BlackBerry is dead. Windows Mobile is dead. Nokia is dead. Motorola was already dead but now they are even more dead. The coming onslaught of new applications will make iPhone the only smart phone that anyone in the entire world will ever want to use. — FSJ
The iPhone is being opened up to third-party developers with a new Software Development Kit, effective today. “The iPhone is the most advanced platform out there for mobile devices,” boasted CEO Steve Jobs. “We are years ahead of any other platform for mobile devices.”
The iPhone will offer full Exchange support, thanks to licenses from Microsoft. The iPhone will also get enterprise-friendly security features, including support for Cisco IPsec VPN, certificates, identities, and WPA2/802.11x support.
The SDK download is free, but it’s $99 a year to publish and distribute your programs through the iTunes App Store. During the beta iPhone SDK program, a limited number of developers will be accepted. The Standard Program costs $99 (US) per year and gives members an iPhone SDK and development tools; access to pre-release iPhone software; technical support; the ability to get code onto iPhones for testing; and distribution of applications via the new App Store. The Enterprise Program costs $299 (US) per year.
John Doerr took the stage and announced a $100 million fund to invest in startups that create apps for the iPhone, says TechCrunch. “I can’t wait to see the great new companies that we build together,” he said. The fund will be led by Matt Murphy at Kleiner and will be called the iFund.
“In my travels around the world, two out of three iPhones I’ve seen outside of the U.S. have been unlocked,” says Richard Doherty, of Envisioneering. “In China, nine out of 10 phones are hacked.”
Third-party applications will be distributed via a new App Store, an online outlet, said Jobs. Access to it will be added to every iPhone in the next firmware upgrade, and applications can then be downloaded directly to an iPhone via either Wi-Fi or the AT&T data network.
Here’s the new math: 10 million users times 1% = 100,000 x $10 = $1,000,000 times 70% after Apple’s cut = $700,000. Blog Runner, Engadget and MacWorld have live coverage.
