Apple's App Store Comes to the Web
Apple's App Store within the iTunes store has revolutionized the way users expect to find and install applications on their mobile phones, but it is also a bit of a resource hog and it often takes quite a while before pages finally load.
Now, however, thanks to an online version of the App Store which scrapes the content of the store in iTunes, you can quickly browse for applications, read reviews, and see screenshots from any computer that has access to the Internet without ever having to open iTunes.
This online version of the App Store, which is clearly not sanctioned by Apple, runs on Google's App Engine.
As Amit Agarwal notes, Apple uses a rather cryptic XML format for delivering the pages in iTunes. However, the developers of the online App Store have found a way to decrypt these XML files and render them as regular HTML.
Limitations
Of course, there are some limitations to this approach. You can't, for example, install apps without using iTunes at some point. The online App Store also doesn't have a search function.
Will Apple Shut it Down?
Of course, given Apple's litigious nature, we don't know if this version of the App Store will be around for a very long time, but it's a great resource if you just want to link to an app in the store, for example, without your users having to open the desktop iTunes app (which, after all, is not available on all operating systems).
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I wonder if they are monetizing the links through some type of referral fee. Seems unlikely, but if it is a better experience for some then Apple should support it.
Do you have any data to back up your characterization of Apple as having a litigious nature? I realize that this charge has already entered the realm of conventional wisdom, but I was just wondering if there's any evidence that they're more litigious than the average large corporation.
I can almost guarantee they are monetizing the links through the iTunes affiliate program. 5% referral fee when you click one of their links.
Personally, I think a third-party site just copying the App Store itself leaves a lot to be desired. That's because I think the App Store, itself, leaves a lot to be desired. Where are the real e-commerce features (decent search, filtering results, etc.)?
If you scrape all that data, why not do something useful with it and create a _better_ experience?
I'm surprised that RWW is posting this as if AppSpot is doing something sneaky and unique. There are many sites, including ours, that scrape content from the App Store and present it to our users. I don't believe Apple minds, as they actually approve us for the affiliate program manually. If they had a problem with us, then they would just refuse to let us get paid.
As Benjamin Cox pointed out, this particular site isn't doing anything especially creative or useful with it. At least our site and others like it provide some enhancement to the app discovery process. For example, we let users bookmark. Other sites focus on price changes, updates, etc.
Will Apple shut this site or any of ours down? I certainly hope not. I think they would be crazy to do it. Sites like these bring in a fair amount of revenue to Apple. It's not as if we stole traffic and money from them. I think that we are actually helping them sell apps because we make it easier for users to find information in an environment they are all familiar with - the browser.
FYI : Surprisingly AppSpot is NOT using the iTunes affiliate program. You can tell by looking at their "View in iTunes" link. It goes directly to iTunes without an affiliate ID. It also does NOT use a redirect like most sites do. This is usually used for tracking purposes. When this is used, a packet sniffer can tell you if the affiliate link is being used. Perhaps, AppSpot applied for the affiliate program and was denied because their site too closely resembles iTunes? Maybe they just haven't been approved yet?
Justin Noel
AppBeacon.com
@Duke Apple regularly issues cease and desist letters to websites and compnaies, it has also sued two well-known Mac fan sites in the past few years. I think that's enough to describe it as being fairly litigious.
As for this site, there's a big difference between pulling XML for specific content in order to generate affiliate sales and scraping the whole Store. There's a ton of intellectual property and trademarks being used without permission, for a start. I predict it will be stepped on pretty quickly.
This isn't anything that isn't being done already. In fact, there is absolutely no added value to what AppSpot is doing there.
Check out some of the better App Store aggregators, like Apptism - http://www.apptism.com
Link: http://bryton.hu/AppStore
An experimental AppStore webapp.