Craig Hockenberry, the widely acclaimed Mac developer of Twitterific, has had extensive experience developing for jailbroken iPhones and iPod Touches. So, when he weighs in on the iPhone SDK, it’s definitely worth a read.
From the 70/30 split to the $99 publishing fee, the lack of information about distributing 3rd party apps to beta testers, the possibility of try-before-you-buy demos, and the mechanism for paid upgrades, Hockenberry pulls no punches:
One thing that disappoints me about the iPhone SDK sign-up is that the entry fee of $99 is too low. I look at the entry fee as a way to filter out developers that aren’t fully committed to the platform. [...] A higher entry fee would lessen the chance of this becoming a bottleneck for getting my product into the system. Please charge me $499 and let move to the front of the line.
Wait… Charge developers MORE? And what, pass the costs on to the consumer?
Not according to former Apple programmer (and writer of Apple’s GeekGameBoard sample code), Jens Alfke. He thinks $0.99 - $1.99 might just set off the perfect high-volume price storm:
So assume you spent some evenings and weekends writing a cool little utility or game. You submit it to the App Store and set the price at $1.43. You get $1 of pure, unadulterated profit from every user of the app. [...] Steve promises us there will be ten million iPhones in the world. If a tenth of a percent of them impulse-purchase your $1.43 app, that’s $100,000.
Alfke also covers the interesting possibility of Xbox-style game expansion packs as revenue streams, and takes a not-to-subtle swipe at carrier gouging and consumer gluttony via the ringtone market.
Hmm, serious developers charging no-brainer prices for “next great platform” apps? I’m in! What about you?
Unless you’ve been pinned under a bus for the past 24 hours, you’ve no doubt witnessed the unfolding drama from yesterday’s announcement by Google about its upcoming open mobile platform, dubbed Android. Opinions range from Android’s arrival heralding the end of the wireless world as we know it, to “Oh my God…targeted ads on a mobile phone!” This story isn’t particularly relevant to iPhone enthusiasts, but its impact will affect the handset industry as a whole. And being the smarty pants, know-it-all, Smartphone expert, tech talkin guy that I am, I couldn’t let this topic pass by without weighing in.
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With the release of firmware update 1.1.1 came something new to iPhone that I think may prove to be its most insidious feature yet; iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. Now I know that many of you don’t purchase music via iTunes, preferring instead to utilize certain ahem free source, but you may sing a different tune once you start rummaging through genres and newly released content on the screen of your iPhone. For me it’s becoming an addiction. I have to force myself not to tap on the lovely purple store icon that beckons me to enter and pay pay pay. iPhone has now become a gateway drug to iTunes.
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Tech curmudgeon John C. Dvorak (the C stands for cranky) points the spotlight of criticism on Apple for its blatant act of bricking unlocked iPhones. He points out that in many overseas markets unlocked phones are common place, and a lucrative business. Hey, John… I agree with you, but trying to get Apple to change its policies is like trying to wrestle a half ton alligator. It’s a futile effort and just makes the gator angry.
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Last week and the proceeding weekend I was on the receiving end of some terrible misfortune; the worst series of mishaps I have endured in… well, quite a long while. Fools rush in where hackers fear to tread. And I not only rushed in, I kicked in the door and set fire to the house on my in. Very unwise.
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I have setup a petition page to record every feature request made by my readers. This is your chance to speak out and be heard. What features do you want added to iPhone? Visit this link, and post your request in the comments section. I will then add your request to the list. I expect this page to grow long over time, so I placed a permalink in the left sidebar so you’ll always know right where it’s at.
Click here, and post.
Angry words and heated accusations were being flung at a certain well known product maker today, and I’m not talking about Mattel’s recall of lead-painted toys for tots. Early adopters who patiently stood in long lines on June 29 (including yours truly), eager to be first on the block to own iPhones, are being rewarded with the sudden devaluation of their investments. Today Apple dropped the price of its most popular iPhone model (8GB) by $200, just two months after launch. What cost six Ben Franklins yesterday now costs only $399.
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MSNBC.com technology writer, Joe Hutsko, purchased an iPhone to replace his Treo 680 (a common trend it seems) and decided to put the much hyped gadget to the test, to see whether iPhone is road worthy as a laptop replacement.
