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Any one else think alot of people are going to get rich with the sdk?

geekmommy4, great example with the Palm OS development! It's probably the oldest 3rd party mobile development community, so it does offer a long-standing study, especially on free vs pay apps.

I would venture a guess that 90% of what a Palm user can find in pay apps they can find in free or shareware apps. HOWEVER, in most cases free apps don't offer the level of depth that the pay apps do. Look at KSDatebk versus Datebk 6 or Agendus...you can get KSDatebk for free, or you can get Agendus/Datebk 6 for 20-40$...the difference is in how much functionality and developer support you need.

What this indicates, IMHO, is that someone with a solid product, good support, and the right skills can make money. But there's got to be something behind your app besides the IDEA of an app. I also think, much like in the Palm OS ecosystem, good applications are likely to be purchased or licensed by bigger software houses. There's money to made there too, but again, you have to have quality software. Just putting an app out there isn't enough. And you'll be competing against people who have been making mobile applications for a very, very long time. Think Dataviz (Docs to go) isn't already busily coding away? Think Iambic (Agendus et al) isn't already looking for opportunities? There's a lot of heavyweights with a lot behind them, so while there might be one or two breakout stars, it's more likely a little extra pocket change/experience/exposure for small developers and a big boon for companies with the right tools and background.
 
I don't think many individuals will get rich off of the AppStore. But a few companies will make a tidy profit. Especially the game and business app companies.
 
Easy enough question to answer.

Do musicians make any money with iTunes?

Good software will attract downloads in droves.
 
snook911 said:
I personally think the possibilities are endless. I also think you are going to see alot of apps out there for $1 or $2. Develop a couple of these get a million people to buy it ( with 12 million iphone users by years end not impossible ) and your set. I am acctually thinking of going to a class that teaches coding to learn how to do this. Am I crazy?
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What a shame, I guess we will never get the opportunity to see what you create for the iPhone :(

What happens in Vegas....Stays in Vegas? :D
 
Those who think that they'll simply rush out a few basic apps, then sit back and watch the gold pour in, will be sadly mistaken.
As has been already said, those who make truly kick-ass apps, will be the winners, as they'll receive continuous rave reviews, and word of mouth will ensure that they'll have a fanbase eagerly watching for their next creations.
 
I also agree with one of the other posters. The do-it yourselfer is going to be hard pressed to compete against Data-Viz, Handango, EA, Sega etc. These corporations already have tried and proven software that is very popular and used daily. They are going to be loosing market as more and more start buying iPhones with the SDK release. Do you not honestly believe that they not transfer their tried and true software to the iPhone. What you have used on your Treo's and Crackberries will now become available on your iPhones. The competition will be fierce for awhile and then will slowly die down. A few of you guys do have great ideas and might hit the big one but it is going to have to be very unique, totally unpressdent'ed and fits the needs of a large group of users. That is a challenge and I wish you all so much luck!

Wish, I could join you...however...i am a die hard (sometimes literally) PC user so that is my loss. Good LUCK! :)
 
I am not sure about getting rich, but there certainly are many compelling reasons to developing apps for iPhone/iPod touch:
  • Reduced software piracy (although I am sure some will eventually hack the installer)
  • Visibility through Apps Store (rather than crude Versiontracker)
  • Unified and automated payment system (although at the expense of hefty commission)
  • Possibility of getting funding to expand the business (via iFund)
  • Automated software update distribution

I see many developers offering two versions of their software, (1) freeware/demoware to get people hooked and (2) paid fully functional version.
 
Do you think there'll be a version of the sdk/emulator for Windows? Or is that a definite no-no? I'd love to develop for the iPhone, but would prefer to do it on my current PC.
 
dacreativeguy said:
Exactly. It costs $99 for a ticket to this ride, so you'll have to sell 33 licenses just to make that back. There are some great rags to riches software stories, but nobody (besides apple) is going to get rich selling cellphone apps.
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Can't agree with this at all.

I suspect you will see a couple of people who manage to release products that sell for $10 and move 100k units. For a one person shop this would be extremely profitable.

You will have different levels of success depending on the application, the competition, the price etc etc.

Is it a way to riches? Probably not, unless you are a very good programmer or group of programmers and also have a very good application/game/product to move.

For all intents and purposes I would consider a $1 to $2 application free myself, and just contributing to help cover the basic costs of bringing them to the marketplace.

Others have mentioned, this is an unprecedented opportunity for coders because it takes all the business out of moving a program that most coders are simply not good at... Apple takes all that on, and gives you a market place. You code the product and receive a monthly check. This dynamic will be highly appealing to a lot of people.

By the way this notion that every useful pay-for app will eventually be replaced by a free one is simply unwarranted. It is not going to work that way. It never has and never will.
 
themitch said:
Do you think there'll be a version of the sdk/emulator for Windows? Or is that a definite no-no? I'd love to develop for the iPhone, but would prefer to do it on my current PC.
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Highly unlikely. iPhone runs a subset of Mac OS X with custom libraries. Apple is providing these custom iPhone libraries with the SDK. Porting the entire iPhone OS X and libraries to Windows or Linux platform would be herculean efforts. Just buy a Mac.
 
so what do you think will pretty much anyone who creates an app be allowed to post it in the apps store or will there be an approval process before hand.
 
two types of people will make good money:

the first ones to come out with useful apps because people are eager to buy them and there is not much competition. so people actuall see your app on itunes. later your app will disappear under thousands of other apps.

the good apps (games, business software) that are so good that they become kind of a standard. these will require a lot of work/investment/connections with desktop apps (an example would be having your keychain items synced to your iphone via .mac).

so if you wnt to make a quick buck write that pdf/txt reader or voice mail application. if you're fast enough you might sell 10 000 apps on the first two days for $5.99.:cool:
 
nutmac said:
Highly unlikely. iPhone runs a subset of Mac OS X with custom libraries. Apple is providing these custom iPhone libraries with the SDK. Porting the entire iPhone OS X and libraries to Windows or Linux platform would be herculean efforts. Just buy a Mac.
Click to expand...

