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Apple Lifts iPhone Skirts |
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Written by Adam Gosling
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Friday, 07 March 2008 |
Apple has announced
plans to open the iPhone to third party developers as a platform giving
the industry a sneak peak at the version 2.0 software it will release
in June that will incorporate an iPhone SDK (Software Development Kit)
and a set of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces that will allow
developers to build software to run on the iPhone and iPod Touch
hardware.
Also new to the iPhone's capability will be email with
support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync allowing email, contacts and
calendar information to be shared over the air between an Exchange
server and the iPhone.
A bet release of the software was made
available immediately to the privileged few which included not only
software developers that will build programs and applications to run on
the handset, but also a number of large enterprise customers that might
build applications in-house for use by their own employees. By courting
large business Apple is clearly throwing down the gauntlet in the
smartphone space. The move will no doubt give Google, Microsoft and
Blackberry maker RIM pause to think of how customers might react to a
vastly more capable iPhone.
While most smartphone customers are
business customers, Apple's iPhone has largely been a consumer item. So
far it has been a pretty successful smartphone device despite being
somewhat limited in business capability. By opening the platform up to
outside developers Apple could find it has another iPod success story
on its hands if business users decide the consumer appeal and capable
hardware specifications of the iPhone are a winning combination.
Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs says the "iPhone's enterprise
features combined with its revolutionary Multi-Touch user interface and
advanced software architecture provide the best user experience and the
most advanced software platform ever for a mobile device."
In addition to these new iPhone network and security features, the
beta iPhone 2.0 software provides several new Mail features such as the
ability to view PowerPoint attachments, in addition to Word and Excel,
as well as the ability to mass delete and move email messages.
To support the newly announced developer community, Apple also
introduced a Developer
Program and the App Store, an online store where end users can buy and
download applications. The App Store will allow users to browse,
search, purchase and wirelessly
download applications with Apple retaining 30 per cent of the revenue.
Businesses can build their own secure, private page on the App Store
restricted to their own employees.
Apple
plans to maintain pretty tight control over the App Store and will vet
all software before making it available, it will also cover all the
associated credit card,
web hosting, infrastructure and DRM costs associated with offering
applications on the App Store. Third party iPhone and iPod touch
applications must be approved by Apple and will be available
exclusively through the App Store.
During the beta period for the SDK only a limited
number of developers
will be accepted iPhone Developer Program. The Standard Program
will costs US$99 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 US$299
per year. Anybody can download a free beta of the iPhone SDK and run
the iPhone Simulator on
a Mac.
The new iPhone
2.0 software will also build in support for some enterprise class
technologies that company CIOs will expect before they consider buying
a fleet of iPhones for deployment. THe 2.0 version supports Cisco IPsec
VPN for encrypted and password protected communications between the
device and the enterprise network.
Importantly, the iPhone 2.0 software will also have a
configuration utility so IT administrators can easily and quickly set
up a fleet of iPhones with password policies, VPN settings, installing
certificates, email server
settings and so on.
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