iPhone 2.0: Apple shows world how to create and grow a platform

“Apple just showed everyone how to grow a developer ecosystem,” Carl Howe writes for Notes From Anywhere.

“Apple kicked off the announcement by giving enterprises features they had requested to approve iPhone uses in business… Then Apple kicked things up a notch with the SDK details… But the real surprise was Apple’s efforts to market and develop an ecosystem for third-party iPhone development [including] Kleiner Perkins’ [launch of the] $100 million iFund to fund iPhone developer companies,” Howe writes. “That means money shouldn’t be a barrier to getting an great third-party iPhone software business off the ground.”

Howe writes, “What Apple actually did is till the ground for development with enterprise features, seed it with the SDK, water it with marketing and distribution, and fertilize it with cash. If third-party apps don’t grow with that kind of support, nothing will.”

More in the full article here.

17 Comments

  1. pasted from a game forum:
    “I guess there could be some amazing games for the iPhone. Imagine a car racing game where we can steer the iPhone as if we’re driving the car. Put one finger on the right to accelerate, scroll your finger on the left to change the gear / view, etc. Or they can also make games like Nintendogs, Magical Starsign, or ZooKeeper with ease because they’re all touch-based. But with added control, eg: pet your dog with 2 fingers, pinch him or shake your iPhone to beat your dog.”

  2. “first-person shooters and platformers just won’t work well.
    just as nintendogs won’t work on PSP, and Wii sports won’t work on Xbox 360. Doesn’t mean they can’t offer great games, does it? I won’t be too excited if they can offer the same games over and over again. We can get any device for that (GBA, PSP). What excites me is the possibility of bringing many NEW innovative games, like the DS did in its early days.”

  3. I spend a lot of time on the game forums. Of course I rock a Dell with Vista so I have games galore. Hey MAC sheep how does it feel being on the outside looking in when in comes to games? Anyway, I look forward to some exciting development in the area of games for Windows Mobile. Microsoft has the enterprise thing down; now they can concentrate on something a little more fun. Apple doesn’t have a clue.

    Windows Mobile forever! I-Phone never!

  4. The iPod Touch is the important thing, iPhone is just one of them with a primitive mobile phone thing tacked on, and the platform has not much to do with a mobile phone. The phone is just there to tide people over until it isn’t necessary anymore.

    Up to now mobile phones have been designed primarily in the vision of telephone engineers. You only need to look at modems to see their ideas of user interfaces. That’s changing now and the era of AT&T;et all is coming to a close.

  5. I wouldn’t use “gay” as a pejorative descriptor to describe the PC, or anything else. That’s lame, for obvious reasons.

    I would say the Mac is “bi,” though. When you swing from both sides of the plate, you never go home alone.

  6. Along with the Zune, this news will crush the hopes and dreams of RIM, which is soooo yesterday!

    The iPhone/Touch is truly a trojan horse knocking on the door to enterprise.

    All it will take is a couple of visionary CIOs to deploy these devices to the field and the clarion call will begin.

    Jobs, you mad, mad genius!

    If you’re a trader, buy now!

  7. 3 months after buying it, I still slide my finger across my iPod touch to unlock it and smile at the coolest little gadget I have ever owned. It really is a marvelous device.

    And it will just keep getting better. I’m looking forward to the 2.0 release, and all the Apps that follow.

  8. The depressing thing about today’s announcement was how deeply Apple has now gotten into bed with Microsoft. Contrary to what Steve said, they didn’t announce support for corporate push e-mail. All they now support is push e-mail from Exchange. If your company, like mine, doesn’t use Exchange (we have a policy that we won’t use any MS product), you’re out of luck.

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