“Google Code is hosting the first third-party native application ever for the iPhone. A real full-fledged iPhone application with a graphic user interface and its own icon in the iPhone home screen. Yes, this is not a Web 2.0 app but the real thing,” Jesus Diaz reports for Gizmodo.
“The application is MobileTerminal, ‘a terminal emulator application for the iPhone,'” Diaz reports.
“While most iPhone users won’t find a terminal emulator exciting, there are plenty of reasons to get thrilled about this development. First and foremost, this is the first iPhone native graphical application done without an official SDK from Apple (there are others, but they are low-level.) This means that hackers are steady at work trying to do useful stuff with the JesusPhone beyond unlocking it and that more applications will follow,” Diaz reports.
“Second, if Google Code is hosting this it probably means either that 1) Apple is giving the nod to this kind of development, 2) they are going to release an SDK or 3) Apple will realize the need for people to access the iPhone as a development platform to do really cool stuff with it. All three options are good for me,” Diaz reports. “And finally, and most important, we can only hope that someone develops ScummVM and MAME, two game emulation platforms, soon. I want unlimited classic arcade games and Monkey Island in my iPhone. Now.”
Full article, with links and video of the application in use, here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “RadDoc” for the heads up.]
Why would Apple give a nod to this sort of thing. It seems to me that if they wanted 3rd party apps, they’d release an official SDK. And I think we’ll probably have some sort of iPhone SDK by MacWorld 2008 at the very latest – and hopefully sooner.
Oops,
Apple can’t release an official SDK because of their agreement with AT&T. At some point, if there are enough apps being developed without an Apple SDK, they can turn to AT&T and say: We tried to stop it, but now we have to control it.
Apple has the next generation platform in its hands. This would immediately mean the platform wars are really over and Apple destroyed the death star at the last second.
I hope the recent comments about ‘we wanted to crawl before we walked’ mean that the iPhone will be opening up.
Please don’t blow this, Apple. It’s the ultimate opportunity.
Agreed. This is the ULTIMATE opportunity for Apple. They HAVE TO open this up.
Ok, this is all fascinating, third party apps on the iPhone. And not some Web Two-(D)oh! thingy. I am thrilled beyond bladder-control. But I don’t get the bit about SummVM and Mame (besides having played Monkey Island for days on end.) Buy a portable game-console, or a LAPTOP if you need that multi-functionality.
This is a *phone*, added to an iPod. It’s not supposed to do a whole lot more, other than giving you the chance to browse the web a bit, send and receive email, calendaring etc.
The iPhone is NOT a document editor, game-console, or much more else than it already is.
Sheesh, nothing to see here. Just move along, grumble grumble
Uggh! AT&T gets to dictate whether or not Apple releases an SDK. How craptastic is that?
Apple should’ve made the iPhone carrier-agnostic, included SKYPE, and let the buyer choose the carrier. I know, I know, you wouldn’t have visual voicemail. But I’d trade that in anyday for an open phone with SKYPE and with 3rd party support.
ScummVM means i could play Full Throttle on my (yet to be acquired) iPhone. Excellent! Gone Jackals rock!
Chris D.,
I completely disagree. I think the iPhone is way more than a phone added to an iPod. It can do so much more, in fact, because it’s software upgradeable. It’s closer to a laptop than any other smart phone out there.
I think it could be a great game console, and it could easily be a fantastic doc editor with some simple multitouch gestures.
I’m totally geeked about it.
@ Chris D.:
Why? Why can it not be those things? Why does it have to be limited to those functions you list?
@ Diaz & Macdan2004 & Chris ][:
It does what it says on the package, but as with most spoilt brats & grown-ups these days, as soon as you have what you wanted then no sooner do you need the thing you think you don’t have!
Wait until it has acquired critical mass & AT&T have recouped alot of the initial investment they made to support it, then you will see the platform opened not only to third party apps. but to other networks as well.
Never forget that the others were offered the iphone before Cingular but they all turned it down claiming that Apple was asking for too much. Now I bet you they wish they had accepted the offer and taken a gamble just as Cingular did.
When you win the lottery or the Horse race, others do not start saying you should share your winnings with those less fortunate than you because you didn’t have all that money before & therefor is too much for one person who is not used to having that much to have it all in one go!
The iphone is Apples invention & creation, the platform it operates on is an Apple creation of which Cingular were prepared to implement & invest in, AT&T realised its potential alot sooner than any of the other networks & bought Cingular or absorbed it in its entirerity, they should be allowed to recoup their investment, refine the product so that the market (you & I) are happy before openning it for general release.
Drink some Camel’s Milk! The Fart you squish out will expunge your unrealistic demands and thus assist you to appreciate what you already have to its fullest extent before looking over the fence for more!!!
Who cares…. Buy a PSP… Or a DS… Or a Treo. Some of you will NEVER be satisfied. NEVER!
And the other half have no idea what you are talking about. The lack of SDK has nothing to do with AT&T.
