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Verizon Brings Mac Support to 4G USB Modem
When Verizon originally launched its 4G network, Mac support for its mobile modems was notably lacking. Two months later, Verizon is now offering a version of its VZAccess Manager for Mac software that adds support for the Pantech UML290, one of the network’s two 4G-compatible USB modems. The LG VL600, which also supports 4G speeds, remains unsupported on the Mac.

At the time, I was rather short with Verizon for ignoring the Mac platform. It seemed a questionable omission, and became more so in light of Verizon’s growing relationship with Apple, which will see the introduction of the iPhone 4 to Big Red’s network in just a few short days. It’s good to see Verizon finally moving to correct that error.

The latest version of VZAccess Manager for Mac can be downloaded from Verizon’s website. Of course, to use it to connect at 4G speeds, you’ll need to be in one of 38 U.S. markets where it’s available, and you’ll have to have the Pantech UML290 ($100 with a two-year contract) and one of Verizon’s 4G data plans.

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iOS Accounts for 2% of Web Browsing, Android on the Rise

Market research firm Net Applications released its January report, in which iOS reached a new high of 2.06 percent in market share as measured by web browsing. That’s up from 1.69 percent last month, a 22-percent increase, and another indicator that Apple won Christmas. Both the iPod touch and the iPad saw gains of approximately 30 percent from last month, now at 0.20 and 0.67 percent of the overall market. Having just topped one percent last month, the iPhone alone now represents 1.19 percent. If these numbers seem meager, even combined, a two-percent share is nonetheless enough to take third behind OS X, though that may change soon.

At the end of 2007, iPhone OS representation was barely measurable, about 0.06 percent of the overall market. OS X’s meager 3.75 percent dominated iPhone OS. Three years later, OS X actually showed a slight decline from the end of 2009 compared to 2010, ending at just over five percent. In sharp contrast, iOS has had three straight years of strong growth (between 150 and 200 percent), and is looking to add a fourth. What this means is that with a little luck — OS X jumped to 5.25 percent for January — by the end of 2011 one out of 10 devices accessing the web might be made by Apple. Unfortunately for Apple, its devices aren’t the only ones seeing growth.

Android is unstoppable. The latest hard numbers from NPD saw Android take a majority of smartphone market share in the U.S., 51 percent, while Apple slid from 23 percent to 19 percent. Net Applications data on web browsing share also shows the steady rise of Android smartphones. While iPhone share climbed 17 percent in January, Android saw an increase of 44 percent, on top of a 30 percent increase in December, and that’s just smartphones.

Despite admission from Samsung that the Galaxy Tab actually sold far less than the two million units shipped so far, better Android tablets running optimized Honeycomb will be available from multiple manufacturers this year. Add to that Android rivals to the iPod touch, like the Samsung Galaxy Player, and it seems certain that no matter how much iOS grows, Android will grow more. 2011 will likely see Apple reach a high point in web browsing share, but 2012 most likely belongs to Android.

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Apple Wants in on Digital Book Purchase Revenue
Apple has clarified its official position regarding the rejection of the Sony Reader iPhone app, and the reasoning behind it has far-reaching implications for the App Store. As I suggested in my earlier post on the subject, Apple isn’t blocking access to content purchased outside the App Store, but it does want a share of the revenue made through iOS-initiated book sales.

Digital Daily’s John Paczkowski has the official word from Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller, who clarified Apple’s reason for rejecting the Sony Reader app as follows:

We have not changed our developer terms or guidelines. We are now requiring that if an app offers customers the ability to purchase books outside of the app, that the same option is also available to customers from within the app with in-app purchase.

Put simply, this means that Apple is telling Sony and others (including Amazon) that a user has to have the option of buying through Apple as well as any other storefronts that might exist, at least when it comes to books. Whether this policy will apply to other types of media (like video and magazines) remains unclear, but since Muller went out of the way to specify “books” in her statement, it seems unlikely at the moment.

The move is a shrewd one from Apple. It puts the onus on companies like Amazon to comply, while allowing Apple to avoid accusations that it’s limiting user choices. In fact, from Apple’s perspective, it’s actually adding, not taking away, purchase options for the consumer.

