“Call it the iPhone economy. Apple’s soon-to-open online App Store has triggered a scramble among software developers to write business plans aimed at making money off Apple’s iPhone, a mini-computer that doubles as a phone,” John Boudreau reports for The San Jose Mercury News.
“Apple recently provided the tools engineers need to create applications for its popular mobile device[s]. The Cupertino company said some 250,000 iPhone software development kits have been downloaded. The App Store Web site, where applications will be sold or given away, is expected to launch soon, perhaps July 11 when the faster next-generation iPhone goes on sale,” Boudreau reports.
“What excites many developers are the iPhone’s capabilities and its “stable” software platform, which makes writing programs for it relatively easy and quick,” Boudreau reports.
“‘As more vendors gather around the iPhone, the more lucrative it becomes,’ said Richard Stern, senior vice president at SpinVox, which provides a program that allows people to read transcriptions of voice mail on mobile devices. ‘When 6 million people get the iPhone, it’s worth ‘X.’ When 50 million people get them, it’s a whole different situation,'” Boudreau reports.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Wherever you see the name “iPhone” in these type of articles, don’t forget to mentally add “iPod touch.” Even if it’s not there in print, it’s certainly a major part of Apple’s mobile computing platform as many of these new applications will work on iPod touch, too.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Judge Bork” for the heads up.]
Thanks MDN. We need to all recognize the iPod touch. Not everyone wants to pay to use AT&T;’s service/data plan.
But Crash claimed, “Really, iphone is just a mp3 playing cell phone with some games.”
Instant classic.
The nature of it all is about touch.
One has to wonder about the future of the iPod touch… I am going to speculate that it is history, though it would be cool if i sticks around.
-b
Are there any technical reasons preventing the next gen iPod Touch getting a GPS chip?
i doubt that the iopd touch is a major part of that strategy. i think it is only a placeholder until more iphone-models are available. (different sizes, price-points and types – how about an iphone for instance, which is only a phone with email?) the reason for developing the iphone in the first place was the convergence threat to the ipod. (all functionality, including camera, mp3-player, gps and games will be integrated in one convergence device: the phone). in order to protect that 50-million-units-a-year-market of the ipod apple had to introduce its own phone, because mp3-player functionality will ultimatly end up in any phone available. people would simply be buying less ipods the more they own phones that double as an mp3-player. the ipod touch will be perfect for games (besides all it can already do now) but most of these other applications will need internet connectivity all the time, not only in that rare places that give you free wifi. i think in the next 3-5 years apple will eventually trade that 50-million-units-a-year-ipod-market against a 200-million-units-a-year-iphone-market. (and yes that super-small ipod that you need for your workout will still be available).
@brindle
iPod touch is here to stay as the top-of-the-line iPod.
Remember the iPod?
I really really liked my iPod touch, but I reluctantly sold it when my phone contract was up and got an iPhone…
…which is going to be upgraded for FREE on July 11th to an iPhone 3G!
Also a nice way to gain adoption of Xcode. Developers. developers! DEVELOPERS!
…meaning a potential flood of OSX programs in the future…
Love Apple, hate the iPhone in it’s present state.
First of all Apple should have realized the treachery by AT&T;, by demoting the iPhone as best as they can, mandating a activation before purchase which will restrict the iPhone to lousy AT&T;stores where the iPhone gets thrown in the bin with the rest of the crappy smartphones out there.
AT&T;salespeople pushing inferior iPhone knock-offs…you get it. just look at the TV ads AT&T;is pushing for these “other” devices”.
Then the god awlful high price to get in a iPhone, the extortation of high AT&T;fee’s every month!!!
My T****phone only cost $30 and so far I have only used less than 400 minutes in three months, equating to a monthly bill of less than $20 A MONTH!!.
Obama Bin Laudin? Change Indeed!
… also keep in mind Apple will rework it’s entire iPod line this fall to be internet devices, in other words, these apps will work on all futute iPods too!
Whoops wrong link! Bad paste.
Check out AT&T;is limiting download speeds on 3G iPhone!! Less than other devices on their network!!! FSCKING BASTARDS!
http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/06/16/iphone.download.speed/
What?!? The Touch will be around for years, as it DOESN’T NEED A CONTRACT!
” i think it is only a placeholder until more iphone-models are available.”
It also serves a similar role for the iPod line. In this case, people that want the functionality aside from the phone. The only problem now is that it cannot compete with the capacity of the top of the line iPods, but that gap will close over time.
As
I think the great thing about the touch is that it does NOT require a contract. As I have stated in other posts, a 3G iPhone would cost me an extra $1000 over two years. I can take part of that money and buy a touch if I choose to do so. And I don’t have to keep paying month after month to use the touch. IMHO, dumber phone and a touch would provide a very nice setup for many of us and save us hundreds of dollars a year in cell phone fees.
Too much for a iPhone?
Screw the iPod Touch, get a Mac Book Pro.
The iPod Touch and iPhone are under capacitated toys. YOU STILL NEED A COMPUTER!!
Our collective dream (although most don’t know it) is to have a slim portable COMPUTER with worry free internet access and open use to run what we need.
That’s what we really want and both iPhone and iPod Touch fail miserably. Lousy 2 mega pixel camera? Low memory? Hobbled 3G speed and high monthly fee’s despite being 3G?
Forget it. Waste of money those two devices.
Trust me, my $20 a month cell phone is just decent. My MacBook Pro is paid for and I’m not tied to ANY GOD AWLFUL CONTRACT.
Don’t fall for the “monthly suck plan”. It’s designed to drain you try, much like paying for renting music. STUPID!
I love my iPod Touch. I am lucky enough to be in a situation where my cell phone is free with unlimited calling, on a network that has good coverage here in WI. AT&T;really sucks bawls here in WI if you leave the major cities (not talking 3G coverage, talking about even making a call). I have a lot of family up north, so AT&T;would leave me high and dry. There are some really nice new iPhone 3G features I would like, but I can live without them. My Touch scratches all my major itches… so I will be shelling out 9 bucks for the 2.0 update.
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The Dude abides.
love my touch
This is going to be an iPhone universe not an economy.
BTW, when will the iPod touch get GPS?
And how about the price? Shouldn’t the iPod touch 8 Gig, be $199 now?
@Mad Mac Maniac:
So let me summarise your posts.
You’re angry; You hate the iPhone; You hate the iPod Touch; You hate ATT; You hate “renting music”; You hate “contracts”; and you’re angry, very angry it seems.
Did I miss anything?
And all of this posted as a semi-literate rant. Thanks for playing. We know where you stand now.
The hidden bonus here is that as developers, who previously would not consider the Mac/OS X worth their time, will realize what a great development platform OS X is and we’ll see even more apps for the Mac.
@Mad Mac Maniac
Isn’t it amazing how such crappy products as the iPhone and iPod Touch have @ 90% customer satisfaction rating? Perhaps your opinions do not match up with the majority of iPhone users?
…just amused. It’s the “under capacitated” line I laughed at most.
I always wonder what makes someone rant about a product they are not interested in. Here, let me try it:
I mean that new stupid JD 1600 Combine Harvester sucks man!
What the heck would I need a freaking enormous machine like that for my quarter acre veg garden??
Who do they think they’re kidding palming off a behemoth like that on us?
Do you know how much that sucker is to service?? They lock you in to 12 month service contracts that suck the life out of you and your children.
And don’t get me started about that new 10 wheel tractor………….
@Not Mad at Mad Mac
So you’re an … extractor-fan now … cool.