3 ms·

Actually having the same content/product sold through both Apple and somewhere else is an interesting case. Between the two distribution channels, in which do

• ubernostrum 16y ago
  Well. First up, I suspect this policy won't last long; the most likely explanation for it that I can see is that Apple's trying to figure out what the market will bear. Which, you know, is something they tend to do fairly often with the iOS platform, and sometimes it works the first try and they stick to the policy, and sometimes it doesn't and they change it. But as far as choosing where to focus money, I think Apple's banking on the fact that nobody else in the mobile space has the kind of integrated platform and distribution channel iOS has. There's a lot of attraction there, especially given that the alternatives (i.e., Android) not only aren't there yet, but aren't even close to getting there. So right now, if I had to choose where to put my budget, I'd put it into iOS without a second thought; sure, Apple's going to get a cut, but the reduced overhead and relative ease (if I want broad exposure on Android, how many app stores do I have to market my content in? How many carriers do I have to sign deals with to get promoted? etc.), combined with an existing and known-to-be-loyal installed base for the platform, would suggest to me that I'm going to make up the difference pretty quickly.