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Apple Hits 15b App Store Downloads, But Loses "App Store" Name Skirmish

Coldeagle writes "Apple has been dealt a blow in its 'App Store' trademark case, with a federal judge denying its request for an injunction to stop Amazon from using the term." Apple probably wouldn't trade the name exclusivity it seeks, though, for the success they've found with the business model; the company announced today that the App Store has reached 15 billion downloads.

20 of 183 comments (clear)

  1. Nobody I know associates App with Apple by Bloodwine77 · · Score: 2

    I thought it was generally accepted that App generally stands for Application. It was a bold move by Apple to try to secure the word, but I am glad they failed.

  2. Nerds Love UNIX by SuperKendall · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Apple fans - this is a website for nerds. Not for hipsters.

    True nerds love UNIX, and Apple provides an exceptional UNIX out of the box.

    That's really what propelled them to start with, Apple's fortunes changed with OS X because at the core nerds had their back seeing an opportunity to bring UNIX to the masses. And you know what? It worked.

    Linux for whatever reason is just not the OS you could reasonably give to your mother or grandmother without some hands-on support time involved. OS X is a fire-and-forget computer solution that means family visits are not four hour fix-a-thons.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Nerds Love UNIX by Microlith · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's too bad they had to go and declare true nerds the enemy with their iProducts. After using my 2006 MacBook and enjoying every minute of using OS X, they had to go and take a hostile approach to software development and control over things they sold.

      I can't support them now. And sadly that means the now reduced OS X partition on my MacBook likely won't be seeing Lion, despite having seen up through Snow Leopard.

    2. Re:Nerds Love UNIX by Microlith · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Perhaps you did not read what I said.

      I gave up on Apple, despite enjoying OS X, precisely because of how they behave towards more technical users that enjoyed OS X's capabilities. And you know as well as I that the hostility doesn't extend to OS X (yet.) Apple sees mobile as the future of computing (hence the "post-PC era" comments from Jobs), however they give users none of the flexibility offered by OS X, not even the option. Instead they are actively fighting against it, picking and choosing who gets to "innovate" and who is permanently locked out. They were even ready to try and apply US Federal laws against people creating jailbreaks.

      That's why I have stopped using OS X, and why I cannot support Apple. They've gone 180 from where I saw them when I got my MacBook.

    3. Re:Nerds Love UNIX by BasilBrush · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Apple's refusal after saying they would make 64bit APIs for certain GUI. The reason why Photoshop had to skip a 64bit version for OS X and completely rewrite their UI for OS X in the next major version so it could do 64bit.

      You mean Carbon? Apple never promised a 64 bit version of Carbon, and indeed Carbon was always intended as a temporary API to get developers over from OS 9. And that was more than 10 years ago. Adobe was at fault for not moving on when nearly every other developer had. Adobe wrongly thought they had the clout to make Apple do the work of continuing Carbon so they wouldn't have to do the work of modernising Photoshop.

    4. Re:Nerds Love UNIX by Ash-Fox · · Score: 3, Informative

      Apple never promised a 64 bit version of Carbon

      You may find this article interesting. In particular,

      During the beta of Mac OS X 10.5, the first version that offered a credible, fully featured 64-bit API, Apple included a 64-bit version of Carbon. Adobe used this 64-bit Carbon to develop 64-bit Photoshop for Mac OS X.

      Then a little further...

      and though the company had told developers it was going to be one of the features of version 10.5, and though it worked well, the final release of Mac OS X 10.5 didn't include 64-bit Carbon.

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
  3. Re:Thank god by creat3d · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Why does Apple matter to you that much? Why do you care so much about a company?

    --
    Grammar nazis are to this community what excrements are to gold.
  4. Re:Nerds Love Mobile UNIX and POWER by jon_doh2.0 · · Score: 2

    No, we care about locks. Which is, partly, why we appreciate open source.

  5. Re:Bring on the fanbois... by fermion · · Score: 2

    Apple users are both. PC users are niether. *nix users can be either. Due to the inferiority complex, PC users tends to build exclusivity to compensate.

    --
    "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
  6. Re:devil is in the details by Confusador · · Score: 2

    this prevents them from suing because of these names

    Lindows? I'll grant that it prevents them from suing successfully, but they are more than happy to throw money around to inconvenience the competition.

