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iPod touch SDK what will it do to the ipod scene?

luffytubby

luffytubby

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 22, 2008
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Someone has talked vigorously about this update to the Ipod Touch. but what will it do?


if everyone currently jailbreaks, then what will an official tool do? will there be better or more powerful apps or is it just hype?

SDK is software development kit, right? its a tool for creating programs ipod touch? then what will be able to see? will it change anything?


I currently have an Ipod Nano first gen. I dont know if I should get an Ipod Touch. Im worried about lifespan, price and if I really would need it. it sure looks cool. will there be anything useful software in store for the touch in the future? perhaps something that has something to do with this SDK?
 
what the SDK will do is change the status of the ipod touch from an appliance (which all ipods have been until now) to a mobile computing platform. difference between the two is that the former is a fixed-functionality device (like your walkman), whereas the latter is a general computing platform (like your desktop computer but not as powerful, of course).

the fact that the promotion of the ipod to a mobile platform status is an official maker-driven effort is not negligible either. it means you can have a viable applications market for the device (impossible for a hacked device). which means developers will be interested to make serious applications for it. either commercial of free.
 
SDK will be good because unlike the jailbreak scene, apps developed for with SDK would go through quality control by Apple. On the downside there is speculation weather apps will be sold like songs and videos on itunes. If Apple can keep this like the Widget development community, I see a viable alternative to jailbreaking your ipod. But I wouldnt let go of my jailbreak apps just yet...
 
I think it essentially spells the end of the iPod hacking community, though I know a lot of dedicated iPod hackers disagree with this assessment.

Put it this way, from here on it, all iPod touches include Apple's mobile software and are capable of downloading third-party software developed using Apple's official tools. I don't see any reason to not foresee an explosion in the quantity of applications available for the iPhone and touch. I think the device will quickly evolve from very cool to extra cool.
 
The SDK will open up the Touch and Phone to applications written by novice and experienced programmers.

Not everybody writes efficient, tight code. Many of these apps will also store data - another memory hog.

This, I believe is why Apple released the 32 gig upgrade yesterday.
 
Not the sole reason but a big one.

When Apple is not developing the apps they have no control over the data storage needs or executable size.
 
But will people be able to still use all these SDK developed programs, while having their Ipods Jailbroken? so that they can do both? or is it the one or the other?


how powerful is touch? what kind of intensitivty would be able to see in the touch? is touch as powerful as a psp? or a ds? or a asus eee? or like a blackberry?
 
luffytubby said:
Someone has talked vigorously about this update to the Ipod Touch. but what will it do?
Click to expand...
The SDK may or may not include any updates to the Touch. SDK means Software Development Kit, it is a collection of tools and data to make programs for the Touch. Most likely this means that programmers on a Mac can write apps for the Touch.
if everyone currently jailbreaks, then what will an official tool do? will there be better or more powerful apps or is it just hype?
Click to expand...
Well we don't know yet. As you may know Apple hasn't released anything. So we can only speculate over what Apple will require. If the trends at Apple are consistent, the resulting SDK won't be good for the consumer.
SDK is software development kit, right? its a tool for creating programs ipod touch? then what will be able to see? will it change anything?
Click to expand...
Yeah... I'm not sure what you mean here. A SDK lets you, or more likely in your case a programmer, write apps for the Touch. What you can write is limited to your imagination and the limitations of the SDK. It is the limitations that Apple may impose that worry the community right now.
I currently have an Ipod Nano first gen. I dont know if I should get an Ipod Touch. Im worried about lifespan, price and if I really would need it. it sure looks cool.
Click to expand...
If you are wondering if you will need it then you really don't.
will there be anything useful software in store for the touch in the future?
Click to expand...
Yes no matter what Apple does there will be software coming, the question is will it be useful to you personally. The biggest problem is that really useful software might be prohibited. This is one of the reasons I have put off a Touch or iPhone purchase. Frankly I want to know if the SDK will support the development of Skype and similar packages.
perhaps something that has something to do with this SDK?
Click to expand...

Huh??? The SDK is for the production of programs for the Touch based devices. You really seemed to be confused here.

Dave
 
wizard said:
Well we don't know yet. As you may know Apple hasn't released anything. So we can only speculate over what Apple will require. If the trends at Apple are consistent, the resulting SDK won't be good for the consumer.
Click to expand...

What evidence do you have to support this statement?
 
When is the SDK supposed to be released? Last I heard was just "February". If it was released tomorrow, when would we start seeing the first apps?

Also...great handle, IJ Reilly.
 
IgnatiusTheKing said:
Also...great handle, IJ Reilly.
Click to expand...

Are you making the same reference? As in, Ignatius J. Reilly meets Elvis?

On the SDK, I think the last release date was "end of February" but as of late last year, we were hearing about some developers having already received beta versions. I'd expect to start seeing software next month -- but I guess that makes me an optimist, and we can't have that.
 
