iPhone to possibly support UAWiFi with coming updates

[richard5]

Apple bolstered the iPhone's enterprise credentials during today's iPhone Software Roadmap event at its Cupertino headquarters. Saying that business users were demanding additional capabilities from the iPhone, Apple will bring push capabilities for e-mail, contacts, address lists, and other features via a software update due in June, said Apple worldwide marketing head Phil Schiller. The iPhone will also be opened up to third-party developers with a new SDK, 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 also offer full Exchange support, thanks to licenses from Microsoft. The iPhone will also get enterprise-friendly security features, including remote wipe, support for Cisco IPsec VPN, certificates, identities, and WPA2/802.11x support.

The long-awaited iPhone SDK is also here. Jobs said that all third-party developers will have access to the same APIs and tools Apple uses to build iPhone apps. Developers will use Cocoa Touch, a new SDK for the iPhone. Cocoa Touch supports multitouch events and controls, the accelerometer, view hierarchy, localization, alerts, web view, people picker, image picker, and camera. All of these features will also be available for the iPod touch.

A third-party SDK also means games, and EA announced that it will be bringing Spore to the iPhone. According to EA, all 18 levels are up and running and the iPhone version will include a full editor. Other demos included a Salesforce app and AOL Instant Messenger.

Applications for the iPhone will be available through the AppStore, which will come included with the next iPhone software update. The AppStore will be browsable by categories such as games, business, finance, lifestyle, and health, and will also have a Top 50 section. If you buy an app and it is later updated, it can automatically be updated on the iPhone. Apps will also be available for purchase from a Mac or Windows PC. Developers will be able to set their own prices (including "free") and will keep 70 percent of the revenues according to Jobs.

[dcv]

I'm mostly glad that Apple is not requiring developers to charge for their applications - that was one of the fears about the SDK. Requiring devs to charge would kill the ever impressive freeware iPhone app community.

I'm expecting a number of the current free-on-jailbroken-iPhone apps to move to the official SDK rather quickly - with six months to prepare, I'm sure most of them will be available in the AppStore by the time the software update comes out.

I found two parts of today's event particularly interesting:

1 - They demo'ed an AIM instant messaging application. Many claimed that they were hesitant to allow IM on the iPhone because it would eat into profits to be made on text-messaging, and yet, here it is.

2 - They said that they would allow a VoIP application on the iPhone, but only over WiFi, and not the cell network (not that EDGE could sustain VoIP anyway - I can only imagine the lag). Does this mean we can expect a Skype client on the iPhone?

[dcv]

Also, the AppStore reminds me SO much of Installer.app in layout and functionality (including letting you know when your apps have updates). :)

//though Installer.app is already basically Synaptic

[dcv]

I just realized something pretty sucky -

Xcode is the IDE for the iPhone.

Xcode is Mac only.

So you won't be developing for the iPhone on any Windows box. :|

//I've also read that it requires an Intel Mac - so you won't be developing for the iPhone on any PPC Mac, either.

[picch]

http://gizmodo.com/364788/iphone-20-update-available-for-free-in-june-touch-users-get-to-pay-up-again

good job apple for further attempting to nickel and dime iPod Touch owners.

btw...anyone else having trouble downloading the sdk. The link that apple emails me (really lame) redirects to a non existent apple subdomain

[dcv]

http://gizmodo.com/364788/iphone-20-update-available-for-free-in-june-touch-users-get-to-pay-up-again

good job apple for further attempting to nickel and dime iPod Touch owners.


Seriously! There's only so long that they can keep using the "Sarbanes Oxley" excuse before it gets old (not to mention nonsensical - why were the AppleTV updates free, and the iPod Touch updates not? Why didn't Microsoft get slammed for the Zune 30 updates? Why was the 802.11n enabler for the MB and MBP $2 but the Touch update $20?)

As far as the SDK beta goes - I'm going to try and download it tomorrow, since I've read that the servers are slammed right now. I've never coded in Objective-C before, and I have no good ideas for iPhone apps, but I'm sure I'll come up with some sort of small side project :)

[picch]

I just downloaded the SDK at 1MB/s so give it a shot oh and no more lame non-working email links. It's a direct link off their developer site.