The ebooks bought through Kindle are not subscriptions, and I'm not sure why your post nor the site you link to don't address that.

@1: The policy includes all publications. See http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9…

@Paul: It's not "30% of all their e-book sales", but "30% of their e-book sales initiated from iOS applications." Important difference.

Still, big overreach from Apple. Bad PR, minimal revenue, could cause FTC problems, etc.

Why does Apple not want me to buy an iPad? I'd like an iPad, they're very pretty, but I don't want to give Apple that much control.

It's crap like this that got me to install Honeycomb on a Nook, and then install the Kindle app there. I don't want to get rid of my iPhone, but I haven't been willing to buy a new one either, just suffering with a 3gs.

You can always just buy a Windows or Linux desktop to dock your Apple iPad with and upload your TOTALLY DRM-FREE eBooks from that.

Not that Apple advertises that a Win or Linux box is the best dockstation for your iPad or iPhone, but they are.

By the way, you comix fen will love the 3D iPad for Xmas 2011.

It totally rocks.

Publishers who don’t like Apple’s terms can easily drop their iOS apps, and instead create new apps for other competing tablets.

@6: Phew. I'm glad it doesn't affect users! Imagine if publishers just raised their prices across the board (since they have to raise them elsewhere if they raise them on iOS).

@2, I think that may be the case, but the article you link to mixes the words content and subscriptions repeatedly. The press release uses "content" in a place that bars, for example, Kindle, linking to the Kindle store. I cannot find where this in-app purchase policy is applied to content, though. The reporting and coverage of this issue is poor, even if the conclusions ultimately reached are correct. A non-trivial contributor to the poor reporting is Apple's poor transparency around this issue.

Apple Announces New Subscription Rules, as announced by Apple and not by other sites:

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/02/…

Apple's press release didn't mention purchasing books, but the new app store guidelines do:
"11.13 - Apps can read or play approved content (magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, video) that is sold outside of the app, for which Apple will not receive any portion of the revenues, provided that the same content is also offered in the app using IAP at the same price or less than it is offered outside the app. This applies to both purchased content and subscriptions.

11.14 - Apps that link to external mechanisms for purchasing content to be used in the app, such as a “buy" button that goes to a web site to purchase a digital book, will be rejected."

It's totally obnoxious, especially being applied after the platform has been in use for years. But illegal? I sort of doubt it. They are not a monopoly, you have many other ways to get this content. But it -is- sort of like Verizon saying: hey, you buy something over the phone, and it's on our wireless network, we get a cut. Ominous precedent, this Apple shit.