Rob Goodlatte

Depakote For Sale Mycelex-g No Prescription Buy Serevent No Prescription Buy Online Aricept Buy Prinivil Online Seroquel For Sale Acticin No Prescription Buy Lasuna No Prescription Buy Online Shallaki Buy Motrin Online Levlen For Sale Zimulti No Prescription Buy Vantin No Prescription Buy Online Elimite Buy Topamax Online Prinivil For Sale Lotensin No Prescription Buy Prozac No Prescription Buy Online Hyzaar Buy Karela Online Doxycycline For Sale Serevent No Prescription Buy Erythromycin No Prescription Buy Online Maxaquin Buy Zoloft Ultram Online

Apple’s new iPhone SDK will change the cell phone game. It’s hard not to draw parallels to the introduction of the Apple II and the Mac—we’re seeing the birth of a new mass-market platform, potentially even larger than the desktop software market.

The early days of the PC were a great time for independent software developers. Software wasn’t bloated, and it was feasible for one individual to release an app critical to the platform. Times have changed. Solving interesting desktop software problems routinely requires large development teams, and widely distributing independent for-profit desktop software can be tough to impossible…

The Web solves the distribution problem, to a degree. Software distribution is now free, but attracting attention remains difficult. Customers have to stumble across your website, and there’s no uniform way of finding your app amongst a sea of competitors.

Two recent platforms are changing the landscape of software development. The first is Facebook. Facebook solves both the distribution and the marketing problem by allowing applications to spread virally through the news feed, profile boxes, and notifications. And the system is policed well enough to create a true meritocracy—the interesting, sticky, and well-produced applications spread rapidly while spammy and useless applications falter.

Facebook applications must be simple enough for potential installees to quickly “get” what the application is about, so the simple apps often find the most success. This makes Facebook a dream-come-true for independent software developers. An indie developer can bang out an application over a weekend and have a million users within a week. And thanks to caching provided by Facebook, complementary servers from Joyent, and even generous venture funding, the economic hit to trying your hand at Facebook development is effectively zero.

The new iPhone SDK is the newest game-changer on the block for independent developers. Powerful APIs do much of the difficult work for you, leaving you to focus on the core functionality of your app. And since this is mobile, that core functionality must be tightly focused and simple. We’ll see many more single-serving apps that bloated all-encompassing software suites—that’s a great thing for indie developers.

The iPhone SDK solves the distribution problem as well, but not as well as Facebook Platform. An application directory is great, but directories can’t distribute apps as efficiently as socially-enabled distribution allows. If, for instance, Apple recommended applications based on apps your contacts use, rapid person-to-person distribution of apps would accelerate distribution for great applications.

Yet Apple’s decision to handle billing and credit card processing solves the biggest problem of them all—how do I make money on this? Billing is the last big barrier indie developers face, and is often the one that scares us away. Apple is putting everyone on a level playing field by controlling the billing process. There are no excuses left for not writing that killer app you’ve had in mind.

I couldn’t be more excited about the iPhone SDK. I’m learning Objective C for the sole purpose of building iPhone apps, and I encourage any designer/developer to do the same. This will be the next software gold rush. The iPhone SDK, along with Facebook Platform will usher in a golden age for indie developers.

Photo by Mugley under Creative Commons

 

1. Kenny Saunders March 12th at 10:24 am

   I agree. Apple has done a great job with this SDK. I’m also learning Objective-C right now, and dreaming which app to start on first.

   I’d be interested to see how the SDK has effected Cocoa book purchases, and how many web developers are digging into native software development. I’m completely caught up in the hype.

   Have you checked out the Aaron Hillegass book? http://www.amazon.com/Cocoa-Programming-Mac-OS-2nd/dp/0321213149/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205331846&sr=1-1

2. Justin Dickinson March 12th at 12:59 pm

   Rob, great article. I agree. I would love to develop for the iPhone but I’m a little nervous about learning Objective C. What resources have you been using to do so? Can you recommend some good ones? I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!

3. aaron sittig March 12th at 3:43 pm

   Good observation about the suitability of the iPhone to single purpose apps and how this lets indies compete at the natural scale of the phone.

   I’ve also been bit by the iphone bug. We should talk this over. I’d liketo hear your ideas for apps.

4. Brendan Falkowski March 13th at 4:31 am

   Interesting take, but twist if I may: whereas the iPhone’s potential surrounding apps may be brilliant, I feel Facebook apps have failed. How quickly and repeatedly must I turn down TopFriends and Vampire invitations? The strength for Apple is that developers who want good apps will build them and prosper, while Facebook apps will largely remain immature and slightly annoying.

5. meekish March 14th at 12:50 am

   What’s your strategy for learning Objective C? I picked up ‘Programming in Objective C’ about six months ago, but haven’t started into it yet.

6. Julian Schrader March 15th at 9:32 am

   Great article — thanks!

   I’m curious about what is going to happen to my iPhone as soon as the AppStore is there. With mobile e-mail, Safari and the tools I can get via Installer.app, I can pretty much replace my laptop on-the-go even today. Great times will come, I think ;-)

7. Kyle Tress March 26th at 9:08 pm

   I’m also learning Objective C for the sole purpose of developing iPhone apps, particularly games. It’s going to be an amazing device to develop for! The learning path I’m taking seems to be fairly common - ‘programming in Objective-C’ followed by Cocoa Programming for Mac OSX.

8. Dave October 29th at 10:31 pm

   I’ve just finished up the basics on all the tools, processes and procedures using the official Apple dox right in the SDK. I’ve applied for and been accepted to the iPhone dev program and now I’m working with an artist and musician to usher in this wonderful return to garage gaming! Booyah Apple!

9. Irramemab June 1st at 4:48 am

   http://verifiedfile.com/images/sex.gif

   Swine Flu Ringtone

   Check out the new Swine Flu Ringtones via eSnips.com

   Amazing how creative some people can be… http://demya.com/images/smile.gif

10. John846 June 2nd at 4:10 am

    Very nice site! cheap viagra

11. John846 June 2nd at 4:10 am

    Very nice site! [url=http://ypxoiea.com/ovyrqtv/2.html]cheap cialis[/url]

12. John846 June 2nd at 4:10 am

    Very nice site! cheap cialis http://ypxoiea.com/ovyrqtv/4.html

13. John846 June 2nd at 4:10 am

    Very nice site!

14. Retaliacradia June 3rd at 10:22 pm

    Meilleurcontratassurancevie.com est devenue un des site les plus reputes pour l’assurance vie sur internet. Meilleurcontratassurancevie.com offres beaucoup de choix d’assurances et autres contrats. C’est l’endroit parfaite pour denicher le meilleur contrat assurance vie sur internet. Je n’ai pas encore achete mon assurance alors si vous avez d’autres suggestions de service d’assurance vie, n’hesitez pas a poster ici. http://meilleurcontratassurancevie.com/smile.gif

 

Name

Mail

Website