Friday, March 7, 2008 @ 7:03 PM
iPhone SDK = Happy Developer
All I can say is "holy shnikes!" If you missed yesterday's presentation, head over to Apple's site and watch the QuickTime stream. Especially if you're interested in iPhone game development. Check out the demos! The iPhone appears to be more impressive of a platform that I had originally thought.
Apple revealed two things of importance to developers both big and small. First, despite earlier skeptisism over the immediate availability of the SDK... here it is, complete with a visual interface builder and snazzy iPhone emulation (for testing). Very cool. Second, they've already announced a distribution model that equals money for all developers. Even the lonely one's working from their basement (that's not a stab at you, that's a stab at me).
I won't get into much of the details because Apple's iPhone Dev Center has absolutely everything you could possibly need. But I do want to comment on the revenue model since, from what I can gather, that's the only piece that some have reservations about.
All apps will be sold through the iPhone's App Store. You set the price. Apple takes 30 percent. Is Apple's commission too great? That's what's up for debate. But let's look at this objectively. Apple is handling all credit card charges and hosting fees. Additionally, they're making it simple for developers to update their apps through software updates. Since each developer can name their own price, I personally don't see much wrong with this model and I'm more than happy to throw the burden of money transactions at Apple. Let me concentrate on developing, then cut me a check once a month. This all sounds good to me. But what do you think?
Before I wrap today's post I figured I'd "touch" upon a comment we received yesterday.
My response was: "Not initially, since any app developed with the SDK will not publicly be distributed until June. Even after the mobile App Store is launched I find it hard to believe that Web Apps will become obsolete. After all, development for the SDK requires knowledge of a much more complex programming language (compared to HTML/CSS/Javascript) and developers will need to pay $99 in order to distribute their SDK-developed wares. I expect all of the bigger named properties and developers to move strictly to SDK development, but I still think there will be plenty of Web based apps for all."
Yesterday I quickly mentioned that Cocoa development requires knowledge of Objective-C. The same holds true for Cocoa Touch (the programming interface for the iPhone and iPod Touch). So, although anyone with $99 can now develop applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch, their may be a steep learning curve for those only familiar with HTML/Javascript development.
// Ryan Jennings
Apple revealed two things of importance to developers both big and small. First, despite earlier skeptisism over the immediate availability of the SDK... here it is, complete with a visual interface builder and snazzy iPhone emulation (for testing). Very cool. Second, they've already announced a distribution model that equals money for all developers. Even the lonely one's working from their basement (that's not a stab at you, that's a stab at me).
I won't get into much of the details because Apple's iPhone Dev Center has absolutely everything you could possibly need. But I do want to comment on the revenue model since, from what I can gather, that's the only piece that some have reservations about.
All apps will be sold through the iPhone's App Store. You set the price. Apple takes 30 percent. Is Apple's commission too great? That's what's up for debate. But let's look at this objectively. Apple is handling all credit card charges and hosting fees. Additionally, they're making it simple for developers to update their apps through software updates. Since each developer can name their own price, I personally don't see much wrong with this model and I'm more than happy to throw the burden of money transactions at Apple. Let me concentrate on developing, then cut me a check once a month. This all sounds good to me. But what do you think?
Before I wrap today's post I figured I'd "touch" upon a comment we received yesterday.
Do you think having a native SDK will reduce the number of iPhone web apps currently being developed?
jeffrey.t.lynch
My response was: "Not initially, since any app developed with the SDK will not publicly be distributed until June. Even after the mobile App Store is launched I find it hard to believe that Web Apps will become obsolete. After all, development for the SDK requires knowledge of a much more complex programming language (compared to HTML/CSS/Javascript) and developers will need to pay $99 in order to distribute their SDK-developed wares. I expect all of the bigger named properties and developers to move strictly to SDK development, but I still think there will be plenty of Web based apps for all."
Yesterday I quickly mentioned that Cocoa development requires knowledge of Objective-C. The same holds true for Cocoa Touch (the programming interface for the iPhone and iPod Touch). So, although anyone with $99 can now develop applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch, their may be a steep learning curve for those only familiar with HTML/Javascript development.
// Ryan Jennings
MindComet at 7:03 PM - View Post
