So we seem to have these facts:
The iPhone platform is a commercial success for Apple.
The iPhone platform is a commercial success for 3rd party devs.
The iPhone platform is tightly controlled by a vendor whose actions range from understandable lies to misleading behaviour and outright bullying.
So, is there anything to be criticised or is commercial success a justification for everything that is lawful?
I think being the uber cool bully who lends his followers success for a while but may turn against them at any moment is a dangerous long term strategy.
It basically means that Apple's growth rates must keep up with the inconvenience caused by their behaviour. And I don't mean just intellectual inconvenience that affects only a small number of people (closed vs open platforms, etc). I mean getting harassed by a vendor has a cost and that cost needs to be covered by growth. It's as simple as that.
I think it is too early to judge the iPhone as platform for 3rd party devs. OK, some people got rich already, but they might have profited from the early hype, in other words, the seeds for their earnings have been sown long before the iPhone platform launched. It remains to be seen if the platform is still viable once the dust has settled down.
So, is there anything to be criticised or is commercial success a justification for everything that is lawful?
I think being the uber cool bully who lends his followers success for a while but may turn against them at any moment is a dangerous long term strategy.
It basically means that Apple's growth rates must keep up with the inconvenience caused by their behaviour. And I don't mean just intellectual inconvenience that affects only a small number of people (closed vs open platforms, etc). I mean getting harassed by a vendor has a cost and that cost needs to be covered by growth. It's as simple as that.