Apple has blocked Sony’s e-reader iPhone app as it allows people to read books bought through Sony’s store, rather than Apple’s “in-app purchase” payment system.
Sony’s app, which is linked to Sony’s e-book reader, would have allowed people to read books bought through Sony’s store. Sony accused Apple of changing the way it enforces its rules.
In response, a Sony spokesperson said: “We opened a dialogue with Apple to see if we can come up with an equitable resolution for both companies as well as our consumers, but reached an impasse at this time.”
The scrap is the latest in Apple’s long history of tense relations with media companies. They have clashed for years over pricing and how music, movies and books are sold on Apple’s mobile devices, the iPod, iPhone and iPad.
Apple said it was not changing its rules for app developers, but wanted to ensure that customers could buy books using its payment method, known as “in-app purchase,” which provides Apple with a 30 percent cut of sales.
Apple’s developer guidelines say that apps using a system other than in-app purchase to buy “content, functionality, or services in an app will be rejected.”
Apple requires apps that let customers buy books outside the app to offer the option to buy books through Apple’s system, a spokeswoman said.
It is not the first time that Apple’s rules for app developers have caused controversy.
Apple effectively banned developers from using Adobe Systems’ Flash software and other technologies to build apps, before easing the restrictions last year.