E-book seller slams Apple

Startup BeamItDown Software has announced that it is shutting down its iFlow Reader service, which sold e-books through its iOS app, which could also be used to read them.

The company has posted an explanatory messageon its website with some stinging criticism for Apple.

"Apple has made it completely impossible for anyone but Apple to make a profit selling contemporary ebooks on any iOS device," says the posting.

"We bet everything on Apple and iOS and then Apple killed us by changing the rules in the middle of the game. We are a small company that thought we could build a better product. We think that we did but we are powerless against Apple’s absolute control of the iOS platform."

It adds that the 30% cut from e-book sales demanded by Apple is more than its gross margin after paying wholesalers. The company says it spent more than $1 million developing its app.

ME has more details about the story.