Steve Jobs Announces 3rd Party SDK for iPhone for February 2008

[plumbingandtech]

I think the prices you just listed are insane. Apple may distribute apps through iTunes and they may charge a certain amount, but those prices are way off. First off, it is likely there will be many apps that are free. Second, $9.99 is a crazy amount for anything short of a mobile version of MS Office. I think the most an app would sell for is $4.99, anything more is going to hurt sales. I could see between $0.99 - $4.99, but anything more likely wouldn't sell unless it was an extremely ground breaking amazing app.

You really need to go here to see what prices we are looking at when the apps become available thru the itunes store.

http://software.brighthand.com/homeSoftware.asp?platform=-1&sString=Business+&+Finance&CatID=1

a $4.99 max for iphone apps is just not going to be the case.

 

[Yvan256]

App suggestion - please someone make (once SDK is out)

A MOD/S3M/XM/etc player!

Thanks in advance!

P.S.: Yes I know I could convert those to AAC files, however the original files will be much, much smaller, not to mention the looping ability which lacks in the AAC files (the way MOD files do it, i.e. start at 0:00, loop back at 0:30).

 

[mrrydogg]

Uh - NO. And why only some and not all? Jobs has his back to the wall. If he doesn't and hasn't it's his own fault. And this after breaking people's devices - as many pundits say further it was done deliberately.

You may gain a few dorky apps for your precious iPhone but the basic tenet of Steve Jobs "to own and have a 100% grasp on the whole banana" has not changed and never will change. Steve Jobs is the antithesis of open source and open systems. He hates those things. Period. So you get what he gives you - or in this case after Nokia surged through the gaffe what he is forced to give you. Again, this might be perception only as regards the iPhone but Jobs had many chances. He could have nixed the idea of making bricks out of expensive devices. He could have spoken sooner. Etc. His reaction now is embarrassingly too close to the recent Nokia campaign. And finally, again, this is how Steve Jobs is. He wants the whole banana. If you like his banana, then go for it but don't expect people who are more wide awake and free thinking than you to "shut up now". Nothing's essentially changed.

I gotta leave this part in because it's so cool.

Your obviously not a fan of smart business people. Go ahead and dwell on the people who hacked their phones and bricked them. It was their fault not Apple's. Its a business! You don't understand how that works do you?

Why would assume that we would be getting a "few dorky apps"? Yeah, I am always thinking to myself "Man their are no software apps for the Mac!". What an ignorant statement.

And by the way he is complementing Nokia, not slamming them. Learn how to read and think at the same time. It might help you before you make these kind of posts which are so uneducated they are almost forgettable.

 

[Project]

sdk=more mac sales

Interesting thought. I wonder if the SDK will be exclusive to XCode? More than likely.

Come on board, developers using Windows. The water is lovely

 

[BornAgainMac]

So sorry, my beloved Blackberry, looks like that evil iPhone that invaded your territory will eventually fly solo on my geek belt.

Now to sit back and wait for:
- Word/Excel editor
- "Today"-style appointment/calls/mail integrator
- File manager
- IM client(s)
- Useful e-mail client
- Freecell game
- Solitaire game
- Crossword puzzle program (for .puz files)
- Global "finder" -- like Spotlight
- eWallet
- Financial portfolio tracker
- Financial/Scientific calculator

Don't forget these favorites:
- Norton Utilities Mobile Edition
- Norton Antivirus
- Bootcamp
- Defrag
- Uninstaller
- Microsoft Office
- Partition Magic
- Ghost
- Visual Basic
- Internet Explorer
- Virtual Mobile PC
- iPhone Fortran
- Frontpage
- SQL Server

 

[morespce54]

Hope is not going to charge for Mail.app, I still feel it should be included. And in relation to the iPhone and Touch how will generation be differed other than more storage, if SJ mentioned that the iPhone will have free applications and software features upgradability.

Sorry OT but is Mail.app included on the iPod Touch?

 

[mrrydogg]

As long as they're not standing inline at the MR Kool-Aid dispenser, yes they are. Besides: if you weren't staggering under the weight of all the Kool-Aid you'd see the simplicity in it. 1. Nokia attack; 2. Jobs does an about face. Wow. I mean WOW. I am SO IMPRESSED.