@Chris D.
if i could get slightly better than notes doc editing, and the ability to sync and play keynotes on the thing and get a video out plug, i could replace my laptop with an iPhone. how is that ONLY a phone and an iPod.
i am hoping that they have a 60gig iPod without the phone, with the video out and touch screen, with keynote playing and basic doc editing in the future there somewhere….
@Camel’s Milk and Jebus:
I’m not making the argument that Apple should do anything or anyone should hack or anything else of the sort… just simply asking “why”, by whatever means happen to come to pass, can it NOT be those things? Technically it can be many things, so if it’s technically possible, it may happen.
No need to go calling anyone (indirectly) a spoiled brat, thank you very much.
Why does the internet seem to always bring out the worst in people? Do you go around talking to people like this in your day-to-day (non-internet) life?
I seriously doubt that AT&T can dictate anything to Apple about what goes on the iPhone. Apple and Steve Jobs said that they are working on letting 3rd party developed apps. They want to make sure the quality is up to snuff so consumers don’t bring there phones back to apple because of poorly written software that has crashed there phone. That is the whole reason why up till now there aren’t any 3rd party developed apps. And the only reason.
How do you play MAME games without keys/buttons?
So… my question is… if anyone has tried this out… is there an SSH client that can be used from the terminal app?
The same way you type without a keyboard on your iPhone
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MW: Southern
Where exactly does ‘southern’ fit in 😕
The iPhone doesn’t do it for me and I think people are eventually going to realize it’s a fad object, but not really useful outside the geek community. Meaning the mainstream won’t adopt it.
The iPod for music, now that’s 100% useful.
iPod for video, eh….
Laptops for surfing the internet and everything else a computer is needed, that’s 100% useful.
But a phone with only a 2 mega pixel camera, no 3G, hard to see screen when surfing etc.
Once people “show off” their fad product iPhone, once the “wow” factor has diminished, people are going to ask themselves if the iPhone is really worth spending $600 and a lot of time syching to a computer (especially Winblows) to get any practical use out of the thing. I think they rather get a cheap macbook or PC laptop instead and get tons more functionality and a larger screen.
The iPhone is turning out like the AppleTV, geeks are hacking it to get any usefulness out of it.
The iPod is good because you can choose to put all of your music on it and never have to hook it up to a computer again, but downloading videos to it and having to resynch it for new video content is a hassle.
ditto for the iPhone, oh gee I can sit here for hours and work the bugs out, download content, oppps gotta DCSS that DVD and downsize the video… there goes three hours…
What I’m trying to say is the iPhone synching and video for iPods is downright inconvient and painstaking slow annoying process.
Remember Apple reinvented their mouse to Mighty Mouse? Well MM absolutely $ucks beans totally compared to Logitec mice.
Logitec mice are well thought out devices, MM isn’t.
Neither is the iPhone very well thought out.
The iPhone is like a a creative painting by artist. You tell the artist you don’t like it and he says WTF is wrong with you instead of asking why and getting the others opinion.
I looked at the iPhone, it’s a nice device, but a fad product with little true functionality if your already a computer user.
thats my 2¢ tough kitty titty if you flame me
Awww, isn’t that cute. A troll named Mumps has arrived on the scene.
And golly, wouldn’t it be fun to bet the troll about $10,000 that he will be proven wrong to the extreme over the next year?
Of course, when he lost the bet, he wouldn’t be able to pay you your $10,000. This is apparent, in that it is obvious he simply is miffed that he can’t afford to buy an iPhone. Therefore, the iPhone is just a fad.
His best line is, “Neither is the iPhone very well though out”. That’s pure gold, from a humor point of view. It comes from a guy who can’t even run his own life well enough to afford an iPhone. Classic stuff, Mumps. Keep it comin’.
Guys, I think Mumps makes a good point. I’d much rather carry a laptop in my pocket than an iPhone any day.
If only the laptop would fit in my pocket…
1) A camera phone that’s “only” 2 megapixels is not a deal breaker for anyone. People that want to take good pictures do it with a dedicated camera. Period. Add to that the fact that there is a fairly good chance that the current iteration of the iPhone is quite possibly not the last, and there is the ever so remote possibility that the camera on a future model will be better.
2) No 3G is of course not optimal. But I think everyone knows that. But again, there is a fairly good chance that the current iteration of the iPhone is quite possibly not the last, and there is the ever so remote possibility that the iPhone will not be stuck with EDGE for time immemorial. I think the concept is called “revision”.
3) Hard to see screen when surfing? What, are you an idiot? As opposed to what other phone you can surf on? As opposed to what other phone with a comparable screen? Pray tell, hotshot.
4) Your complaint about syncing is pure talking out of your ass. Especially since everyone here knows you don’t have an iPhone. You’re a Windows dickhead and you can’t afford an iPhone, and THAT, is your problem.
mumps was just itching to get his point across, and he was right in some spots.