Libor Kubín Apple's legal department can breathe a sigh of relief, at least for a little while. Last Saturday, representatives of the European Commission closed the double investigation conducted against the company. Both allegations involved iPhones.
In June of this year, Apple introduced a new version of iOS 4 and the SDK development environment. It was now possible to write only in native Objective-C, C, C++ or JavaScript languages. Cross-platform compilers were excluded from application development. Adobe was most affected by the restriction. The Flash program included the Packager for iPhone compiler. He was converting Flash applications to iPhone format. The ban by Apple added fuel to the mutual disputes with Adobe and became the subject of interest of the European Commission. The latter began to investigate whether the open market is not hindered when developers are forced to use only the Apple SDK. In mid-September, Apple changed the licensing agreement, allowing the use of compilers again and setting clear rules for accepting applications into the App Store.
The second investigation by the European Commission concerned the procedure for warranty repairs of iPhones. Apple has set a condition that phones under warranty can only be repaired in the countries where they were purchased. The European Commission expressed its concern. According to her, this condition would lead to a "splitting of the market". Only the threat of a fine amounting to 10% of Apple's total annual income forced the company to back down. So if you purchased a new iPhone in the European Union, you can claim the cross-border warranty in any EU member state. The only condition is a complaint at an authorized service center.
Apple will be pleased with the European Commission's statement on Saturday. "The European Commissioner for Competitiveness, Joaquion Almunia, welcomes Apple's announcement regarding the development of iPhone applications and the introduction of cross-border warranty validity within EU countries. In light of these changes, the commission intends to close its investigation into these matters.”
It seems that Apple can listen to its customers. And they hear best if there is a threat of economic sanctions.
Source: www.reuters.com
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