The iPhone SDK
Yesterday, Apple released the iPhone SDK that will allow developers to finally write native applications to run on the iPhone. The SDK has received just as much hype as the iPhone introduction itself. Many people thought they’d be underwhelmed but Apple has delivered. The biggest feature that people requested was for the iPhone to be able to interact with Microsoft Exchange. For the enterprise, this is huge. For regular users like myself, it’s not a big deal.
I’m excited about the SDK because it gives developers another outlet to sell software. I might be getting ahead of myself though. I don’t even have applications shipping on Mac OS X, let alone am ready to write applications for the iPhone. Heck, I don’t even own an iPhone (yet). Most independent Mac developers that sell their applications have home-grown web stores. I am waiting for Golden-Braeburn to release their framework for a complete store and serialization API that will be entirely incorporated into my applications. This will save a lot of time on my part.
iPhone applications will be hosted and sold through Apple’s App Store. This new software will be included in the 2.0 release in late June (we hope). Developers get to keep 70% of the sales and Apple keeps the rest to pay for bandwidth, payment processing, etc. To me, this is a fantastic deal for the developer. Apple has, I think, a rock-solid distribution model that has been proven with the iTunes Music Store and then did it again with the Wi-Fi Music Store which lets the user download music directly to your computer or iPhone and iPod touch. The App Store will act the same way. You can purchase an application in your computer and install it through iTunes onto your iPhone or iPod touch or do all of this directly from the devices.
This type of distribution is beneficial to developers because everyone with an iPhone is a potential customer for your app. With a central hub for your applications, everyone with an iPhone or iPod touch can browse by category this gives the developer lots of exposure. With potentially millions of users looking at your iPhone app, if they like what they see, they will most likely go to your website and look at your other applications that you’re selling on the Mac. I think a lot of developers will see increases in sales on their desktop applications from customers who are buying their iPhone applications.