About face? Not following you.

Again, Nokia compliment, not attack.

 

[farmboy]

A sequence of events...

As long as they're not standing inline at the MR Kool-Aid dispenser, yes they are. Besides: if you weren't staggering under the weight of all the Kool-Aid you'd see the simplicity in it. 1. Nokia attack; 2. Jobs does an about face. Wow. I mean WOW. I am SO IMPRESSED.

A sequence of events does not imply causation.

Jobs said at the iMac keynote that Apple wanted 3rd party apps and was looking for the right way to do that. You miss that? Nokia had nothing to do with it.

 

[blilly]

I second that thought:

You really need to go here to see what prices we are looking at when the apps become available thru the itunes store.

http://software.brighthand.com/homeSoftware.asp?platform=-1&sString=Business+&+Finance&CatID=1

a $4.99 max for iphone apps is just not going to be the case.

I honestly see an opportunity for corporate/enterprise level apps that my company would pay $100 + for if the functionality took some of the strain off people lugging laptops around. I barely go to my computer anymore now that I use an iPhone ... I only go there for Quicken for home and layout apps for work.

 

[Unspeaked]

Sorry OT but is Mail.app included on the iPod Touch?

No, it's not.

 

[Analog Kid]

My guess is this SDK won't be backwards compatible with existing phones. I expect this will be released at the same time as the next gen iPhone. If I had to guess, they're looking at running a dual processor setup where one core is devoted to phone functions and the second is available for application use. Some sort of virtual machine is possible too, I suppose. He did say "native development" which I interpret to exclude offline webapps.

I am soooo looking forward to getting an iMac loaded with Leopard and its development tools. Its been years since I've written any code for the Mac and on a personal level I'd like to get back to it. Hopefully the iPhone/iTouch SDK will be available for free through ADC as opposed to just for the premier membership.

Unfortunately the interest is personal, not work related - at least ... not yet. Let me loose with it and maybe I can bend a few ears.

This is my primary interest as well. Cocoa is too much fun, I'd love to be able to put stuff on a mobile device. I want to be able to do little stuff myself, without shelling out for a Premier membership. That said, if this was only targeted at top tier developers I don't think it would warrant this kind of announcement-- apps would have just appeared the way games did for iPod.

since 2008 is a leap year, I can almost sense Steve Jobs will release the SDK on February 29th at 6:00pm

iPhone development leaps ahead, Feb 29th.

 

[Unspeaked]

Don't forget these favorites:
- Norton Utilities Mobile Edition
- Norton Antivirus
- Bootcamp
- Defrag
- Uninstaller
- Microsoft Office
- Partition Magic
- Ghost
- Visual Basic
- Internet Explorer
- Virtual Mobile PC
- iPhone Fortran
- Frontpage
- SQL Server

And, of course, Final Cut Pro...

 

[72930]

Sorry OT but is Mail.app included on the iPod Touch?

No, but people have hacked it onto the touch...

P.S. Not a capital T for iPod touch

 

[morespce54]

No, it's not.

No, but people have hacked it onto the touch...

P.S. Not a capital T for iPod touch

Dargn... Thank you!

 

[DaBrain]

... and that, my friends, is when I will be betting my iphone.

How much are u betting?

 

[plumbingandtech]

I honestly see an opportunity for corporate/enterprise level apps that my company would pay $100 + for if the functionality took some of the strain off people lugging laptops around. I barely go to my computer anymore now that I use an iPhone ... I only go there for Quicken for home and layout apps for work.

Exactly. And the Enterpise market is going to be big for the iphone now that there will be an SDK for things like Exchange Servers etc.

RIM just took a hit today.

Anyone who thinks these apps are all going to be under 10 bucks is in for a cold splash of reality.

 

[diamond.g]

I think the prices you just listed are insane. Apple may distribute apps through iTunes and they may charge a certain amount, but those prices are way off. First off, it is likely there will be many apps that are free. Second, $9.99 is a crazy amount for anything short of a mobile version of MS Office. I think the most an app would sell for is $4.99, anything more is going to hurt sales. I could see between $0.99 - $4.99, but anything more likely wouldn't sell unless it was an extremely ground breaking amazing app.

