Will Apple's new rules for in-app purchases push companies to opt for mobile sites instead?

[Andres Kello]

Interesting: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mob...html?hpt=hp_p1

In particular, this part stuck out to me:

The Financial Times announced it would forego the App Store altogether, presenting a slick HTML 5 web app.

Long story short, Apple now wants a cut of in-app purchases. This is pushing some companies to forego the App Store altogether in favor of something they can control 100%: their mobile site.

Could this be the start of a new trend in favor of mobile sites over apps?

[Scandiman]

I've been following this story line as well for quite a while, the main question/concern for me being if Apple decides to also demand a cut for things like product or service sales (or hotels ). Their cut is way too steep for regular margins, reminds me of carrier billing options that may be fine for ringtones and wallpapers but real products is out of the question, not to mention their chargeback policies that would quickly put a company out of business.

[ChinaMobi]

Apple should be one of the distribution channels to consider for any business, but not the ONLY one. So branching out and selling products or services on your own site is very natural.