The iPhone Thread !!! Update: OS 3.1.2 Out!

[diabloo]

Apple Inc.'s second-generation iPhone is expected to carry an initial hardware Bill Of Materials (BOM) and manufacturing cost of $173, according to a preliminary "virtual teardown" conducted by iSuppli Corp.

[srijit]

The iSuppli teardown doesnt include the cost of R&D, advertising, and Apple Tax (for snobs only!!)
Dont think we can bargain with Apple, knowing how much their phone costs. Hasnt done much good with their ipods, which they are still selling at premium rates.

[diabloo]

How is this Apple SDK different from Google Andrioid or Microsoft Mobile SDK or Symbian OS SDK? I ask because, I see no difference. What must be capable with Apple SDK must be capable with other SDKs. Only thing going for Apple is the jazzy demo. Its matter of time before other players come up even jazzier demo.

Originally Posted by Samurai

This is not true, Apple has released a ground breaking SDK for iPhone which has been the most talked about SDK (what's new) in the world since a month.

Originally Posted by Samurai

Therefore, I too saw the presentation. Well, I am also blown away. The new SDK is so revolutionary, I went weak in the knee. If you have already seen the presentation and then making this statement, then I don't know what to say.

[Jaggu]

Ok already leaked out, official way of unlocking. So guys and gals hackers would have started their work by now lol.

iClarified - Apple News - Special Version of iTunes to Unbrick 3G iPhones Leaked

The download link for itunes beta has been removed by now i guess

[srijit]

Originally Posted by diabloo

How is this Apple SDK different from Google Andrioid or Microsoft Mobile SDK or Symbian OS SDK? I ask because, I see no difference. What must be capable with Apple SDK must be capable with other SDKs. Only thing going for Apple is the jazzy demo. Its matter of time before other players come up even jazzier demo.

diabloo, have you seen the video's of the SDK, either during WWDC or earlier during the special conference meet? No other SDK looks and acts like the iPhone one. It *looks* quite powerful and a blast to code on. (I dont have personal experience).
It also has an integrated marketplace, which is of tremendous interest for developers. Your app, if approved, can be puchased by 10+ million people all over the world. No marketing, branding needed. Apple helps you to get the exposure if your app is good.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Ok already leaked out, official way of unlocking. So guys and gals hackers would have started their work by now lol.

iClarified - Apple News - Special Version of iTunes to Unbrick 3G iPhones Leaked

The download link for itunes beta has been removed by now i guess

Sigh. 510 views and the link is already down :(

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by srijit

diabloo, have you seen the video's of the SDK, either during WWDC or earlier during the special conference meet? No other SDK looks and acts like the iPhone one. It *looks* quite powerful and a blast to code on. (I dont have personal experience).

Whats so special about this particular SDK? Every WM version that has come out so far since 2002 has had an SDK release and tens of thousands of applications written for all sorts of vague things like turning the phone screen into a mirror or a source of light (a la torch) or even very useful things like "Pocket Bartender" featuring 1,000 cocktail recipes literally at your fingertips...a visit to FreewarePPC.com - Freeware Pocket PC / Freeware Windows Mobile: the one and only site for downloading freeware files for Pocket PC / Windows Mobile handhelds. will show a small sample of the number of free apps available thanks to those SDKs.

Why all the brouhaha over this particular SDK, then?

[srijit]

I cant really explain cos I am neither an iPhone developer nor a WM developer. So I dont know how they stack up directly. All I know is that the presentation videos impressed me. Maybe that was just good marketing, but they had EA Sports, Sega, Epocretes, and Salesforce, and others come on stage and swear how easy it was to create stuff, in two weeks, on some platform they had never seen before. And the end result looked gorgeous.
Seeing that video made my Windows only friend want to experiment with the SDK. He doesnt know Objective C, but he was willing to learn. He finally dropped it when I told him that the SDK worked only on the Mac
So, in conclusion, the SDK might be only good marketing, but a lot of people are excited about it.
I'd recommend watching the two SDK presentations and judging for yourself

ps: @Jaggu, on further reflection, if you get the iPhone only after signing a 2 year contract, what is the use of unlocking? Your payment details are already with them. Sigh.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by srijit

ps: @Jaggu, on further reflection, if you get the iPhone only after signing a 2 year contract, what is the use of unlocking? Your payment details are already with them. Sigh.

Yup thats the whole idea, make it impossible to physically procure the phone without a long term contract, ie if its on subsidized price. Hey but lets not speculate too much, and await the launch at our friendly neighborhood grey market soon.


On the other hand in countries like India, where operators will launch locked handset, but at a less subsidized price, unlock tool will come in handy

WRT SDK i will not completely buy Apple's story since the idea was always out there, let it be Win Mob, Simbian or newerd platform like Android, which is even more advanced thinking.

What apple has done is to package it along with a competent hardware and create the hype to make it a good success.

[Samurai]

Guys, it is very difficult to explain the benefits of Apple SDK to non-programmers. A SDK is basically a programmer's bread and butter, if programmers think it is great, then take their word for it.

Actually I haven't seen the program model myself since I haven't downloaded the SDK. My impressions are from seeing the output of the SDK. And I don't get easily impressed.

