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telecommunications for example Telecommunications (in the USA) used publicly-owned airwaves and in too-many cases have de facto or de jure monopolies. Neither
by Anechoic 16y ago
telecommunications for example
Telecommunications (in the USA) used publicly-owned airwaves and in too-many cases have de facto or de jure monopolies. Neither applies to Apple.
- lwhi 16y agoWhich other company can I use to sell my iOS-based application?
- ptomato 16y agoYou can, however, develop for plenty of different smartphones.
- lwhi 16y agoTo avoid duplicating too much information, the second part of this reply[1] provides reasons why don't feel this is necessarily a good argument. [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2083312 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2083312
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- maximilianburke 16y agoOr, from the consumer's point of view, what other service can I use to buy iOS applications?
- jad 16y agoiOS or iOS-based devices are not a market. Smartphones or tablet computers or personal computers are markets. Consider that the government concern with Microsoft in the 90s wasn't its monopoly position in "Windows," which is tautological, but PC operating systems broadly, which includes Linux and Macs. The smartphone and tablet computer markets are among the most competitive in the country right now. By definition this means no one has a monopoly.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- innernette 16y agoThis is a core issue in antitrust. One factor is the SSNIP test. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSNIP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSNIP "The relevant market consists of a 'catalogue' of goods and/or services which are considered substitutes by the customer. Such a catalogue is considered 'worth monopolising' if should only one single supplier provided it, that supplier could profitably increase its price without its customers turning away and choosing other goods and services from other suppliers." So the question is this: if Apple were to increase its share of revenue by 5% to 10%, would developers move to Android, BlackBerry, or WP7? Absolutely. Even at the current level, there is plenty of cross-over between Android and iOS applications. In antitrust terms, the AppStore is not a market.
- lwhi 16y agoSorry, I deleted my previous response as I wasn't sure it was adding to the discussion - I've added the original text below. Thanks for the clarification - but how can you be sure that developers would move platforms? -- I'd like to know what your definition of a market and marketplace is. I'd define a market as a place (or economic 'space') where people sell a related class of products or services. I'm not defining an iOS or iOS-based device as a market. I'm referring to the market for iOS applications (i.e. the AppStore). Why is the AppStore not a marketplace?
- Anechoic 16y agoIf you're going to define "monopoly" and "platform" than the word monopoly loses all meaning. If I create a business making 3rd-party wire harnesses for VW Passat and VW decides to change to a different harness and that change would kill my business, should there be some regulatory body that can force VW to stick to its old tech?
- lwhi 16y agoIf VW actively encouraged tens of thousands of people to form businesses developing and selling harnesses, perhaps there should.