But for Sony, Amazon, and other digital e-book sellers, the situation is more complicated. In order to sell through Apple’s in-app purchasing, companies also have to also acquiesce to Apple’s revenue-sharing model, which gives Cupertino a 30 percent cut of all purchases. Amazon et al. could get around this by simply charging 30 percent more for books purchased in-app and keeping prices on their own storefronts the same, but whether or not that approach will fly with Apple remains unclear. Another option is for booksellers to pass on the additional cost to publishers, a scenario that’s much more likely than risking sticker shock with consumers.

But users won’t be totally untouched by the new guideline enforcement policy, even if digital booksellers simply accept Apple’s terms without a struggle. For instance, Kindle users might not realize that when paying in-app funds come from their iTunes account, instead of their Amazon one, and may end up assuming they’re spending gift cards when in fact they’re racking up credit card charges. Even if all parties do their best to alert consumers to where funds are drawn from with each purchase method, the potential for confusion still exists.

Personally, as long as everyone plays along and this doesn’t negatively affect prices or make a mess of user experience, I’m happy to see Apple implement this change. If the App Store is generating sales that wouldn’t otherwise exist, doesn’t it make sense that Apple would claim a cut? But I also can’t help but note that Apple seems to have pulled a bit of a bait-and-switch for Amazon and others by allowing the policy to go unenforced for so long. Maybe it’s only now that it’s apparent iBooks is no Kindle Store killer that Apple realizes it’s better off collecting dues than running the stall itself.

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Apple Would Be Crazy to Block Use of Outside Content
The Sony Reader app for iPhone has been rejected by Apple, according to the New York Times. The app would have allowed users to purchase and read e-books from the Sony Reader Store, which currently also provides content for Sony’s Reader hardware, and the Sony Reader Android app. According to the Times, Apple rejected the app because from now on, all in-app purchases would have to go through Apple. We’ve reached out to Apple for comment, and will update if any response is forthcoming.

While Amazon, Kobo and Zinio currently offer apps which allow users to make purchases outside of the App Store, and then use that content within those apps, the Times report indicates that this, too, could no longer be possible under Apple’s new app requirements.

It’s this second restriction that, if true, would really make waves. Apple already doesn’t allow apps to sell content without either using its in-app purchasing system (for which the company takes a 30 percent cut on all transactions) or sending users to an external website to complete the transaction on their own with a separate (non-iTunes) payment method.

The exact reason behind the rejection isn’t clear from the Times article. At one point, the reason behind the rejection is listed as follows:

Apple told Sony that from now on, all in-app purchases would have to go through Apple, said Steve Haber, president of Sony's digital reading division.

If Sony’s app was rejected simply for violating this rule, as Haber seems to suggest, then there’s nothing to get upset about. But Times writers Claire Cain Miller and Miguel Helft don’t leave it at that. Instead, they offer the following:

The company has told some applications developers, including Sony, that they can no longer sell content, like e-books, within their apps, or let customers have access to purchases they have made outside the App Store. [Emphasis added]

Apple disallowing the use of content purchased outside the App Store would mean the highly successful Kindle iPad and iPhone apps would have to be removed, as would Netflix, Hulu Plus and many others. Or such content could move to an in-app purchasing model, giving Apple a 30 percent cut of all revenue from content purchases.

Earlier this month, a report surfaced claiming Apple wasn’t allowing magazine publishers to offer print subscribers free digital editions under the new in-app subscription model the iPhone maker is rumored to be introducing tomorrow alongside Rupert Murdoch’s dedicated iPad newspaper, The Daily. Such a move does suggest Apple intends to do more to ensure it’s reaping the benefits of the App Store economy in every possible instance.

But would Apple really go so far as to wall off paid content from all outside sources after allowing it for so long? There’s no doubt the success of iOS has contributed to the success of the Kindle store, Netflix and others, but the relationship hasn’t been one-way. Apple benefits at least as much from having content to offer users, and making sure that users can carry that content from one platform to the next.

Apple can force record companies to acquiesce to its terms in the iTunes store because the ultimate beneficiary is the consumer, and any objections by labels can fairly easily be spun as greedy in terms of popular opinion. There’s no way Apple blocking access to Kindle books, Zinio magazines and Netflix accounts can avoid looking like a slap in the face to consumers, no matter how much you spin it. No, this is simply a case of Sony not playing by the rules by trying to provide access to its own store through the app, and then running crying to the press when it ran up against a wall.

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