Richard Koman, newsfactor
Developers were sitting on pins and needles in the days leading up to Thursday's iPhone Software Roadmap event. Rumors had it that Apple was going to exert strict control over what applications it would distribute through its iTunes Store, that application downloads would be via Macs and PCs instead of over the air, and that security controls would trump features.
With the dual SDK and enterprise announcements, "I believe we will see a rapid rise in the number of applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch platforms, which may solidify Apple's position as the smartphone leader," said Greg Sterling, principal analyst with Sterling Market Research. "It will put pressure on BlackBerry to 'open up' in the same way that Facebook's platform put similar pressure on its competitors on the desktop."
Speaking before the event, Sterling emphasized that in navigating between security and accessibility, Apple should steer "close to the edge" of openness. After the event, Sterling said, "They went pretty close."
iPhone in the Enterprise
Observers had differing opinions on the enterprise announcements.
"The BlackBerry-killer Exchange features are remarkable," said Damine Stolarz, a Mac and iPhone developer, in an e-mail. "This is part of the gradual iPhone-dominate-the-phone world strategy." Apple's inclusion of Bonjour, its zero-configuration networking solution, "is a good thing, but we have to see what it means," Stolarz said.
A major question was how open would Apple be for third-party software? Jobs announced that applications will be available exclusively through Apple's new App Store, an application which will be delivered to iPhone and iPod Touch users in version 2.0 of the device's software.
Wireless Delivery
Apps are "wirelessly downloaded to the iPhone via cellular or Wi-Fi," Jobs said. Rumors had suggested that users would have to download apps via Apple's iTunes Store and then transfer them to iPhones, so the news that App Store will enable wireless downloads was big news.
$100M iFund
Apple will take a 30 percent cut on application sales but won't charge fees to deliver free applications, Jobs said. "We'll pay everything to get those apps out there for free. Will there be limitations? Of course. Some apps we won't distribute: porn! Malicious apps!"
Applications get an electronic certificate, he explained. Joking in a Q&A session with the press, he quipped, "if they write a malicious app we can track them down and tell their parents."
Jobs also presented venture capitalist John Doerr, who introduced a $100 million fund, called the iFund, exclusively for iPhone developers.
"That should be enough to start a dozen Amazons and a few Googles," Doerr said. "You know, the Mac and iPod are truly amazing platforms ... today we're witnessing history. That's the launching of the SDK, the creation of the third great platform."
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