Can I type as quickly on it as I can on my MacBook or any real keyboard? No. As fast as on my Treo 680? Yes. Faster, actually. And comfortably enough that I can imagine getting real editing work done once there’s a Word-compatible editor for the iPhone.
And not just editing, but real writing too, as demonstrated by this story — the first draft of which was written entirely on the iPhone.
Joe was so impressed with iPhone’s proven mobile computing potential he sees it replacing the role currently served by laptops.
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As a mobile enthusiast, I own (or have owned) a cross sample of every major platform on the market today, ranging from Windows Mobile, Symbian, embedded Linux (well, one flavor anyway), and BlackBerry OS. I first cut my teeth on mobile technology with PalmOS way back in 1997 when a small startup named Palm Computing introduced a product called the Palm Pilot, launching an industry of software and hardware development. The Pilot 1000 was my very first PDA, and I immediately fell in love with the software and its hallmark simplicity. That device kindled a love affair with mobile technology that has lasted to this day. Read the rest of this entry »
So how many of you out there are syncing your iPhones with a Mac vs. PC? Are you using both platforms? Vote in the poll below.
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Remember that post I wrote last week about my buddy Matt Miller returning his iPhone and going back to a Nokia Smartphone? Well the poor guy just couldn’t let it go. He writes on his blog that just two hours ago he went back to AT&T and got another iPhone. This time it appears he plans on keeping the device long term.
the iPhone drew me back in hour-by-hour over the weekend and I just could no longer resist it so I just picked up a new iPhone at the Apple store a couple hours ago. Over the weekend I tried using a Nokia N95 tethered with a N800 and both are excellent devices in their own way and I actually found some new applications for the N95 that made me like it even more. However, the Apple iPhone is slick and so refreshing after using other Palm, embedded Linux, Windows Mobile, and Symbian devices over the last 10 years that I was pulled back to it.
Welcome back Matt. We saved you a glass of Kool-Aid.
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Tech writer Steve Gilmorr grabs his Sanyo Xacti cam and hits the headquarters of Salesforce.com to interview Marc Benioff, Doc Searls, Dan Farber, Robert Scoble, and other technocrats to share opinions on various topics including iPhone and Microsoft’s waning dominance. Enjoy.
I don’t know who this guy is but his parody is brilliant, if raunchy.
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Among the dull roar of criticisms about iPhone I have to endure, one in particular stands out as the most irritating and unfounded - the attack against AT&T. I hear these slanderous indictments all the time…“Why did Apple choose AT&T?”, “AT&T sucks! They should have gone with Verizon or Sprint”, “AT&T is evil”. Blah blah blah.
Here’s a bit of schooling for you numbskulls - What you don’t understand is that the quality and reliability of wireless service in the U.S. is subjective and varies from one location to another. For example, in my specific locale, Sprint offers the worst reliability and coverage of any major carrier. T-Mobile is practically non-existent. Verizon offers great service, but their selection of handsets is abysmal. So, for all practical purposes, AT&T is the “best” wireless carrier for me. Your experience will vary. A friend of mine who lives in Redmond Washington (no, it isn’t Bill Gates) says that T-Mobile offers the best coverage and voice quality in his area, while Sprint is teh suck. So which one of us is right? We both are.
Unlike other parts of the world like Asia and Europe, wireless infrastructure in North America is less ubiquitous and unevenly distributed. This is the reason why we suffer through so many dropped calls, poor voice quality, and latency.
So yes, AT&T does suck. And so does Verizon. So does Sprint. So does T-Mobile. And so on. There is no “best” wireless carrier, only best in your location. Live it, learn it, be it.
A study published by USA Today shows that out of 200 iPhone users polled, 90% were “extremely” or “very” satisfied with their device. Take any these consumer surveys with a grain of salt and a shot of whiskey, the numbers and methodology used is always suspect. But if this percentage scales accurately to a larger demographic, this is an unprecedented number for customer satisfaction in a mobile device.
Apple’s marketing PR man Greg Joswiak gave this soundbite…
Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of worldwide marketing for the iPod and iPhone, said positive word-of-mouth reaction is “critically important” to any product, as it was with the iPod. “We’re getting even greater reaction to the iPhone,” he says.
I have to give the utmost credit to Apple for pulling off this product launch in an unparalleled way. They executed brilliantly and succeeded in creating a first generation product that “gets it right” out of the box.
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