Readability App Final Gets Approval
In February of 2011, Readability got refused from the Apple App Store as there were conflicts of interest regarding Apple’s 30% fee that it takes on every in-app purchase. VentureBeat quoted that Readability commented on the situation:
We might as well share how we’re feeling right now: we believe that your new policy smacks of greed. Subscription apps like ours represent a tiny sliver of app sales that represent a tiny sliver of your revenue. You’ve achieved much of your success in hardware sales by cultivating an incredibly impressive app ecosystem. Every iPad or iPhone TV ad puts the apps developed by companies like ours front and center. It was a healthy and mutually beneficial dynamic: apps like ours get exposure and you get to show the world how these apps make your hardware shine. That’s why we’re a bit baffled here.
The conflict surfaced around the fact that Readability were splitting revenue with content writers 70-30 in favor of publishers. Apple were looking for the other 30%, which would effectively render the company useless, the app might as well be free. Readability have created some outstanding software that allows content to be parsed easily via networks simplified greatly to the end user. To add insult to injury, Apple themselves have used Readability’s software on the Safari browser. Now though, just over a year later they have finally been approved and their app accepted into the realm of the Apple App Store. Lets see what lies ahead for them.
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