the carriers. It takes only 30 percent of paid apps, versus the 40 to 50 percent that carriers take for apps and services distributed through their phones. And Apple is taking almost nothing from ad-supported apps.
There are rumors of Apple blocking apps that compete with its core businesses and applications. Apple cannot play favorites if it wants to become the dominant mobile Web platform.
(Photo by Paul Englefield).
I for one thank Apple for keeping shitty apps out of the store.
Thank you Apple.
You think so? Have you tried iDemocrat, CowToss etc? They’re not rejecting bad apps but the ones that could compete with their business. They’re smart!
And what’s with the shitty ones already in? iDiot.
Apple will do things towards their benefit, as will any other company, I guess if they app is good they will take it. http://blabtech.blogspot.com
apps like Qik would be great on the iPhone
Supposedly Qik has an iphone app in alpha testing.
They should place nearly all of the submitted apps into the store and let the best rise to the top. I do, however, understand that they are learning from Facebook’s experiences. Too many apps can be overwhelming. The hope is that clear favorites arise.
http://www.goth...te.blogspot.com
http://www.read...ex.php?RTA=web2
Facebook’s apps are a little different, no? the iPhone you choose what you see, at some level. It’s not like Facebook, where you can be bombarded with invites and updates and notifications.
From the point of view of Big Company, it’s also a big reason iPhone development may be a non-starter. Why invest time/resources into something that may not fly?
its very true. This is why jailbreaking will be necessary.
all phone companies are walled gardens
The Walled Garden is also the…Back Logged Garden! Apple is ridiculously behind on releasing App updates! We have a top 50 Free App in the store, and have 2 new updates waiting on Apple to approve and release the updates. I can not understand why they are so behind…your telling me they did not anticipate this?
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At least it’s a garden, unlike the trash heap that is Windows Mobile.
“There are rumors of Apple blocking apps that compete with its core businesses and applications. Apple cannot play favorites if it wants to become the dominant mobile Web platform.”
Excellent point. Two obvious things Apple will clearly keep out of the walled garden:
1. An Alternative browser to Safari.
2. A competing app installation tool (that is more liberal in it’s “allowed apps” standards).
The door’s open for Android… we’ll see how that competition goes.
iTunes is also a walled garden, but it’s in Apple interest to let in as many songs as possible. Will they keep learning over time how to scale the AppStore and move it in that direction? My guess is yes — that they’ll realize more revenue from apps than from blocking them and that the same kinds of mechanisms that let you find good music out of nearly infinate choices will also work for apps.
As a developer I am no fan of a walled garden. I want my phone to be as open as my PC or Mac. Yes, it introduces problems with spam, cruft, sluggishness, etc. but I wouldn’t trade that for a stable phone with fewer apps. I already have an old RAZR for that.
Maybe I’m jaded because even with no applications installed my Windows Mobile phone crashes several times daily. Usually when I’m trying to hang up a call or send a text message.
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For developers and users alike “better the devil you know…”
Telcos / Wireless Carriers not exactly champions of innovation.
“Apple cannot play favorites if it wants to become the dominant mobile Web platform.”
It would be nice if some argument was provided for this (not to mention that I doubt Apple is really seeking dominance) besides the tired politics of a few obsessed with openness therefore it must be so. iTunes is also closed and is completely and utterly dominant.
Alo, there’s well over 800 apps now.
I’m with Tim.
What justification is there for the “Apple cannot play favorites…” statement?
Why can’t they play favorites? Why can’t they be a benevolent dictator, and -still- have a popular device?
Is the problem that they could abuse [are abusing] the “King-maker” aspects of this, or that the criteria for rejection aren’t tranparent?
So does this mean we may never see a Slingbox app because it may eventually compete with an Apple TV app?
Even though it looks like a great device, I have inherent trust issues with Apple. Any OS that runs on just one platform is troubling. Lets hope that Windows Mobile and Android get competitive…fast.
Apple is not competing definitely with carriers… because carriers distribution malls are about to disappear in coming times: this is NOT their business.
Why: they don’t have adapted human resources, no technical platform to manage the service. Their business will decrease and they will (they are) outsource all their content services.
You’re GD right: it’s very urgent that new initiatives like Android comes, maybe Nokia, and any other big distribution company, to provide additional digital online shops.
And definitely iPhone is not a cellphone. It’s a mobile phone…
People who call the App Store a “walled garden” have no fucking idea what a walled garden is. AOL was a walled garden. It was a no-way-in piece of shit. You had to negotiate with some ridiculous people on some ridiculous terms for some measly participation that meant your competitors were excluded. Apple App Store is nothing like this. It is a free market place where anyone can compete equally. Calling Apple App Store a walled garden is like calling Amazon or eBay or Costco or Home Depo a walled garden. Idiotic bullshit.
Is apple creating an open platform or an app store? if they’re a store then they have all rights to determine apps that get in. If they want to be a _platform_ then they need to be open and provide clear requirements guidelines to developers and approve/reject based on those. They can include in those requirements if they will not accept apps that compete with their own, like safari and installer as Pete stated. But if they arbitrarily decide what gets in (again, if they claim the platform role) then I think they are opening themselves up to potential lawsuits.
Personally I’d like to see Apple provide a method for its own users to vote apps in or out. A garage band type of approach.
-Robb
“But if they arbitrarily decide what gets in (again, if they claim the platform role) then I think they are opening themselves up to potential lawsuits.”
Lawsuits? On what grounds?
Why is Apple obligated to be “open and fair”?
Did Apple ever promise developers they would be?
Mikiev –
Have you ever dealt with lawyers? What makes you think they need grounds?
