Latest iPhone News
100,000 Apple iPhone SDKs Downloaded So Far [Apple]
Apple says that over 100,000 iPhone software development kits have been downloaded since its celebrated unveiling on March 6, not a week ago. The announcement below is atypical of Apple: following the standard chest-puffing from execs such as worldwide marketing SVP Phil Schiller, you'll find exec quotes from Namco, NetSuite, PopCap, Rocket Mobile, Six Apart and THQ—I suppose in alphabetical order by company. It's more wind, to be sure, but from the feel of this announcement, it's almost as if Apple had planned to support third-party development all along. Whatever the case, we're looking forward to the resulting apps, both legit and, well, under the table.
iPhone SDK Downloads Top 100,000CUPERTINO, California--March 12, 2008--Apple® today announced that more than 100,000 iPhone™ developers have downloaded the beta iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) in the first four days since its launch on March 6. The iPhone SDK provides developers with the same rich set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and tools that Apple uses to create its native applications for iPhone and iPod® touch.
"Developer reaction to the iPhone SDK has been incredible with more than 100,000 downloads in the first four days," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Also, over one million people have watched the launch video on Apple.com, further demonstrating the incredible interest developers have in creating applications for the iPhone."
Apple also previewed the new App Store, a breakthrough way for developers to wirelessly deliver their applications to every iPhone and iPod touch user. Developers set the price for their applications--including free--and retain 70 percent of all sales revenues.
Leading developers such as AOL, Electronic Arts, Epocrates, salesforce.com and Sega have already demonstrated amazing applications using the SDK, and developer response continues to be phenomenal with more developers embracing the platform.
"The iPhone SDK gives us the tools we need to create powerful iPhone applications and is an important part of our overall mobile strategy," said Rick Jensen, senior vice president, Small Business Group at Intuit. "We're excited that the iPhone expands the ways our customers can solve key financial tasks wherever they might be."
"We're very excited about Apple's new SDK and reaching every iPhone user through the new App Store," said Scott Rubin, vice president, Sales and Marketing, Namco Networks. "We can't wait to show off great new versions of arcade classics like PAC-MAN and Galaga that use the revolutionary features of the iPhone and iPod touch."
"Apple's tools have provided our development team the flexibility to make the SuitePhone application richer and deeper," said Luke Braud, vice president, Software Development, NetSuite. "NetSuite is excited at the opportunity to give every iPhone customer access to their critical business data anytime, anywhere."
"Apple's become an important mobile game platform with the iPhone SDK," said Jason Kapalka, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, PopCap. "The new SDK gives us the tools to innovate and reinvent games like Bejeweled, Zuma and Peggle. With the new App Store we can reach every iPhone and iPod touch user on the planet."
"Seventy percent of the retail price is hands-down the best deal out there in mobile. It's simple and motivating for developers," said Wayne B. Yurtin, president and CEO, Rocket Mobile, Inc. "We can't wait to get our first iPhone applications on the revolutionary App Store."
"Six Apart pioneered the mobile blogging experience with an iPhone-optimized blog service," said Chris Alden, CEO, Six Apart. "We're taking it to the next level with our native iPhone application for TypePad that's already in development."
"The iPhone is the mobile platform game developers have been dreaming of," said Scott Zerby, vice president, THQ Wireless. "We're looking at how we can use the iPhone's innovative user interface to create new game experiences for our big brand entertainment partners that consumers love."
Pricing & Availability
The free beta iPhone SDK is available immediately worldwide and can be downloaded at developer.apple.com/iphone/program. The iPhone Developer Program will initially be available in the US and will expand to other countries in the coming months. A QuickTime® video of the iPhone roadmap event is available to view at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/iphoneroadmap.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.
iPhone SDK: 100K downloads in 4 days
Filed under: Developer, iPhone
It's safe to say there's a lot of interest in the iPhone SDK. In the first four days since its release on March 6, the SDK has been downloaded 100,000 times. Also, the video of the press event at Apple.com has already been viewed more than 1,000,000 times.That's a lot of interest in something that's only truly meaningful to one group of people - developers. But I see where the anticipation comes from.
As a consumer, I'm just as excited by this release. When I first started playing with the iPhone, I said that it feels like a computer that happens to make phone calls, not a phone with some additional features. The promise of great native applications by some of my favorite Mac developers reinforces that feeling.
