Why developers are flocking to Apple’s iPhone

Mobile application developer Larry Borsato could have chosen to write software for Symbian, BlackBerry or Android, but he didn’t. Borsato chose Apple’s iPhone.

Borsato reports for The Industry Standard, “Since Apple owns the hardware and the operating system, they have created an experience on the iPhone that is virtually identical to that of the Mac. And they have also provided the ability to leverage existing Mac development on the iPhone by providing virtually the same Cocoa Framework as that of the Mac. If you know Mac development, you can develop for the iPhone, or you can easily port your existing code. I haven’t developed on the Mac in over a decade, but I was able to pick it up in a couple of days.”

“And the iPhone has already changed the mobile landscape. iPhone use of the Internet is much higher than that of other smartphones, and far exceeds that of the market in general,” Borsato reports. “Google sees 50 times more search requests coming from iPhones.”

“The iPhone is going to be the platform that makes the mobile Internet real and usable — essentially a mobile computer — which will drive the adoption of new mobile applications. Once you’ve touched the screen to follow a link in the exceptionally readable browser, you know that this is the standard by which all future mobile phones will be measured,” Borsato reports.

“My choice was a simple one. I merely selected the platform that has already redefined the mobile phone market,” Borsato reports. “And besides, have you seen the iPhone? It is seriously cool. After all, once you get past all the logical reasons for selecting a platform, every developer wants to work on the cool one.”

Full article via Computerworld here.

40 Comments

  1. Well, I think it is because it’s the first mobile device actually worth the bother of programming for. The rest are so dull it’s just a job, hardly something you would ‘flock to’, just something you might have to do to earn your next dinner.

    Others will appear in time, but the dull people will have to either get interesting or move out. they’ve had a free ride as parasites for a long time now, but the gravy train is coming to an end for them.

  2. <i>”Developers, developers, developers, developers…

    Developers, developers, developers, developers…

    Developers, developers, developers, developers…

    Developers, developers, developers, developers…

    …er, where’d they all go????????”
    © Steve Balmer 2009.

  3. That video was so wrong on so many levels that I am ending subscription to MDN and mailing my Name, Address and Social Security Number to Viacom. ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”gulp” style=”border:0;” />

  4. It’s beyond simply developing for a platform which is cool, etc. Developers want their software to be used, and most of them are trying to make a living developing software. iPhone users are going to be very likely to purchase at least a couple of apps, which lets developers sell their work.

    Most mobile phones use an OS which is not really designed for mobile internet. Look how few developers created apps under Web 2.0 for the current iPhone – almost none! Sure, it could be done, but no one was very enthused about it, even with Apple carrying on about how great Web 2.0 apps would be.

    Now developers finally have the chance to create apps for a true handheld computer, which happens to have a phone crammed into it also. That’s a complete about-face from what all other phones have been to this point, including Palm Treos and Blackberrys.

  5. OMG!! This sweaty nutcase is the CEO of a major corporation? In the immortal words of John McEnroe, “You canNOT be SERIOUS!”

    Do they not sell deodorant in Seattle? Does M$ not do psychological profiling of its job candidates? Damn!

    Peace.
    Olmecmystic ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”cool smile” style=”border:0;” />

  6. There is a right way and a wrong way to attract developers. You can create a great product that is innovative and intuitive, or you can have your morbidly obese CEO prance around on a stage like Richard Simmons.

  7. OMG he’s so fat and sweaty. Gross. Hey, how ’bout an article about how dumb of a name mobileme and .me are? I have a .mac account and I’ll be damned if I’m switching to the .me tag. How lame.

    So Ballmer is a gross sweaty fatty and Jobs looks like he just got released from a Nazi work camp. They both need a health guru.

  8. I’m a developer, and, like other developers who develop, I am looking forward to developing apps for the iPhone—the best development in mobile telephony since, well, the development of the mobile phone. I, as well as my many friends who develop, am looking forward to many years of developing developments for those who will use the fruit of my developing with their iPhone. That said, develop, develop, develop, spam, develop, spam, eggs and spam (develop).

    Developingly yours,

    Joe Developer

  9. “cynic
    How is this Mac related news??”

    first line of article: “Mobile application developer Larry Borsato could have chosen to write software for Symbian, BlackBerry or Android, but he didn’t. Borsato chose Apple’s iPhone.”

    umm, you know the iPhone runs OS X and is in fact (shh this is a secret!) a tiny Mac, right?

  10. If you develop for Windows you have to throw a slab of meat for Ballmer to Chaw on. Look what happens to him if he doesn’t get his daily feed!!! All sweaty and nasty like that video… YUCK.

  11. Forgot to mention in case nobody else noticed. You can now view certain video’s in safari on Apple’s web site, yes you have been able to do this for years, but not on the iPhone or iPod touch. The familiar little blue circle white arrow appears and BAM, QuickTime video to go. Also, on the iPhone 3G guided tour.

    Looks like Apple has a mobile QuickTime after all, at least a work in progress.

  12. @ jarrettdailynews

    It could be nice to read Roughly Drafted Magazine. There is an article about what will Snow Leopard ship. One of those components is QuickTime X.
    Daniel Eran Dilger explains that Snow Leopard is getting some benefits from the iPhone development, specially on some optimization, due the limited memory and other resources on the iPhone.
    So maybe this is not a work in progress.

    Peace.

  13. Short term prediction: The App Store makes the iPhone a legitimate platform.

    Long term prediction: A substantial portion of consumers realize that they can do everything they need to do on the iPhone and use it as their one and only computing device. Crazy? Or visionary?

  14. Developers are flocking because the iPhone is a REAL platform, a handheld Mac. Nothing else even comes close.

    Apple is doing everything with OS X that Microsoft has completely failed to do with Windows.

  15. I learned a bit about the mobile applications market shortly before WWDC this year. I hadn’t realized just how fragmented that market was before the iPhone came a long.

    For one thing, you can’t write an app for WINCE, and have it just work on all the wince phones. They have different sized screens and no concept of resolution independence, they have different main menu layouts *per carrier*, and there really isn’t any way to sell your apps directly to end users. You have to make a bundling deal to make anything close to serious money.

    The other thing I learned, is that all of the companies who were already in that business, are already planning on their iPhone version becoming their flagship product, *and* phasing out their other versions over the next two years.

    This is not like the old days when Apple had to work to get developers to the Mac. The iPhone is a whole new ball game, which Apple has already won.

    -jcr

  16. Ha, He, Ho…

    Steve Ballmer’s satisfaction rating by his employees: 50%

    Steve Jobs: 90%

    So for every two people that Dances With Monkeys passes on the way to his cage every morning, one of them would rather he wasn’t there.

  17. The world’s most popular game console is the one with the silliest name. Apple may be on to something even if it’s generic and unintentionally pays homage to “My Documents, My Pictures, My Videos, My Music.”

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