The simulator runs using compiled i386 binaries... not ARM. Porting libraries that are written well, is not a big deal. They already ported Safari, so they have experience. So yes, it could be done, but they probably won't. Not for a while, anyway. Not until they need to.

As for the store, there was Handango before this. I don't know anyone who got rich off mobile apps. Pricing usually has to be really low, so I'm not quitting my day job yet.
 
A couple of thoughts...

One line of thinking says it's probably not going to be easy to get an app into the iTunes store. The guy who makes a PDF reader in the first week of the store opening may not even get it published by Apple.

But, Apple is a business. If the guy making the PDF reader sells 10,000 copies for $5 each in one week, that's $5000 for Apple. Multiply that by a hundred coders all making rushed to market apps, and you're talking half a million in almost pure profit. Would Apple really make it so difficult to publish an app in the face of those kinds of profits? Handango sells tons of crappy apps with redundant feature sets and laughs all the way to the bank.

For those who do make a compelling app, why they would choose to make it free is beyond me. Even if it's only a dollar, it makes sense to charge. Companies like Handango, etc. have NEVER enjoyed the ease that installing apps via iTunes will offer. Think of all the people who only downloaded music via P2P prior to iTunes, and who have since switched to iTunes as their primary source of music.

iTunes has proven that people don't mind paying a dollar for something that they could get elsewhere for free, because the buying experience is so simple and seamless. Before the upcoming iTunes apps store, buying software has always meant typing in a bunch of registration info for the site selling the software, getting out your credit card, waiting for a download link in an email, opening a zip file, installing the software, registering it, etc. iTunes will once again change the entire game. A coder with even the simplest but compelling app, who sells it for even a dollar, stands to make bank.
 
Some people will get rich but it is probably the big players that will rake in the $.
 
Sobe said:
Easy enough question to answer.

Do musicians make any money with iTunes?

Good software will attract downloads in droves.
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Selling music is completely difference than selling software. Creating music is a one time thing. Creating software is a continual, never ending process that requires customer support. There is no customer support in the music world. So if I'm selling an app on iTunes, I'm only going to do it if I know I can make some money, or else it's not really worth my time (and $99).

andiwm2003 said:
so if you wnt to make a quick buck write that pdf/txt reader or voice mail application. if you're fast enough you might sell 10 000 apps on the first two days for $5.99.:cool:
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Don't forget that developers have three months to write apps. That's a long time. Except top quality apps the day the App Store goes public.

cohibadad said:
Some people will get rich but it is probably the big players that will rake in the $.
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Microsoft, Adobe, and Quicken have all proved that large companies are no better, if not usually worse, at creating Mac software than the independent developers and smaller companies. This will actually probably be more true for the iPhone because you won't have all these normal business costs.
 
While the whole 2-3 dollar deal sounds great it will not happen I would be surprised to see anything under 10.00 on there if not more.. They will try to start out HIGH and if that fails go lower. They never do it cheaper..
 
I think you will see a few one-man codeshops making a lot of money. It all depends on the app. People keep saying it will be the big boys but I beg to differ. Something unique, quirky but extremely fun priced at $1 could sell bucketloads.

Or a simple app like a Flickr uploader that uses CoreLocation to automatically geotag the photo when you send it. Almost every Flickr/iPhone user would be interested and one would guess there are several hundred thousand Flickr users with an iPhone today. Multiply by a few dollars and you have a lucrative little earner. Don't forget, short of jailbreaking it will be very difficult to crack this software due to Fairplay being applied to the app at the point of purchase. If the product costs and is wanted, people will have to pay to use it.

The key is to get to market on day 1, before lots of competition get in.

Look at the Facebook Platform. Those developers who were in early took advantage of the network effect and you now have iLike with about 20m users. Last.FM on the other hand, with an infinitely better service were slow to get onto Facebook and they have hardly any users. Sure, iLike is a free model but the point still applies about getting in there early.

If I was a developer i'd be considering all my options to get to market day 1 with a compelling and unique product. And I wouldn't tell a soul until it was released.
 
Anyone who can produce an app to allow the Tomtom 6 GPS software (with bluetooth GPS receiver support) to run on the iphone should make a few bucks!
 
kdarling said:
The simulator runs using compiled i386 binaries... not ARM. Porting libraries that are written well, is not a big deal. They already ported Safari, so they have experience.
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First of all, Safari is an application much like iTunes. Aside from WebKit, Safari for Windows does not reference OS X API.

For iPhone SDK, the issue isn't platform but OS X. Yes, OS X can run on Intel x86, but Apple will need to offer and migrate much of the OS X libraries onto Windows. Like Java VM, it can be done, but I don't think iPhone SDK for Windows is at all necessary to get developers to write iPhone applications. In general, buying a Mac (especially Mac mini) to develop for iPhone is a marginal expense for developers.
 
Is there demographic information out there with detailed information about who owns the iPhone?

Developing an app the appeals to younger/older people, women or men would be a better strategy than just hoping everyone with an iPhone will be interested in your app.
 
snook911 said:
I personally think the possibilities are endless. I also think you are going to see alot of apps out there for $1 or $2. Develop a couple of these get a million people to buy it ( with 12 million iphone users by years end not impossible ) and your set. I am acctually thinking of going to a class that teaches coding to learn how to do this. Am I crazy?
Click to expand...

i'm right there with you buddy, i'm gonna try and learn to develop some apps

what kind of programing language do you need to know?
 
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