Apple Releases The iPhone SDK

Today's big news: Apple released the iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK). It's been the subject of discussion and speculation throughout the week. Now, developers will finally be able to get their hands on it, enabling them to write applications for Apple's mobile. Excerpts:

Developers will have access to the same "Cocoa Touch" framework and all other APIs used by Apple for iPhone software development. Features include hardware-accelerated 3D graphics, location-enabled apps and full access to all the media capabilities of the iPhone. The 3-axis accelerometer is also up for grabs. In addition to traditional Xcode tools there's a new feature called iPhone Simulator which acts as a full-on iPhone emulator for testing out apps without destroying your device. All developers can get in on this action now, but to test apps on the iPhone beta 2.0 software they'll need to be "selected" by Apple. If they need a little extra motivation, Apple is launching a $100 million "iFund" to help support development on the platform.

So, no contest here, just a straightforward development package that Apple wants coders to work on. The iFund incentive should help things move along. And although the selection process appears discouraging, it's worth mentioning that a couple of months ago, the concern was whether the iPhone would be open to third-party development at all. Now that it is, we see that Apple is still being cautious about it.

Overall, the deal that's on the table, along with the iFund, is better than nothing. Let's just hope that you get to be among the "anointed".

Source: Engadget

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Apple Releases The iPhone SDK

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