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Apple Releases iPhone SDK, Demos Spore, Instant Messaging

Bernie-Mac said:
Well that was anti-climactic
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Agreed.... glad that some here don't have the reality distortion field on all the time.

I like the iPhone, and want one to simplify my life, but as it stands now it will be making life a lot harder.

The SDK was touted as being the holy grail for iPhone limitations and not only is it going to continue being limited for another 4 months, but there still is no guarantee that the devos will make worthwhile applications for the high end users that have been dying for a better phone.
 
Digital Skunk said:
I wouldn't say they are 6 months behind anything, especially not the iPhone. Maybe Palm is, but the other phone makers still have the leg up on software and features until the SDK is official, and Apple and other devos actually make software for the iPhone.

And remember, not everyone is going to jump on the AT&T bandwagon over a glossy phone. Some users need more than just a cool device.
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I speak mostly in terms of power and usability, on which grounds no other phone approaches the iPhone. None are as flexible or responsive, and none have as powerful of an architecture underlying the OS. I see this as being the big difference in the platforms. The iPhone, once the SDK releases, will genuinely be a UMPC platform.

Apple got the right idea. Rather than trying to sell people a palmtop computer, they sold them a phone, and tossed the computer in there afterward.
 
CrackedButter said:
Too much work for little benefit really when the development is totally different on windows, plus I'm sure this technology will make its way onto the mac at some point and Apple will have already have the developers in place in order to kick start the mac apps.
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Absolutly, this is to hook more people along with the $100,000,000 to increase the number of developers. Since they all have to use the same language, and Xcode, it is also easy for then to also write for the Mac.

Great move Apple.
 
Waiting 3 months does suck - but everything else is just awesome! Just stunning. I am really looking forward to seeing those game demos when Apple posts video of the conference on their site... uh, they will post video, won't they?
 
BongoBanger said:
Possibly because you can already build and install your own apps on Symbian OS phones and have been able to for years? Don't get me wrong - this is hot stuff but there are some pretty heavy competitors out there.
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But they don't usually take off and become successful due to the fact that the interface sux. Ever try to use a blackberry web browser. Please.
 
chr1s60 said:
This seems like kind of a rush job by Apple. The future sounds great, but the present seems sloppy. They announced an SDK in October and it seems like they didn't focus on it til mid February. They should have had the SDK seeded to multiple developers already and they should have publicly released an app or two today. The future is promising, but the present is a letdown. Looks like it's time to jailbreak.
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Do you know what you are talking about? Have you ever written a single program in your life?
I find today's announcements very exciting. The SDK sounds great and the iPhone/iPod Touch platform will very soon have endless capabilites. The programs demoed were also great. What do you think, that one wakes up and says, "let's create an SDK", and is immediately created?
I believe that the iPhone will become the best mobile platform by far. It is absolutely amazing what they showed us today.
 
I managed to get it and it's installing now. I'm also sending it to arn, so he can get it and put up some screenshots for everyone!
 
happydude said:
so you didn't pay for leopard, you didn't pay for vista? i'm sure apple's legal team would like a word with you . . .

what other phone offers major software updates? i could be wrong, but to my knowledge, apple is the only company that has offered major updates to hand held devices . . . no, quick check, palm does . . . oh and they charge as well.
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1.1.3 was not a major software update.
The app store is not a major software update.

aristrobrat said:
Are you purposefully being ignorant to make a point, or did you miss the part where Steve Jobs said that developers could release free applications (free for the developer, free for the customer)?
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There's free apps and pay apps. If I want a pay app, I first have to actually buy access to the store? That's a silly idea.
 
HiRez said:
Oh man I posted too soon, you have to pay $99 to get the SDK???? WTF? Argh! NOT cool, Apple. Devs who are developing free apps, at least, should not have to pay. :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
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You don't need to pay $99 to get the SDK. You pay $99 to get a digital certificate generated and related services so you can publish your applications to iPhone users.
 
tedhogan said:
Look, this SDK is already coming out late and the fact that it will be an entire 1/4 of a year before we see anything useful to us makes this not so good.

For crying out loud, what is it with Apple and premature announcements? This is getting ridiculous. It's going to get to the point where people stop paying attention. At least don't build it up like hey here are all these apps you've really been wanting, but oh - wait a minute - they're still vaporware! Jokes on you you stupid Apple fanboy! We don't actually have anything, we're just teasing you and you'll be both grateful and lucky to get squat in at least four months from now!

I'm tired of it. Dammit, this thing should already do instant messaging and exchange. I'm tired of not being able to send a damn picture, an instant message, or use this thing for anything of value besides making phone calls. I shouldn't be teased with a live announcement announcing the very things I have been waiting for only to be told at the end of it that they don't exist yet!

If that doesn't piss you off than I just don't understand. How can it not?

