

Apple: iPhone SDK officially available in February - jsjenkins168
http://www.apple.com/startpage/

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asmosoinio
Interesting news -- Apple promises release of iPhone SDK, Nokia introduces S60
touch interface:

[http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/16/nokias-s60-touch-
interfac...](http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/16/nokias-s60-touch-interface-
demonstrated/)
[http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/6089_S60_Touch_Inte...](http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/6089_S60_Touch_Interface_Launched.php)

Related?

(Don't know if S60 means anything to people in the US, but it is the major
smartphone platform in Europe and Asia)

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tlrobinson
Great! I've been attempting to develop iPhone applications using the
unofficial toolchain, but it hasn't been easy considering the complete lack of
documentation and smorgasboard of new/different frameworks. While, in some
respects, it's very similar to programming on Mac OS X with Objective-C and
some of the same Cocoa frameworks, the interface frameworks are completely
different.

It will be nice to get an Apple supported solution.

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cstejerean
I knew it was just a matter of time before Apple opened up the phone for
outside developers. I don't understand why everyone blamed Apple for trying to
monopolize the phone. When a company just enters the mobile business you have
to cut them some slack and give them credit for doing a few things well
instead of trying to cram everything into the initial release.

~~~
jsjenkins168
It remains to be seen on exactly how "open" the iPhone will be with the
official SDK, however. I will give Apple the benefit of the doubt and expect
that they will be hands-off and let developers distribute and monetize their
iPhone applications as they choose.

But as several reports have indicated, Apple may use iTunes to maintain
control over app approval, distribution, and purchases. I really hope this
doesn't end up being the case.

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dottertrotter
This is great. I think the capabilities of the iphone touch screen system are
gonna make for some great gaming possibilities that we haven't seen before. I
know I've got some ideas already at least.

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testapplication
Just pointing out why the GPLv3 is nothing but a pointless complication: as
long as your app doesn't come installed on the iPhone by default, it can be
licensed GPLv3; Apple can sign the binary, and, as the iPhone is the only
platform your app is made for, you bypass the whole 'tivoization' clause.

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Alex3917
Loopt is going to have to go on the offensive for the next few months if it
wants to remain the top player in its space once the barriers to entry are
lowered. I wonder how this will shake out.

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jsjenkins168
I just hope Apple is fair on whos apps they permit. Assuming anyone can build
an application provided it passes certain criteria, there will be definitely
be a frenzy of 3rd party app development. This could be a great opportunity
for mobile software startups.

~~~
dfranke
It sounded like they're just verifying identity and nothing further. My guess
is that it'll be implemented by requiring an SSL certificate signed by a
trusted authority.

~~~
jsjenkins168
Rumors have it that Apple is looking to emulate T-Mobile's Sidekick
distribution platform with iTunes. Presumably they have employed the help of
some of the Sidekick developers for this.

With the Sidekick service you first have to prove that you are a developer,
and they give you a key which unlocks the phone for development access. When
you have developed a stable app, you submit it to through an approval process
and then the application is made available on the Sidekick/T-Mobile app site.

If this is the case with Apple, then they could control app approval,
distribution, and even pricing through iTunes. It will likely be tightly
controlled.

~~~
dfranke
I think they know better than that. You can do pretty well on Inkling just by
shorting every rumor about Apple.

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comatose_kid
I had just read this on an investment board a few minutes ago. This rocks.

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Dauntless
The benevolent dictator shows more signs of goodwill towards his subjects.

