Sony's e-reader App had been rejected from Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) App Store, generating some buzz earlier this week. Ars Technica sought to clarify matters with Apple, and was told by spokesperson Trudy Muller that, "We are now requiring that if an app offers customers the ability to purchase books outside of the app, that the same option is also available to customers from within the app with in-app purchase." 

While Apple claims that the policy isn't new, the outrage is understandable and probably comes from worried fans of Amazon's Kindle and Barnes & Noble's Nook. Both have a substantial stake in the eBook business, and have carved out a following with their respective eReader apps on the iOS platform. The concern is whether Apple will move next to block both these apps from its closed eco-system, or force them to utilize its "in-app" or "paid subscription" mechanism for any content and gain a cut of the profit.

Certainly, with 14.8 million units of the iPad sold and a new version expected to be available in the coming months, Apple certainly has the clout to shape (or break) how digital content will be delivered to dedicated e-readers or multi-functional tablets.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Ars Technica
- check out this article at Wall Street Journal

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