It's not about Apple is good or Apple is evil. It's about managing expectations and not alienating your customers. It wasn't that long ago that Microsoft had to bail Apple out. They ought not forget that. The arrogance is astounding.
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I'm not pissed off at all. Why? Well the announcement was only a few days late - after what was a short month anyway. Why was it late? Maybe they wanted to make sure the demo software was going to work as planned? Maybe they wanted to make sure the different speakers were all going to be availbale on that day? I don't know - but it's a few days longer you had to wait - was it really that bad?

But to call it a premature announcement is a little strong. This was always going to be about the SDK - no more. Apple have delivered on the SDK - now its up to developers to start building great apps. Of course they were going to use the even to tell us how they were then going to distribute those apps. They have effectively given a few months as a buffer for a library of applications to be built ready for launch of iPhone software version 2. What did you hope to see? A slew of app;ications at launch? Well the iPhone already has some pretty great apps - and I can imagine Apple might very well continue to update the current software with features and apps.

There is no joke to be had on anyone - I would suggest you go outside and breath some fresh air. There is no personal vendetta Apple has against its hardcore users. If anything they should be applauded for being so transparent about the roadmap. Remember that for the vast majority of iPhone users todays announcements just won't mean a thing until the day comes when they sync their iPhone and iTunes tells them there is a software update. For the hardcore - you now get to go download the SDK - and create something useful - or you know exactly what is coming and can look forward to the coming applications - if anyone expected a library of apps today then they have leaped to far, no one at any point said there ever would be any today.

If you're tired of it, and think the device isn't living up to 'all it could be' then you should have known that from the day you bough the device? You have alienated yourself surely? I recently bought a new car - I'm not complaining about the fact its not a convertible because 'hey, it could be!' - I knew it wasn't on the day I bought it. I also know the manufacturer will never allow me to take my car back and get a free conversion to a convertible. Yet Apple keep improving their first foray into the mobile world - and they keep supplying those software updates for free (yes, you still pat AT&T - in the same way when i bought my car I still pay every few weeks for petrol with nothing new ever added to my car for free... geddit?)

Personally - I see the announcements as positive - developers now have a clear idea of how to move ahead with creating / building and distributing their apps. Users (who know of this event) can now start o look forward to a total software update of their iPhones - from V.1 to V.2. This is tantamount to Apple previewing an OSX update - we know what to look forward to, developers know what to build for... and we wait for the release date...
 
Spades said:
1.1.3 was not a major software update.
The app store is not a major software update.



There's free apps and pay apps. If I want a pay app, I first have to actually buy access to the store? That's a silly idea.
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No...only if you want to Sell / Post an app would you have to pay anything.
 
Digital Skunk said:
And remember, not everyone is going to jump on the AT&T bandwagon over a glossy phone. Some users need more than just a cool device.
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True, as far as it goes, but remember all the 'platform' and 'Safari tablet' comments floating around the past week? It's making an awful lot of good sense to me..... and it ought to scare the bejeesus out of not just the phone manufacturers, but just about anyone else as well.
 
So no mention of docking port accessibility? Does this mean my hope of a GPS receiver, microphone, and cell network card for the iPod Touch is all but gone?
 
Highly Annoyed...

... by these crappy bits -

a) Developer needs to pay $99 per Application to Apple to get it on the Apple store - WTF? If I am a free software developer why do I pay Apple to distribute my apps - Thanks, but no thanks, I can and will do it myself.

b) Apple takes 30% of the Application sales revenue and ostensibly calls it "for store upkeep" - wow, so if my App is worth 100$ and it sells 100 copies a day Apple will take out 3000$ per day to keep their store up and running. For what? Can't be bandwidth, can't be any other per download costs. So this just stinks of greed on Apple's part.

c) Even after paying Apple tax I have to put my App on iTunes store - no other choices. So this forces the Developers to use Macs to develop, and forces both Developer and User to use iTunes to distribute/consume.

So Apple is sucking the bucks from whatever they can without giving single sensible reason as to why and denying choices to the users and developers.

It just stinks of greed - nothing else can explain this seemingly cleverly designed "SDK business". Sorry Apple - you are no longer the company you were - Microsoft suddenly sounds lot better - they at least have good business sense of what will work and what will not.
 
Heavy said:
Mac only sdk *sobs* :(
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Did you seriouly expect Apple to release Xcode for another platform? That would have been a HUGE amount of work. As it turns out the iPhone runs Mac OS X. There was just about zero chance that you'd be able to code, test and debug mac os apps on anything other than mac os.

I figure that to build anything worth using you will have to spend at least 100 or 200 hours of work Even those simple demos took that long and they had Apple engineers on site and on call. me or you working at home, heck we've got 1,000 pages of docs to read before we can start. hundreds of hours. If you can invest that much time you can spend a few hundred bucks on a used Mac Mini, or a macbook
 
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