The iPhone is quickly becoming my favorite Mac.
[Via MacMinute]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
iPhone 2.0 Unlocked, Runs All Apps [Exclusive]
Update: Video of project Pwonage after the jump. The beta 2.0 firmware that comes with the iPhone SDK has been modified to unlock the iPhone and run any application. Part of the Pwnage Project, the hacked firmware will allow you to do anything you want, including the installation of both official and unofficial apps, and even patches. We got the exclusive details directly from the DevTeam, including the fact that it is going to be extremely hard for Cupertino to close this new hole:
They told us that this is all part of their previous Pwnage project, which instead of trying to hack into the iPhone, directly patches the firmware itself to both unlock it, so you can use the iPhone with any carrier you want, and allow you to install any applications you want. You can see how it works here:
According to the Dev Team, the custom 2.0 firmware (technically, 1.2.0,) is now up and running without problems in many of their iPhones, running unsigned applications without a single problem. However, current Installer.app applications need to be changed: "they changed lots of the API, a lot. We will see how much has to be changed to the Toolchain [the previous development tool for iPhone independent developers] to still work after 2.0."
The best news, however, is this: "the hacked 1.2 firmware works with anything. AT&T and others, it's pwned. And Apple will not really be able to patch it this time... somehow :-)"
I'm flabbergasted. As Han Solo would say, "that's one in a million, kid!" Once again.
The cool thing here is that Dev Team told us that this is 1) a true unlock and 2) Apple will have a very difficult time closing this hole. That's the news, not just jailbreak—in fact, it's not even jailbreak in the classic sense. It's built-in the hacked firmware, which allows for installation of any application, unsigned or "Apple Approved"
In other words, true carrier and applications independence. And for a long time.
Note: as you can see, the Dev Team is still working hard in making the iPhone a completely open, carrier-independent platform. If you want to help them, please send a Paypal donation to iphone.devteam@gmail.com or join them at hackint0sh.org.
iPhone SDK downloads exceed 100,000, upcoming games get outed
Filed under: Games, Handsets, Software, GSM, EDGE, Apple, OS X
Just four days after Apple announced that the beta version of the iPhone SDK would be available to developers, some 100,000 downloads have taken place. 'Course, it's not like we're shocked by Cupertino's latest horn tooting, but we've all ideas that number pales in comparison to the amount of requests for unlocks. Nevertheless, the real news from the Apple camp is that companies such as Namco and PopCap are apparently on board to bring titles such as Pac-man, Galaga, Bejeweled, Zuma and Peggle to the iPod touch / iPhone via App Store. Furthermore, Six Apart's CEO admitted that it's already developing a "native iPhone application for TypePad," and the VP of THQ Wireless implied that we'd be seeing some of its wares surface here as well. As for release dates? Your guess is as good as ours.
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iCopy brings rudimentary copy and paste to iPhone Safari
Filed under: iPhone
Everybody wants copy and paste on the iPhone, but this seemingly obvious computing functionality has been unaccountably missing since the iPhone shipped. Unlike the rest of us however, Preston Monroe decided to do something and produced iCopy, a javascript bookmarklet that lets you copy and paste text and URLs between browser windows in Mobile Safari and even email text or URLs. Basically it works by adding the selected text to a URL which is sent over the internet, so it's definitely not secure. But it nonetheless looks like it could be handy in a pinch.iCopy is free and available from Preston's site.
[via Just Another iPhone Blog]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
iPhone Dev Team jailbreaks firmware 2.0... before it's out
Gameloft plotting 15-plus iPhone games this year
Filed under: Games, Software, Apple, OS X
Spore aside, we imagine we'll all occasionally need something just a little less cerebral and involving to pass the handful of minutes between trains, buses, meetings, connecting flights, and the like when third-party games hit the iPhone in full force come this June. To that end, Gameloft's got your back, announcing that it'll be flush with "over 15" titles for Apple's piece before the year's out. No specific games have been announced in the company's initial press release, but it does mention that they've "started to create a strong line-up" already, so here's hoping a solid percentage of 'em won't suck.