I haven't seen Microsoft Mobile SDK or Symbian OS SDK either. But I haven't seen these phones produce output any closer to Apple iPhone.

The iPhone SDK is very tightly coupled to iPhone, they don't have to deal with various models from various manufacturers and worry about compatibility. That is why they always have that extra edge over others.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Samurai

The iPhone SDK is very tightly coupled to iPhone, they don't have to deal with various models from various manufacturers and worry about compatibility. That is why they always have that extra edge over others.

If you ask me, the end user, thats the biggest drawback. I cant have a choice of handsets that fit my bill or needs On the other hand latest thinking is that of a platform which is independent of hardware, where anyone can plug, play, and develop. Eventually this means cheaper end user products, with better choices and zillion applications free or more cost effective.

UI is just one part of the package which i buy when i buy a PDA or phone, how flexible is the whole device and how fast it will adapt to newer stuff out there, thats questionable.

Whatever said and done, am hooked on to the UI for now, and think that am resourceful enough to make the iphone fit my current needs, atleast for the next one year. So apple bring it on, launch the phone asap!

[diabloo]

Java ME and .Net Are Top Wireless Platforms – Android and Mac OS Lag Far Behind

Despite the hype surrounding Apple's iPhone and Google's Android, more developers are targeting their apps to run on the .Net Compact Frameworks and Java ME platforms according to a new survey released by IT market intelligence firm Evans Data Corporation.

The .Net Compact Framework and Java ME top the list of platforms being targeted today by wireless developers, according to a survey of 384 professional developers working on wireless apps conducted last month. Forty-two percent were targeting each platform.

Linux and Windows Mobile 6.0 trailed behind, while Android and Mac OS were being targeted by fewer developers than any other major platform with only 7% of wireless developers creating any apps for either of those platforms.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by Samurai

I haven't seen Microsoft Mobile SDK or Symbian OS SDK either. But I haven't seen these phones produce output any closer to Apple iPhone.

Which phones specifically?

The diff between the iPhone SDK and the .net or Win Mo is that the latter SDKs enable applications to be written for the OS/platform and not for a specific device. It gives the software developer a wider market to supply to - while HTC is best known for Win Mobile phones, they are only a part of the market. Win Mo is used by manufacturers or resellers like O2, Eten, Mio, Sony Ericsson (the new Xperia), Samsung (the i900), iMate and several others. Other than the UI, the iPhone is only getting to where others have been for a while now. Windows Mobile <> HTC.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Which phones specifically?

The Nokia N series for Symbian and HTC phones for WinMo.

Originally Posted by Steeroid

The diff between the iPhone SDK and the .net or Win Mo is that the latter SDKs enable applications to be written for the OS/platform and not for a specific device.

That is what I am saying. Since Apple SDK is aiming only at one phone, that too developed by the same company, they can exploit every feature of the phone and expose the capabilities of the equipment fully to the programmer.

The generic phone OS like WinMo and Symbian have to aim for compatibility and they won't generally try to exploit every possible feature of a given phone.

Ask any programmer, it is very easy to code when the target hardware is known.

[tsk1979]

Iphone is a "locked device".
I am sure that applications and uses on this device will be limited more by marketing by engineering. When that starts to happen, the iphone may have the worlds fastest supercomputer inside, but it will still be nonsense from end user point of view.
Case in point. The WiFi free call application. When someone hacks it to use 3G, operators will scamper to block it because all you need is an unlimited data plan(500/mo) and you have free VOIP calls everywhere, not just near WIFI networks.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by diabloo

... more developers are targeting their apps to run on the .Net Compact Frameworks and Java ME platforms according to a new survey released by IT market intelligence firm Evans Data Corporation.
...

That is one hell of a generalization, most probably by ill-informed journalists asking inane survey questions developers find difficult to give an answer to. I realized it is possible for a survey question to have 3 answers, Yes, No and "Are you sure the question is relevant to the subject?"!!! In the last 3 years I must have gone through 20 of these surveys, and know what questions they ask and how. Statistics is a funny subject, especially when you relate studies with who one talks to!

There are 2 categories of developers: independent developers hopeful of selling a small application on mobile devices, and developers working in organized environments developing specific mass-use applications. The first category goes by such 'market surveys' and is perpetually hopeful of making a sale. The second writes device- and OS-independent programs and makes money.

Now, is ".Net Compact Framework" device and OS independent? Is it in USE currently at all in ANY OTS application? And is it correct to group it with J2ME, Linux and Mac OS? That is where the cat jumps out of the bag!

Sometimes it is quite apparent that a survey is being used as a gentle subliminal tool to promote the usage of a particular technology.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

... operators will scamper to block it because all you need is an unlimited data plan(500/mo) and you have free VOIP calls everywhere, not just near WIFI networks.

Today, almost all operators make money by channeling bytes, not calls, and hence do not block specific protocols like H.263 and SIP. Also, if you setup a VPN tunnel - they have NO way of knowing. VoIP over GPRS/EDGE is already a reality with people who know and have the right software. The operators will find it very difficult to justify blocking, though they will always get away with charging for CLI even though it does not cost them anything, literally and figuratively.