  7. Re:devil is in the details by retchdog · · Score: 3, Insightful

    first, there is no "X11 Windows"; it is the "X Window System (version 11)".

    also all citations i can find indicate that you're wrong about the trademark. for one, look to the devil itself http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/en/us/IntellectualProperty/Trademarks/Usage/Windows.aspx: "Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries."

    it's an abusive invalid mark and that's how they were able to sue (and decimate) lindows (now linspire). microsoft then settled because they knew they would lose if the case were carried through.

    --
    "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
  8. Re:Nerds Love Mobile UNIX and POWER by SvnLyrBrto · · Score: 3, Interesting

    > Apple is very hostile to advanced, technical users,
    > no matter how you slice it.

    Really? Here's an exercise. Compare & contrast:

    Sony's treatment of Playstaytion jailbreakers.
    vs.
    Apple's treatment of iOS jailbreakers.

    The MPAA's reactions towards DVD Jon and DeCSS.
    vs.
    Apple's reactions towards DVD Jon and QTFairUse

    Microsoft's policies towards X-Boxes known to have been jailbroken.
    vs.
    Apple's policies towards iPhones known to have been jailbroken.

    --
    Imagine all the people...
  9. Re:Nerds Love Mobile UNIX and POWER by SuperKendall · · Score: 3, Funny

    Why should they have to hack around deliberately placed locks to regain functionality that would otherwise exist by default?

    As an Android user rooting their own phone first, then get back to me.

    Why buy from a company that is hostile towards you?

    Why would I indeed? I wouldn't.

    I buy from Apple because they are VERY friendly toward the nerd in how they build systems and the flexibility I derive from them. They are one of the few companies left that really appreciates quality of design in hardware and software together.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  10. Re:15 billion? by wvmarle · · Score: 2

    First line of TFA:

    200 million iOS users have downloaded over 15 billion apps from its App Store

    That equates to an average of 75 downloads per iOS user. That's a lot.

    Now I have no idea how many apps a typical iOS user has installed on their phone, but if it's half that I'd be surprised. So sure there are many updates included in this number.

    This site has some more statistics on the app's value and prices paid (no idea on the reliability of these numbers, other than that they sound altogether plausible to me). They claim that the average payment amount per app (averaging in the free apps!) is $0.91. TFA mentions a total of $2.5b paid out to developers, which is 70% of the price a user pays, so $3.6b total revenue. This results in about 4 billion total app downloads, or more like 20 per iOS user. An already much more reasonable sounding number. And that also means 11 billion (an average of almost three per installed app) are updates.

  11. You know nothing by SuperKendall · · Score: 3, Informative

    And you know as well as I that the hostility doesn't extend to OS X (yet.) Apple sees mobile as the future of computing (hence the "post-PC era" comments from Jobs),

    Post PC doesn't mean SANS PC. It means getting past the point of the PC being the PRIMARY platform, and to a world where it is one of many platforms as equals. Mobile is only where computing has to go to extend further than it has, and is ONE future, not all of it.

    They were even ready to try and apply US Federal laws against people creating jailbreaks.

    Really? When? I never read a single thing that said that, and now of course the point is moot since the law is clear that jailbreaking is fine.

    They've gone 180 from where I saw them when I got my MacBook.

    They continue to do what they always have tried to do, bring computing to the masses while still giving technical users excellent systems. Any change is you misinterpretation of direction, not an about-course.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:You know nothing by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

      And you say the same thing again.

      Yes, it's odd how logical constancy leads one to the same conclusion time and time again!

      I see Jobs and Apple making a hard push to displace the PC with their form of mobile computing.

      Then you are blind or not looking. I was *at* the last Apple developer conference - Lion was just as much a topic that was covered as any iOS device. APple is pushing hard for developers to ALSO support that platform.

      That was an exception to the DMCA granted by the Library of Congress,

      Which specifically mentioned jailbreaking, which specifically clears that action. It can't get much clearer than that without the whole Supreme Court coming over to your house, dumping a vat of Gatoraide over your head, and screaming JAILBREAKING IS LEGAL.

      Not to mention that it was in practical legal anyway, since Apple NEVER made a motion to sue jail breakers, and there are many millions of jailbroken iPhones at this point.

      So my interpretation of their utter and complete hostility towards Free Software and open source in general in the mobile space, the space where Apple is focusing a huge majority of their efforts, is wrong.