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iPhone Dev Team jailbreaks firmware 2.0... before it's out
Filed under: Handsets, Apple, OS X
This is just getting silly, don't you think? The iPhone Dev Team has once again proven their totally gnarly talents by freeing up the latest firmware before it's even the latest firmware. Apple, here's our suggestion -- just let people do what they want with your devices, since they're clearly going to do it anyway. That way, instead of making enemies, you're making lifelong buddies. Reasonable, right? Steve, give us a call, we're more than happy to riff on some ideas for playing nice with the end-user.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
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iPhone parental controls?
Filed under: iPod Family, Portables, iPhone
The iPhone Dev Team seems to have stumbled across a hidden feature in the next version of the iPhone firmware. The picture is reminiscent of the iPhone SDK "Organizer" that shows the currently connected iPhone. However, something that's different from the screenshots that we posted is the "Console," "Crash Logs," and "Screenshot" tabs at the top of the window.The screenshot shows a "Parental Controls" setting inside the "General" iPhone settings. It looks as though you can enable these parental controls and turn on or off:
- Playing explicit songs in iPod
- Website control in Safari
- YouTube control
- iTunes Wi-Fi Store control
- AppStore control
[via iPhone Dev Team]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Copy and Paste on Your iPhone With iCopy [IPhone]
Everyone wants it, but for some strange reason we have been denied copy and paste functionality on the iPhone. With a new bookmarklet called iCopy, we can finally copy text and URLs that can be plugged back into Safari or an email later on. To get this miraculous technological development, simply visit the iCopy site and follow the instructions. It isn't a perfect solution by any means (all of the text you paste is sent across the internet), but it should tide you over until someone at Apple decides to make an official solution. Videos of iCopy in action are available after the break.
[iCopy via iPhone Atlas via Wired]
Rogue Amoeba on code signing, iPhone SDK
Filed under: Developer, iPhone
Mike Ash at Rogue Amoeba has published his fairly extensive thoughts on Apple's code signing policies and plans, as well as how they relate to the iPhone SDK. He makes some solid points and elaborates on thoughts that are being bandied about elsewhere on the 'net. In his critique of some points in the iPhone SDK announcement, his concerns regarding the "banned" iPhone apps are quite valid, in my opinion. Out of the list of apps to be denied (illegal, malicious, unforeseen, privacy, porn and bandwidth hog), he picks out a couple that are of concern.In regards to the issue of "porn", he notes that "...Apple is making moral judgements of the apps they sign." To me, it seems like Apple chose the safe option and just categorically denied materials that could sully their reputation, which I personally think was a good (if not obvious) choice. But the question arises, as it always does, about the definition of porn and obscenity... and who makes the call. Apple, as gatekeeper, gets to make those decisions for all of us. I can see some torrid debates arising in the future.
Also of particular (and potentially more controversial) concern is the category "unforeseen," which provides a fairly broad scope for Apple to add to the list later. Again, it's likely a smart decision on Apple's part and a good way of sealing off loopholes without making the list read like a legal contract (see "License Agreement"), but leaves open the option for some heavy-handed control over what you can put on your iPhone.
Of course, this initial list is incomplete, with restrictions outlined in the SDK license agreement (as pointed out in Rogue Amoeba's subsequent post). If you take an interest in this debate, be sure to check out Mike's post, "Code Signing and You."Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Contact search in iPhone firmware 2.0?
Filed under: Software, Apple, OS X
It doesn't matter what Apple says, a touchable strip of letters isn't the civilized way to navigate through a few hundred (maybe even a few thousand, if you're a salesman or a renowned socialite) contacts on your phone. Seems they've realized the error of their ways, too, with a number of eagle-eyed folks noticing that the firmware 2.0-equipped model in Apple's SDK presentation sported a Spotlight-esque magnifying glass icon above the strip in the contact list. So go ahead and enjoy just a few more short months of finding your peeps the hard way, knowing that by mid-year, you can look forward to name searchin' nirvana. Score.
[Thanks, Mark]
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iPhone SDK's seedy underbelly reveals painful limitations
Filed under: Software, Apple, OS X
Following the initial euphoria of realizing that a genuine, honest-to-goodness official iPhone SDK was finally upon us, the cold, hard reality of Apple's draconian rule wasted no time setting in. TechCrunch has a solid overview of some of the downsides of being an Apple developer -- an Apple iPhone developer, specifically -- and the list definitely takes just a little fun out of the June countdown. Front and center on the list has to be the fact that third-party applications can never run in the background, meaning that you can pretty much kiss your dreams of downloading (or creating) an always-on IM client goodbye. Quoth Cupertino, "users should not feel that leaving your iPhone application and returning to it later is any more difficult than switching among applications on a computer." Ah, but you can have a whole slew of apps running at once on those shiny Macs of yours, remember, Apple? Granted, they're suggesting here that apps should be smart enough to save and restore state as they're killed and restarted, but we figure it takes more than that to simulate true task switching.
