Apple’s iPhone “is about to get more than a little help from its friends,” McClatchy Newspapers reports.
“Any day now, Apple is expected to release a developer’s kit that will allow independent programmers to create new applications for the device. While it is common for mainstream PC users to download third-party programs to their computers, it is relatively uncharted territory for average cell-phone users to do the same, observed American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu,” McClatchy Newspapers reports.
“‘It’s going to make the platform more attractive, no question,’ Wu said of the iPhone. What is unknown, he said, is whether the new applications will boost iPhone sales,” McClatchy Newspapers reports.
“The move will give the device – a combination of telephone, multimedia player and WiFi gadget – an array of new features, from games to better ways to sync it with corporate e-mail accounts. And it could eventually help make the iPhone Apple’s iconic product, unseating the iPod as consumers increasingly embrace smart-phone devices,” McClatchy Newspapers reports. “‘I think the phone portion will be reduced as a service on these cool devices. You won’t be buying it because it’s a phone,’ said Jim Grossman, an equity analyst at Thrivent Asset Management in Minneapolis. ‘I call it a mini-computer.'”
“Even without Apple’s technological road map for the iPhone, there already are some 300 ‘underground’ applications created for the device, a powerful indication of interest among code writers to join its universe, said Yankee Group analyst Andrew Jaquith,” McClatchy Newspapers reports.
“It is unclear whether Apple will set up some sort of applications catalog page through its online store iTunes, the way it does now with podcasts. The Cupertino company also could charge fees to developers that want Apple’s official stamp of approval,” McClatchy Newspapers reports. “‘Most applications will need to be signed’ by Apple so when you load it on the phone, you know it’s a genuine application,’ Jaquith said.”
Full article here.
I want ATV remote control on my iPhone and Touch. Now that would be sooooo cool.
Practical side, yeah we have to do it because of the MS monopoly. Exchange integration somehow someway. Activesync is really crappy, perhaps something like RIM. Too bad, but we have to have it.
Go ahead folks, be my Beta testers. I’ll wait for 6 months before I get my iPhone.
Anaknipedro,
I will gladly Beta test. my 3 hours of troubles over the next 6 months will be outweighed heavily by my 6 more months of enjoying the use of my iPhone. I got it the day it came out, and it only gets better, no matter how many “beta” tests it goes though. I can always make a call, and get online, and do what it does. Have fun helping my stock in 6 months when you buy it.
“What is unknown, he said, is whether the new applications will boost iPhone sales,” McClatchy Newspapers reports.
Could there really be any doubt? Most people that talk about Apple and it’s products are idiots.
@anak, you don’t have to install any 3rd-party software at all, so why are you waiting to buy an iPhone? Just buy it, let others test the 3rd-party software, and when you are brave enough to install the 3rd-party software after 6 months, no one will be the wiser.
hhmmmmmmm Could it be on Tuesday??? I know that would be a break from everything that Apple has done this year, but just a thought.
Samsung Death Knell? (j/k)
@Ampar
Add Win Mobile on any device Death Knell.
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here’s a question….how long after the SDK is released can we expect the new Apple approved apps?
I want Steve Jobs to sign my apps
Tuesday…
SLINGBOX PLEEEEEEEEASE!!!
Desperate to sling on my iPhone
I am under the impression, perhaps inaccurately, that on the day the SDK rolls out there will be several (or more) applications available via the iTunes store prepped by third-party developers who were given early access to the SDK and assistance from Apple. Steve has done this kind of thing before, all the way back to the original Mac (ironically, it was Microsoft that had inside access — they had Multiplan available at launch).
I guess we will see in the next week or two, eh?
@ Anaknipedro: Lordy, with an attitude like that, what Mac OS are you running, System 7?? Or is it Windows95?? I, too, have had my iPhone from launch day and it is without question the best telephone I have ever owned, and by far the coolest gadget I have ever used. If you want to keep putting off the sheer joy of using one, I guess that is your choice to make, but it seems like a waste to me.
of course there will be apps on day1… why would this miss the marketing opportunity… this isn’t something abstract like android, this is Apple who is consumer focussed.
knowing apple, this event will not be titled “Launch of the SDK” consumers don’t know what an SDK is… they only understand the end product and the benefits… so the SDK is prob. just one big piece of what will be announced in the upgrade.
I am expecting a file system, wireless file transmission, copy, cut and paste at a minimum, because without these functionalities the range of software that could be created via the SDK would be severely hampered.
and of course this is going to sell more iPhones and iPod touch… the second that IM or iChat is available, the platform takes off and buries blackberry fake SMS push chat. Skype will also kill the blackberry internationally.
The truth is, it will be at least 6 months before I can afford an iPhone. I’m just glad that third party apps will be available and tested by the time I can afford it.
Well Anak, if that is the case, then that is a valid reason to wait. I take back my remarks and hope that you can get an iPhone sooner rather than later. Maybe they will lower the price when they announce the SDK also, as that rumor I herd the other day said. It is the best gadget I have ever owned.
I hope this is truly an open SDK and not just tools for select vendors to release software available on iTunes only.
I’ve been waiting for this for far too long. I’ve been patient (and paranoid) while all my friends with ipod touch’s jailbreak their ipods to get the existing apps (which are really really good now, i can only imagine…), i dont want to risk bricking my ipod when the update comes.
Hurry up Apple! It’s the end of February like you said!