Apple preparing iPhone and iPod touch to be iTunes remote control

Stephen Withers
Monday, 30 June 2008 06:27

Business IT - Technology

Giving away the Remote application does again call into question Apple's practice of charging for some updates that deliver new functionality but not others, using revenue recognition as the excuse.

While the forthcoming iPhone firmware update will be free (presumably because Apple has the revenue stream from its carrier partners that can be applied against the cost), the iPod touch update will be chargeable - and required if the owner wants to use the App Store.

Similarly, Apple last year charged owners of certain Macs $US1.99 for the software enabler that allowed the use of 802.11n with the existing wireless hardware in those computers, claiming the charge was necessary because it had already recognised the revenue from the sale of that hardware.

At the time, CNet quoted a spokesperson for the Financial Accounting Standards Board as saying "To be certain, GAAP does not require companies to charge customers." Instead, according to that report, Apple could have delayed recognition of a portion of the original revenue to cover the value of the then undelivered 802.11n capability.

Yet it seems the Remote application doesn't count as a new capability. Go figure.