[Thanks, Andrew]
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iPhone 2.0 Firmware Update to Include Search Feature? [IPhone]
Some sharp-eyed folks over at blargKaboom analyzed last week's SDK event and noticed a search icon in Contacts. Interestingly enough, the icon appears in a screenshot about 9 min and 30 sec in, but not in the actual demo. Hopefully, this feature will be ready by the time the final version rolls out in June, because manually searching through a ton of contacts can be a real bitch. [Apple and blargKaboom via Ubergizmo]
The iPhone Virtual Reality Goggles, They Do Nothing [Bad Ideas]
Oh man. Apparently somebody just saw The Lawnmower Man and got inspired. This virtual reality head mount for the iPhone is designed to let you strap your favorite expensive phone to your face, blocking out everything else so there's nothing to distract you from the glow of your precious.
This entirely garbage idea was created by a company called Box Fab who presumably just got a copy of Maya and decided to try to trick investors into giving them money. They're a "pre-revenue start-up" looking for people to place bulk orders and pay in advance so they can start manufacturing their ill-advised product ideas. I would really love to see this get made with software that would turn the accelerometer into a VR machine, actually. Seeing people on the train with their iPhones strapped to their faces, slowly going blind and experiencing the future as described in the late '80s, it's almost too awesome for me to imagine.
The best part? Box Fab thinks they can make it for under $200. For goggles shaped to hold the iPhone. I really think this is going to take off! Somebody order 5,000 of these, stat. [Box Fab]
AT&T Jacks Up Text Message, Multimedia Message Rates [Cellphones]
Yesterday, AT&T announced an unlimited voice plan for the iPhone that still comes with a paltry 200 text messages. Now, we have word that AT&T will be jacking up the price of text messages over your plan's limit to a whopping $0.20, with multimedia messages going up to $0.30 (not that the iPhone can send those). If you send lots of text messages you'd better sign up for a larger text plan or risk adding some pretty crazy fees to your bill. [Broadband Reports]
$100 Million for iPhone software applications
BCC iPlayer comes to iPhone, not as interesting as originally thought
Filed under: Multimedia, Apple
After a groundswell of hype that the rumored BBC iPlayer for the iPhone might be some crazy, Apple co-developed, SDK-usin' piece of kit, the reality is just a little underwhelming. Fact is, yes, the BBC-only streaming app has migrated to the iPhone -- but it's built entirely on the handset's existing technology stack, prior to the SDK announcement. Ah well, it's probably just as well considering that the content available on the beta-quality player is limited at the moment, and let's be honest: they're gonna need 3G to really rock, anyway.[Via TUAW]
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New AT&T unlimited talk plan for iPhones
Filed under: iPhone
Over the last couple of weeks several of the big cell carriers having been rolling out "unlimited" talk packages, including AT&T. Well it appears that they've gotten around to adding the iPhone to the mix as the Apple iPhone rates page now features an unlimited plan. For $119.99 a month you get unlimited talk time (but the same 200 SMS text messages as the other plans). Since all iPhone plans have unlimited data really the only thing you get is the unlimited talk time. Nonetheless, if you're a big talker (and don't live in Alaska) you might want to check out this upgrade.
[via Engadget]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
iWash Does Not Clean Your iPhone at All [Nsfw]
Blond, leopard print bikini, splashing water, iPhone, video—what else do you need to know? Take the NSFW jump for the naughtiest iPhone cleaning you have ever seen.
We've watched this many times now, and what we just cannot figure out is how Stevie—that's apparently her name—manaaged to get in the iPhone in the first place. Secondly, regardless of how she managed to get in there, how did she think she'd clean the screen with water alone? Further, where is her can of specialized iPhone screen cleaning soap stuff? On the grounds of these extremely pertinent questions, we have to dub iWash a no good scam—we're as shocked as you are. [Dailymotion via techburgh]
