Apple rejects Sony Reader from the App Store

According to the NYTimes, Apple has rejected Sony’s ‘Sony Reader’ ebook app for inclusion in the iOS App Store. Sony Reader is similar to Apple’s own iBooks and Amazon Kindle apps in that it would allow users to purchase and read books in the app (though Kindle does this through the web). Apple says they rejected the application because they are not allowing developers to sell content within their applications, without going through the App Store’s actual in-app-purchase feature.

This recent change could signal the launch of Apple’s rumored app subscription service. There is no word on whether or not Apple will begin removing applications such as the Amazon Kindle app, but if they did, there would most likely be an extreme backlash from successful developers like Amazon.