14 DAY TRIAL // Sony intends to withdraw content it publishes on Apple’s iTunes store, as well as its iOS applications, following the rejection of its e-book application earlier this month.
Apple was forced to block Sony's electronic book application from the iTunes App Store because it would have bypassed its system for buying content, The Age informs.
According to Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller, Apple had made no changes to its App Store guidelines, but rather was simply enforcing an existing rule - apps that allow their users to purchase stuff must use Apple’s In App Purchase API (application programming interface).
Sony’s Reader didn’t use said API and while Sony could have updated the app to have it do so, the company appears unwilling to route purchases through Apple’s system, therefore give the latter a revenue cut.
Moreover, Sony plans to open a competitor to iTunes. According to The Age report, it is a music streaming service called Music Unlimited. It will be opening in Australia soon.
Sony Computer Entertainment CEO, Michael Ephraim, said music streaming is on track to offer greater freedom to play music on a variety of devices.
This, as opposed to Apple’s way of doing things, will allow users more freely access songs from any device, because Music Unlimited will be stored on servers.
Apple is widely believed to plan a similar approach to distributing music, as well as videos and movies.
Currently, Apple's system has users transferring their library across devices, Mr. Ephraim said.
“If we do [get mass take up] then does Sony Music need to provide content to iTunes?” Mr Ephraim asked. “Currently we do. We have to provide it to iTunes as that's the format right now.”
“Publishers are being held to ransom by Apple and they are looking for other delivery systems, and we are waiting to see what the next three to five years will hold,” he added.
This may only be the first blow of many to come from Sony which is also launching its PlayStation Suite.
Launching later this year, PlayStation Suite will bring original PlayStation (one) games to a multitude of portable devices, including phones such as Samsung's Galaxy and Motorola's Defy, which both run Google's mobile OS, Android.
This is just another example of Sony ''opening up'' its content to other platforms, Mr. Ephraim said, as opposed to Apple, which likes to keep a tight grip on everything surrounding its business.
Ephraim added that PlayStation Suite is likely to skip Apple's iPhone, as “We are not as closed as Apple is,” he said.
“It's the first time in the gaming industry it's non-proprietary. With the proliferation of devices [PlayStation Suite] could be an indication of where things are going,” Mr. Ephraim concluded.