Here’s what I’m referring to…
http://develope...am/details.html
No where in there does it state that “upon approval”, “must meet requirements”, etc… They are using distribution in the app store as a major selling benefit This could be construed as false advertising.
Don’t think some lawyer isn’t going to recognize the buzz oppty here to make a name for themselves suing Apple on behalf of disgruntled developers. The opening for false advertising is there. It has nothing to do with apple being obligated to be open and fair.
-Robb
you mean, a platform like the system on chip that qualcomm has for it’s development of brew? which (btw) you submit your code to them and they charge you for the submission and charge you for distribution. i think the phone company also gets a cut in brew development (we didn’t get that far – i stupped reading when trying to learn their objective c crap or whatever it is they use).
i think apple is a bit more open then this. i haven’t downloaded their sdk nor read any code, but since it is based on bsd, i’d assume that they wouldn’t go to far from standard c/c++ and maybe apple script or perl. there is supposedly opengl support on the phone, so i can’t wait to see up coming games in the next months. and this is definately more open then brew.
the other real competitor (sorry if i don’t think symbian is real competition – but they’re not) is j2me. now, apple not allowing sun to put java on the iphone is worrisome. i don’t think that most java apps would run natively on the iphone, but with minimul porting the app store could have thousands of apps over night if apple would allow sun to put java on the app store.
as for someone’s comment about not allowing other browsers on the iphone to compete with safari – i don’t think they can even if they were on the phone. i’ve used most mobile web browsers (from opera (wm), opera mini, palm (native one, xlino – think that was the name of it), black berry) none do ajax, only opera has tabbed browsing, no one has the resizing cababilities. the only thing i miss on my iphone safari is flash (which is only on wm – and i think the bb too) and google bookmarks integration (which is only on my standard firefox and is a full google toolbar on any other pc browser).
as far as speed of development; they have vnc on the phone (i just need to setup a vpn so that i can feel nice and secure to use it off my network), but i don’t want to have to vnc to a computer to ssh to another. and citrix? what’s up with that, again vnc to one computer to use citrix on another. and teathering – i have to unlock it to teather it – stupid!
i suppose the point is that the iphone is a full blown computer as far as its features go. you just have to jump through hoops to get some things done (setup a vpn tunnel to vnc to a location, launch citrix, launch remote desktop, launch landesk, and look at an end users’ machine on an iphone on the other side of the world!
i don’t care if they oppen up the app store, just allow me to run simple scripts (shell, perl, python – i don’t care) to automate some of my jumping through hoops and i’ll be happy.
A carrier’s walled garden is limited geographically. It’s not the case with the App Store. One application can reach millions of users wherever they are.
A carrier’s walled garden requires months to get approval for distribution. It’s not the case with the App Store.
A carrier’s walled garden also requires multi-platform/devices support. It’s not the case with the App Store.
A carrier’s walled garden doesn’t allow that much price flexibility. It’s not the case with the App Store.
Even if the App Store is not perfect, there are some huge pro’s that make it so appealing for developers and ultimately users, which is what really matters, don’t you think?
If people call AppStore a walled garden, you might as well call the US economy a walled garden, because there are rules on what you can and can’t do in business. In Apple’s case, they are just setting the ground rules so that things don’t get out of hand.
I don’t think erick knows the definition of a walled garden. What a non-sense post.
The punch-line of this joke post is “there are rumors …”. ROFL.
Jobs is a sneaky scum, no surprise here.
Eric. I agree with these comments. Your post is way off. You’re fired.
This post is in the same category of technical ignorance that includes the New York Times calling Google Docs and other online services “cloud computing”. Where do these so-called journalists get off trying to cover the software industry. Clueless, clueless, clueless.
Shows just how transparently shallow their knowledge really is.
hey idiotic erick, if you think apple is the new gatekeeper of apps you should visiting this link: http://www.fuckingnda.com/. the devs are really mad with what apple is doing to their apps. not allowing them to share how they made it to the community. apple is never about sharing, theyre all about getting money.
and you sir is a blinded, idiotic, moronic apple fanboy. and dont tell me im a windows fanboy cuz i might just smash this macbook pro of mine on your head.
wake up idiot! and oh if you want to debate with tech stuff and such. do email me and il bring you to school.
They’re trying to run a business after all. I’d love to have Skype, for example, and never have to actually pay for a phone call. Here in the UK at least apple use only one phone carrier for the iphone, and it offers paid call packages but all with unlimited data usage for a fixed monthly cost. Skype would destroy that business model so it’s understandable that they want to keep a leash on the usable apps. The majority of users won’t be jailbreaking and will be paying for their calls.
The concept of walled garden is going to be in any company. It’s very, very hard to be as open as possible without losing your competitive advantage (whatever that might be)
Regarding social networks, although there’s a problem with walled-gardens – according to this author, “the whole milieu in which these concerns of openness and portability are contained is badly broken.”
Why all this whining?
If you don’t like it, there’s a simple solution Don’t buy the iPhone.
Apple can do whatever it wants. It’s a public company and their responsibility is ultimately to serve their shareholders not the consumers.
Apple is perfectly correct in blocking apps that they think would affect their core business. Wouldn’t you if you were Apple?
Doesn’t mean I like the practice but it’s a fact of life. Not everything can be open and free willy.
I agree with the bulk of this article – Apple is indeed building a walled garden, and devs should indeed think twice before handing over the keys – but i have to take issue with your last sentence:
“Apple cannot play favorites if it wants to become the dominant mobile Web platform.”
Um… Why not? I’ll bet they can. They did with iTunes. They did with the iPod. It doesn’t necessarily sit well with me, either, but I’ll wager they can, in fact, do exactly that.
I hope it is a more benevolent one and Apple is the new gatekeeper. Some information here about information techonology.
This is just excellent.. Apple always Rocks!