      Considering just the contributions to Webkit, the open sourcing of GCD and ZeroConf and other things - yes it's wrong, absurdly so. It's almost like you are a parody of the Apple hater with no ears or eyes, just raw hate from Apple flowing out with no input allowed the other way.

      I can understand how someone MIGHT get confused about Apple's support of the PC platform going forward, if you carefully avoiding reading anything. But a technical user claiming Apple is not a friend of Open Source is someone is deep and active denial.

      I'll let you have the last response since you won't pay attention to a thing I've said anyway; your type doesn't care how much evidence is presented, you believe what you want and nothing will shake it. I present this information only for the other readers who might be confused by the things you say are true.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    2. Re:You know nothing by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

      Questioning Jobs is not allowed on Slashdot.

      Sure it is, I've done it before. The funny thing about Apple Haters is that they are truly the ones with a "cult of Jobs", you are obviously obsessed (not in a good way) with him. To me he's been a really good CEO with generally good ideas, but he will head out and Apple will carry on.

      THAT THIS DECISION HAD TO BE MADE SHOWS APPLE'S INTENTIONS

      No, it was simply a clarification. The reality is that Apple never did anything to go after jail breakers or the people that wrote jailbreaking tools. The only thing they ever did was issue a few press releases stating they thought it might be an issue - but actions speak louder than words, EVEN WHEN YOU SHOUT.

      Nice red herring. I am talking EXPLICITLY about their attitude towards users in the mobile space.

      Webkit *is* all about the mobile space. That herring in green.

      Disagreeing with Apple and their actions is impossible

      It's possible if you stick to facts and not fantasy.

      Disagreeing with Apple and their actions is impossible

      Passive agressive is the only way to deal with delusional people, it works really well.

      I know, I'm CRAZY because I won't accept that Apple's take on mobile devices

      Because you will not see or accept facts. A crazy person is in fact someone who literally cannot process input from the outside world to change opinions or thought.

      The pro-Lockdown, pro-DRM Apple brigade is strong on Slashdot.

      Lockdown by default is good for users, as long as technical users can work around it. Check.

      Apple is the company that single-handedly eliminated DRM on music files across the industry, which I know you can never understand but is another fact...

      Now I will let you have the last response, your last blathering was somewhat unique so I felt like it could be annotated for the readers for further benefit.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  12. Re:Nerds Love Mobile UNIX and POWER by BasilBrush · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Can I play?

    Sony's treatment of Playstaytion jailbreakers.
    vs.
    Apple's treatment of iOS jailbreakers.

    Sony prosecuted jailbreakers. Apple didn't.

    The MPAA's reactions towards DVD Jon and DeCSS.
    vs.
    Apple's reactions towards DVD Jon and QTFairUse

    MPAA prosecuted. Apple didn't.

    Microsoft's policies towards X-Boxes known to have been jailbroken.
    vs.
    Apple's policies towards iPhones known to have been jailbroken.

    Microsoft withdrew already paid for online services from jailbreakers. Apple didn't.

    You make a fine point.

  13. Re:Thank god by UnknowingFool · · Score: 2
    In the analysis it says this:

    Using a pricing scheme similar to iTunes, with 70 percent ($1.04) to the developer, $0.20 plus 2 percent of the ASP ($0.23) to the credit card company, and 1 percent ($0.02) per app for processing (storage & delivery), Apple’s App Store gross margin on revenue from paid apps ($428 million since launch) is about 44 percent, or $189 million in gross profit,” Munster explains. “This does not factor in the roughly $81 million Apple has spent since launch to store and deliver the 4 billion free apps that have been downloaded.”

    Meaning the actual costs were not exact. The analyst estimated that only 1% for operating costs but it may be higher and even the analyst acknowledged he did not take into account capital costs of building more infrastructure. Data Centers are not cheap. Just ask Google; they spend about $500M for each of theirs.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  14. Re:Nerds Love Mobile UNIX and POWER by Microlith · · Score: 2

    As an Android user rooting their own phone first, then get back to me.

    Beats me about that too, unsurprisingly I don't own an Android device. I bought an N900, which I was able to get Root access trivially and without relying on any exploits.

    Why would I indeed? I wouldn't.

    Yet you do. You buy into Apple's locked down mobile space.

    I buy from Apple because they are VERY friendly toward the nerd in how they build systems and the flexibility I derive from them.

    Except that in the mobile space they explicitly deny that to you, and require you jump through hoops and pay for access. And even then you don't get full access over your own devices.