Yes, same reference. I have no idea why I added "The King" to it, but it's been my user name in several places over the last few years. Best work of fiction I've ever read.

Thanks for the answer on the SDK, too.
 
What it will do is make the Touch a gaming platform. IIRC, the Touch is a more powerful platform than the PSP (which I own), and a lot less hassle to use (don't have to carry disks around or swap memory cards).

Nintendo has demonstrated with the DS the potential of innovative handheld gaming, but it hasn't become mainstream because the DS and PSP are primarily gaming devices. There are many more reasons to buy an iPod Touch, and once you have one, spending 10 bucks on a game isn't much of a risk.
 
seems like this needs to be said explicitly: don't expect new applications at the release day of the SDK!

developers can start writing those apps only after they have got the SDK. yes, there have been rumored cases of earlier access to the SDK but even most likely true those are exceptions and can't compare to the potential developer audience out there. anyway, you can expect to see interesting stuff months-to-half-a-year into the lifespan of the SDK, outside of samples from apple.

ps: the sdk is expected around 23rd, unofficially.

pps: from my understanding, i'd place the ipt's 'power' somewhere in the psp ballpark, though the latter would have more raw power, but the ipt may have to offer more interesting features.
 
gbross said:
Not the sole reason but a big one.

When Apple is not developing the apps they have no control over the data storage needs or executable size.
Click to expand...

IJ Reilly said:
I doubt this was the sole or even major reason. People were demanding more storage for music and video from the first day the iPod touch was released.
Click to expand...

gbross said:
The SDK will open up the Touch and Phone to applications written by novice and experienced programmers.

Not everybody writes efficient, tight code. Many of these apps will also store data - another memory hog.

This, I believe is why Apple released the 32 gig upgrade yesterday.
Click to expand...

I think you really have to be bad at coding to really take up that much space. The programs shouldn't be too much bigger than the programs on the hacked touches right?
 
pizz said:
SDK will be good because unlike the jailbreak scene, apps developed for with SDK would go through quality control by Apple.
Click to expand...

Well, they might. I'm not letting Apple get its grubby mitts on any of MY apps though!
 
Agathon said:
What it will do is make the Touch a gaming platform. IIRC, the Touch is a more powerful platform than the PSP (which I own), and a lot less hassle to use (don't have to carry disks around or swap memory cards).

Nintendo has demonstrated with the DS the potential of innovative handheld gaming, but it hasn't become mainstream because the DS and PSP are primarily gaming devices. There are many more reasons to buy an iPod Touch, and once you have one, spending 10 bucks on a game isn't much of a risk.
Click to expand...

holy crap? are you serious? more powerful than the psp?

the psp has like a 333 mhz processor. its almost as powerful as a ps2! have you seen god of war on psp? it looks like a ps2 game:eek:
 
the ARM in the ipod/iphone is supposedly 620MHz, the amount of embedded RAM is 128MB of unknown bandwidth (don't expect extraordinary figures here). the amount of memory that will be available to apps is grand unknown at this stage.

the PSP has two MIPS rated at 333MHz and a GPU running at 166MHz, 4MB of embedded memory with formidable bandwidth and 32MB of non-embedded DRAM. the amount of general purpose ram available to apps is 24MB.

the GPU in the ipod (supposedly the MBX non-lite part) is rated at 300M pix/sec and 3.7M tri/sec, whereas the psp GPU is rated at 664M pix/sec and 33M tri/sec. clearly the PSP has the raw-power vertex-crunching advantage over the ipod, not to mention a dedicated TnL engine, entirely absent from the ipod, which has to rely on its cpu for that, but fillrate-wise, factoring in the PVR-architecture advantages of the ipod, the fill rates are fairly comparable. OTOH, the ipod has more pixel to fill on its screen: 480x320 vs 480x272 for the PSP.

bottom line being, even though those numbers speak little by themselves (as every game developer would tell you about raw numbers), you could expect similar ballpark performance from these two devices, if we neglect all other factors that could shatter this estimate to pieces.
 
IJ Reilly said:
What evidence do you have to support this statement?
Click to expand...

Allusions that Steve Jobs himself made with respect to software models he had in mind for the iPhone. He specifically referenced another hand held device manufacture but frankly I've forgotten the name. That is one thing, then the is the obsession with respect to "security" of the iPhone. Security by definition limits what you can do. While my statements are speculation on my part, the writing is on he wall.

There is enough evidence floating out of 1 Infinite Way to suggest that the SDK won't be a free as what many want. How free it will be is an open question. If you are me You want to see services like Skype and SIP based programs on the Touch based devices. I'm probably willing to accept more limitations than most, but if I can't make full use of the internet the SDK won't be all that attractive.

In any event the definitive word on this is coming very quickly. I can wait until the end of the month no problem.

Dave
 
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