I've seen snippets of the Amazon agreement, and they seem even worse than Apple. Their free app of the day is not what it's cracked up to be, especially considering in the Amazon agreement developers are meant to get paid for their apps even if Amazon do not.
The
article explains it in great detail. Definately a store I would steer clear from as a developer.
At least with Android you have choices with the app stores, the Android Market being the best if you ask me
I see this as the beginning of a sea change that will sweep the net. Society will fail, the aliens will arrive, we will have 106% unemployment, we start apologizin to the tinfoil hat crowd becauee they were right, and anarchy will rule the day, I tell ya.
I see agreements changing for the worse (or for the better depending on one's POV) and it will not be pretty. Apple/Amazon needs developers, artists, musicians, and writers and I think we/they will be spat upon until something changes.
Fortunately, as the big players gain power and exercize their right to crush you, 'you silly damn artist how dare you ask to be paid,' other web sites arrive that are more friendly. Then they grow, get too full of themselves, and they, too, become soul sucking Batard-os and they, too, are replaced. The cycle of life, I suppose.
Fewer consumer dollars to spend and large corporations like Apple and Amazon are fighting for every one of them. I would love to see iOS Jailbreaking go mainstream and iPad users flocking towards a "better" alternative like Cydia.
As it is now, you can't sell iDevice apps to most users unless blessed by Apple. You buy a Mac, install the software, pay the Apple Dev charges, purchase a prayer mat that faces Cupertino so daily Apple prayers are less damaging to your knees; write the code, debug, debug, and debug. You create the HQ art, write the script, record, assemble, package, throw a party, and bust your arse to create 'Angry Fanboys,' and Apple says no, sorry. That is it, you are screwed and you have wasted your time and effort.
Most users can get iOS apps via email or a DL, but they cannot install them. It's Apple or nothing. If you complain, it matters very little. Apple can destroy all that hard work in a few seconds by simply denying your app; if they decide later that your app is bad, they can remove it from the store.
They, Apple, are the only possible source for iDevice apps, period. Well, except for Cydia, period.
What I like about Cydia is it avoids Apple and it gives a developer a chance to make a few dollars; a few is the operative term because they are a very small player and nobody outside of a forum like this knows about Cydia or Jailbreaking. They hear Greenpois0n, Jailbreaking, hacking, stealing apps from iTunes and to some, a Jailbreaker must be a horrible person. They do not, however, know how Apple treats developers.
Fortunately, the Legion of JB is growing, take that Apple.
Alternatives are fine, until someone on the net makes paid Android apps available for free, just like that one site I dare not mention that allows people to find thousands of iOS apps for free.
To be fair, is Amazon's irksome behavior covered in the agreement a dev signs? I am just asking, I do not know. If these odd terms are covered by the agreement, well, that is another thread perhaps.