Just to be clear. The Android marketplace doesn't allow porn either.<p>But due to the open nature of the iPhone a company created a "pornstore."<p>IMHO, the browser has been a pretty good porn marketplace for a long time - I don't see the need.
I'm all for porn. Larry Flint said it once: It's just sex.<p>So why make a big deal of it?
There is no way you can take the morale high-ground by disallowing porn. Tell me, are apples customers conservatives that walk around playing golf all day?
What really bothers me about this particular aspect of the App Store approval process is how hypocritical it is. If Apple wants to make the App Store a clean place then that is their prerogative. However, to leave Sports Illustrated Swimsuit apps and sex position apps while talking all high and mighty seems rather hypocritical.
Well, thanks for the tip. Will do.<p>But what's really amazing about that guy is that he is apparently unable to understand the difference between a thing and an explanation of that thing. He has banned (or rather censored) a dictionary on the grounds that it included the words "fuck" and "shit" after all.<p>OK, it was fun writing that, but I actually don't believe it. He does understand that difference. He just thinks keeping the utmost distance from anything "dirty" regardless of the type of connection is beneficial to his franchise.<p>We'll just have to wait and see how this plays out in the market in the long run. Whilst waiting I'm going to buy an Android phone for hacking and other types of pleasure ;-)
That's interesting. I haven't had a problem looking at porn on the Web using the iPhone. Okay, the screen's a bit small so it's pointless, but still. WTF would we want to <i>pay</i> for it when the Web has so much for free?
I have no real hangup over porn (indeed, I spend days looking at it for work..) but I can see his point.<p>Apple, understandably, don't want to be in the minefield arena of porn distribution via the App Store - it's a smoking gun in a sense.<p>This is just a closed product of the App store.<p>Though it appears Jobs also considers it a moral imperative; which is wrong.
I think he doesn't really believe it, except in the sense that he wants to avoid the brand being tainted by identification with porn.<p>That is, he doesn't want to see something on the TV news about how high schoolers with iPhones are watching porn in the cafeteria.
This seems to be a smart movie on Jobs' part. I'm not an Apple fan per se (I don't own any Apple products) but can see some definite advantages to Jobs' strategy.<p>1. Every business guy I've talked to loved the iPhone's power and what they could do without needing to lug a laptop around everywhere. So the iPhone has a definite business appeal, and keeping porn out helps keep that ambiance.
2. Clearly he is using the porn store for Android as a, "hey, Android is entertainment, iPhone is for professionals " type of message.
3. I think the other smart thing, which no one in Apple will talk about is the reduced bandwidth consumption they will have by not having porn! It is an inherently bandwidth hungry system (presuming online, not stored in a DB) to be encouraging videos and images.
3a) This allows them to leave out a strategically bad (PR/Marketing-wise) niche that would strain an already strained infrastructure.
3b) This strain on the infrastructure would affect those business types that they have good appeal with.<p>FWIW - I think people claiming that Apple is socially conservative is absurd. They have a former VP candidate for the Democratic party on their board. And I bet if people looked into it, they'd find a health balance of board political donations go to liberals.
maxklein said it best:<p>Do you really think Apple wants porn apps in their Top 25 Grossing, Paid, and Free lists?<p>"I'm an app store developer, and if Apple opens the doors, let me tell you what will happen :
First of all, there will be hardcore porn immediately. Boob apps will flood the store, because that's what makes money."<p><a href="http://news.ycombinator.net/item?id=1110804" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.net/item?id=1110804</a>
This is another brilliant marketing move by Steve and an attempt to influence the news media's view of the Android phone.<p>If the news media starts talking about Android phones as "porn" phones then the iPhone will be presented as the shiny white alternative to that.