Hmm, 9.99 may be expensive to you, but to the rest of use whom have paid for Windows Mobile/Palm apps it is about par for course. Some apps are even more expensive. If the app is good people will pay for it. If it isn't the developer will either reduce price or go out of business.

 

[ivi7]

No, but people have hacked it onto the touch...

P.S. Not a capital T for iPod touch

I always end up putting a capital T for the iPod touch

 

[Hattig]

Right then. In the month before this SDK release there will be Version 2 of the iPhone / iPod Touch OS X, and this version will fix all the security issues with the current software, including the fact that applications run as superuser. In addition there will be the robust stable API available for these applications (I wouldn't be surprised if the current iPhone is running on a gently shifting API basis, release to release) and there's probably a horde of documentation to complete. In essence this will be the first complete full version of OS X Mobile (for want of a better name), pretty much like Mac OS X 10.1 was what the release version should have been. The current OS X Mobile is what they crowbarred together after the project got stuck and all the Mac OS X developers were brought in.

The SDK will be integrated into XCode of course. There will be the option to develop a project for "OS X Mobile / ARM" or "Mac OS X Intel & PowerPC", possibly with component sharing between the two.

What else can people think of?

 

[chr1s60]

You really need to go here to see what prices we are looking at when the apps become available thru the itunes store.

http://software.brighthand.com/homeSoftware.asp?platform=-1&sString=Business+&+Finance&CatID=1

a $4.99 max for iphone apps is just not going to be the case.

Perhaps it is just my personal opinion then. I wouldn't want to spend $20 or more for an app on my phone. I can't really think of anything I need that is worth that much to take up space on my phone and possibly slow it down or take away battery life. I use my phone mostly for calling, texting, web browsing, and email so maybe that is why. I could understand businesses paying a lot of money for these things, but I personally do not need any specific app in order to improve what is already a brilliant device.

 

[Avatar74]

I think the prices you just listed are insane. Apple may distribute apps through iTunes and they may charge a certain amount, but those prices are way off. First off, it is likely there will be many apps that are free. Second, $9.99 is a crazy amount for anything short of a mobile version of MS Office. I think the most an app would sell for is $4.99, anything more is going to hurt sales. I could see between $0.99 - $4.99, but anything more likely wouldn't sell unless it was an extremely ground breaking amazing app.

I disagree. I see games for $4.99 on mobile systems with nowhere near the graphics or UI capabilities of the iPhone. Who the hell pays $3.99 for a copy of Pitfall that looks no better than it did on the Atari 2600?

I think that the feature-rich nature, ease of use, and especially the ease of install/uninstall are all premiums for which Apple will be able to command a higher price. Pricing goes beyond just cost or features.

If Apple can easily charge three to four times for their keyboards what third parties charge for theirs, and you can definitely tell there's a difference in quality to boot, then surely they can charge a premium for apps and such if the user experience far exceeds that of the same apps on another system... and there's every reason to imagine that it can.

 

[~J~]

So 3rd party apps shortly after Feb... I doubt we will see any "authorized" apps to compete with Apple's iTunes ringtone service tho... would love to see Ambrosia's iToner get the blessing... but just dont see that happening...

 

[whatever]

Works for me.

If I want to use 3rd party applications (I have yet to do so), I want them to just work. Not have to jump through the hoops to get it initially set up and then have to do it all over again when Apple updates.

If it means waiting until Feb. then so be it.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to put my ear to the ground to listen for the herd of trolls likely heading this way.

I with you.

One of the last apps I installed on my iPhone actually bricked it (it was the GPS one) and luckily 1.1.1 brought it back.

As for prices of the apps, remember that you always get what you pay for!

 

[whatever]

Interesting thought. I wonder if the SDK will be exclusive to XCode? More than likely.

Come on board, developers using Windows. The water is lovely

God I hope it is exclusive to XCode. Can you imagine all of the brokenstandards that non-XCode developers would bring to the iPhone. Either play in our sandbox or get out!

 

[Project]

God I hope it is exclusive to XCode. Can you imagine all of the brokenstandards that non-XCode developers would bring to the iPhone. Either play in our sandbox or get out!

Yup, im pretty certain it will be XCode or die... which is great.

Remember this slide.

The man is a visionary.