Apple’s Scheme To Thwart The American Feds And EU With iBooks

>Our app has to be chosen and downloaded just like theirs

Yes, but when I bought the iPhone4, the salesperson demoed downloading an app--on my new phone. Guess what app she chose? iBooks.

I wonder how many other iPhone-buyers experienced this. Perhaps Apple salespeople have a script to suggest or "help" download iBooks for new phone buyers.

Part of the US antitrust settlement with Microsoft required Microsoft to disclose private APIs used in middleware and to document protocols used by its software.

iBooks uses private APIs (especially in WebCore and WebKit), which Apple specifically prohibits 3rd party developers from using. These alone provide Apple with an unfair advantage in user experience.

Additionally, Apple ships an in-app store in iBooks, which both their ToC and technical limitations of in-app purchase API make impossible for 3rd party developers to implement in their own apps.

So, no, Apple is not on equal ground and at this point, I don't see how Apple can hope to avoid litigation on the issue.