A First Look at the iPhone SDK
This weekend I downloaded the iPhone SDK, viewed the getting started videos, and enthusiastically started gnawing through the documentation. I also purchased an iPod touch for development. I was able to get a hello world application running in short order.
Here are my observations:
- You don't need to purchase an iPhone. The only difference between the iPhone and iPod Touch in terms of development are: location services, network connectivity and the camera. Your native application will work on both. I chose to develop my applications on the iPod Touch primarily because I didn't want to be charged an extra $65 a month from AT&T.
- Objective C/C++. You must use Apple's bastardized version of C/C++ for the development. You can however, mix it with standard C++, but you are forced to use Cocoa Touch.
- You will need an Intel-based Mac. The SDK plugs seamlessly into a newer version of XCode (Apple's free development IDE). However, you will need to purchase a newer Intel-based Mac to get it up and running.
- No background applications. Only one iPhone application can run at a time, and third-party applications never run in the background. If the user switches to another application, check their email, your application quits.
- The App Store. The app store will be unveiled with the iPhone 2.0 release, which is slated for June. By the way the software update will be a free update for iPhone users and a fee upgrade for iPod touch users. ISVs will get a 70% cut of the sale price of a piece of software (checks will be cut monthly).
- The SDK is free, but if you want your application distributed through Apple, you must pay a $99 fee to join the new iPhone Developer Program.
However, what is missing from the documentation is any mention of how to distribute trialware or shareware for the iPhone. While we are a ways off from June, it is a big question on many developers.
Labels: iPhone SDK
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