Apple's specal event on the iPhone's roadmap which takes place at Cupertino, CA, has just started.
The company is expected to announce the iPhone SDK as well as some enterprise features during the event.
MacScoop has obtained a few hints which are summarized here [1].
MacScoop will continuously update this article so as to keep you updated as the announcements are made.
Q/A coverage (most recent on top):
- "Corporate distribution of appz?" -> "Working on a special version for organisations to distribute their appz internally"
- "What about open source" -> "it's not an open source project"
- "Internationnal launch? (AppStore)" -> "Yes"
- "RIM to iPhone switch?" -> "through Exchange support and some IT manager tools"
- "A wimax iPhone" -> "We're not here to talk about hardare today, only software"
- "Nominal fee for the iPod touch users?" -> "in June"
- "SIM unlock App not allowed?" -> "Yes"
- "What if a developer doesn't want to distribute his app through App Store?" -> He Won't be able"
- "VoIP for the iPhone?" -> "Limited to Wifi only"
- "How Apple will make sure no malicious applications come to the platform?" -> We want the reliability of the iPod but the ability to run third party appz", "Developers get an electronic certificate that tells Apple who they are."
- "Should RIM be worried?" -> "Go ask them ... we send a message to the customers, not RIM"
- "What will the iFund do for the community?" -> "Kleiner Perkins believes in the opportunity to invest in iPhone software"
- Steve Jobs and Phil Schiller available on stage for questions
Brief coverage (most recent on top):
- One more thing - iFund: a fund of $100 million will be started with Kleiner Perkins
- There is a $99 fee to join the iPhone developer program
- New XCode beta available within an hour and is free
- Available for all iPhone users in June for free, iPod touch users will have a small charge (due to accounting rules)
- iPhone Software 2.0 will bring Enterprise features and support for SDK developed appz
- App Store: Porn, malicious stuff are forbidden
- App Store: Dverything else (hosting, marketing, payment is free)
- App Store: For Free appz, it's totally free
- App Store: Developers get 70% of the revenue, Apple keeps 30%, monthly payment
- App Store also automatically downloads/installs updates through Wifi/EDGE
- App Store: store for iPhone appz, Top 50 downloads feature, works through Wifi/EDGE
- Now how do we get the appz on the iPhone? Through Apple's App Store
- Sega games on the iPhone : Supermonkey ball showed
- Epocrates, a developer specialized in clinical mobile appz also brings its software to the Mac, says it's as easy as developing for desktop hardware
- AOL brings AIM to the iPhone (done in two weeks too)
- Salesforce.com brings iPhone support : graphical view, maps integration (brought to the iPhone with 1 developer in two weeks, they claim too).
- EA shows an iPhone version of Spore (coded in two weeks, they claim)
- The SDK also includes a performance recording tool
- Examples of applications : Photo morph application, Space shooter game
- Includes an iPhone simulator to see how your application will look like on the iPhone.
- An extended version of XCode is the development tool
- Also in the API, Open GL Es (an embedded version) and Cocoa Touch, a specially designed API for touch input
- iPhone developers will be able to use all the APIs Mac OS X developers have, including Core OS, Core Services, Core Audio, Core Location, Core Animation.
- Native applications development kit : Apple opens its internally used APIs and development tools
- It will also provide Microsoft Exchange support through ActiveSync
- Apple will bring Push email, contacts, calendars, global address list, better secuirity, Cisco IPSec VPN support, certificates and identities in a forthcoming software update
- iPhone 28% of the market, 71% of the US Mobile browser market
For a more detailed coverage, we suggest you to check out Ars Technica [2], Gizmodo [3] or Engadget [4].