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Apple, Microsoft at odds over SkyDrive on iOS
Just when you thought Apple and Microsoft had stopped fighting, this had to happen. The Next Web reports that Microsoft hasn't been able to update its SkyDrive iOS app since rolling out the ability for SkyDrive users to buy more storage space. Why? Because Microsoft refuses to pay Apple its 30 percent share of the in-app purchase for storage. Microsoft has a new version of the app ready to roll, complete with a bug fix. However, Apple isn't approving the new version due to Microsoft's reticence to pay the 30 percent cut. As TNW notes, if a user signed up for extra storage on their iOS device and then switched to a Windows Phone or Android smartphone down the road, Apple would still collect the 30 percent fee as the service billing goes through the App Store. The bottom line is that any service with a subscription option that isn't listed in the App Store will not be allowed. Microsoft has apparently been working to try to get a compromise approved by Apple, even offering to remove the subscription option from the app. The issue is even more widespread in the SkyDrive world than you'd think -- third-party developers of apps that interact with SkyDrive are having their apps rejected by Apple as well. This is similar to the issues we saw with Dropbox back in May of 2012. That situation seems to have been relaxed at this time since there's no way for Dropbox subscribers to ever purchase additional storage through iOS apps, so perhaps Apple will finally allow SkyDrive back into the store once the "Sign Up" button on its login page is removed.
