Technology news and Jobs 
Fuzzy Logic iPhone SDK: the WOW starts all over again!
Fuzzy Logic iPhone SDK: the WOW starts all over again! | iPhone SDK: the WOW starts all over again! |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Friday, 07 March 2008 | |
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The iPhone – and iPod Touch – SDK (software development kit) has just been announced, and it seems to deliver almost everything developers could have asked for – and it comes as part of an upcoming iPhone 2.0 software release, in beta today, and set for delivery in June. If you’re interested, you can watch the entire SDK event at Apple’s website – I’m sure this video is being heavily watched all over the world as we speak. The new features include enterprise support, a wireless App store that lives on your iPhone (or through iTunes on your PC), the choice to release paid or free software (which still must be authorised by Apple) and developer access to seemingly all the important hardware capabilities – but there are still a few unknowns. The SDK can be freely downloaded today by ‘selected developers [in the US] and [selected] enterprise customers’, even giving developers who are Mac users a virtual iPhone on their desktops to play with and develop for. Update: A comment at the end of this story suggests the SDK is available to anyone that registers for a free developer account. I hope this is true. However Apple's Developer website specifically states in small lettering: "The iPhone Developer Program will initially be available to a limited number of developers in the U.S. and will expand to other countries in the coming months". If developers can get through this apparent Apple US-only roadblock, it's good news, but you'll have to try it for yourself, and my thoughts are that "your mileage will vary" on your success or otherwise. Now, back to the story: It seems that the virtual iPhone will have the beta of the iPhone 2.0 software – there will be no beta firmware that you’ll be able to install to your existing iPhone, so ‘the rest of us’ who just use and love our iPhones will have to wait until June. And on that note – what’s the bet that June could see both the iPhone 2.0 software released – and a new 3G iPhone to boot? But back to a June release date. This probably means the end of June, as opposed to the start of June, if Apple’s release history is anything to go by, and for iPhone users the update will be free as the iPhone is theoretically delivering Apple ongoing revenue over a two year period, although the notion of ongoing revenue clearly doesn’t apply to those with unlocked iPhones running on non-approved carriers. I’d guess that users of unlocked iPhones will be able to freely update anyway, but naturally would have to wait until the hackers figure out how to unlock the new firmware allowing any GSM SIM card to be used in one, along with re-jailbreaking so that unauthorised apps could still be installed and used, although most developers would likely opt to have their software official available to all iPhone owners. iPod Touch users, who were charged US $20 to upgrade to the 1.1.3 version of the iPod Touch firmware because it delivered a number of the apps that had come on the iPhone as standard, will find themselves being charged a ‘nominal fee’ to upgrade because of US accounting rules that Apple must abide by. The speculation is rife that the nominal fee in mind will be another US $20. At the iPhone SDK event, Steve Jobs said that: “We’re excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community with potentially thousands of native applications for iPhone and iPod touch. iPhone’s enterprise features combined with its revolutionary Multi-Touch user interface and advanced software architecture provide the best user experience and the most advanced software platform ever for a mobile device.” So, what has Apple specifically said about the new iPhone 2.0 features to come in June? Please read onto page 2. |
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