MacRumors

Mobile game developer Gameloft has announced that they will be developing more than 15 game titles for the iPhone in 2008.

Gameloft is already responsible for a few Apple iPod games such as Block Breaker Deluxe and Brain Challenge. Wikipedia lists a number of games developed by Gameloft, including mobile versions of Prince of Persia, Rayman, Might and Magic and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six.

In the days leading up to the iPhone SDK announcement, Gameloft's keynote speech showed off this mockup of an upcoming iPhone game.

Not surprisingly, in the upcoming iPhone release you will be able to uninstall a 3rd party application the same way you remove Web Applications from the iPhone Home Screen.

- Press and hold on any application icon
- the icons will then start wobbling
- 3rd party applications and Web Applications will show a small "X" on the top left.
- Tap on that, and you are asked if you would like to Uninstall the Application.

These findings are from the iPhone Simulator. We don't know yet if a copy of the application is somehow kept synced with iTunes or if you can re-download a purchased application again from the iTunes App Store.

John Carmack of id Software posted some of his thoughts on the new iTunes App Store and Apple's distribution model:

Just based on the blurbs, it looks very good -- a simulator plus debugging on the native device is the best of both worlds, and a 70% royalty deal for apps over iTunes is quite good.

The iTunes distribution channel is really a more important aspect than a lot of people understand. The ability to distribute larger applications than the over-the-air limits and effectively market your title with more than a dozen character deck name, combined with the reasonable income split make this look like a very interesting market. This type of developer / customer interaction is probably the wave of the future for mobile devices, it will be interesting to see how quickly the other players can react. Based on our experiences with the carriers, I am betting not very quickly.

Carmack is a well known programmer who cofounded id Software and was the lead programmer of the popular Doom and Quake software titles.

It seems the same questions are coming up again and again, so here's an attempt to clarify some points.

What is iPhone Firmware 2.0? When can I get Applications/Enterprise Features?

iPhone 2.0 firmware is the next software update for the iPhone. It will include Enterprise features and support for the iPhone SDK and iPhone applications.

Regular customers will be able to download the iPhone Firmware 2.0 in "late June". Customers will also be able to start buying iPhone applications from the iTunes Store starting then. So for the next 4 months, your iPhone will stay pretty much the same as it did yesterday.What is the SDK? Should I download it?

SDK = Software Development Kit. Unless you are a developer or have a desire to become one, there is really no reason for you to download the SDK. It is a set of tools for developers to write software for the iPhone.

But can I download the SDK and get iPhone Firmware 2.0?

No. The free SDK from Apple provides tools to write applications and run them in an iPhone Simulator - which is a Mac OS X application which looks and acts like the iPhone on your Mac.

There is a beta program for Enterprise customers and some select developers will be chosen to test their applications on the iPhone 2.0 firmware. If you qualify for any of these programs, then you may be able to get the iPhone 2.0 firmware ahead of time. If not, then you have to wait until June.

How much will iPhone applications cost?

The individual developers set the price on the iPhone applications to be sold through the iTunes Store, so they may be any price, and they can also be Free.

I want to write an iPhone application, how much will it cost me?

The SDK is free to download from Apple. With the SDK, you can learn how to write iPhone applications and also test them in the iPhone Simulator.

If, however, at any point you wish to distribute your application to others or even install it onto your own phone, you will need to pay $99/year to become a registered iPhone developer with Apple. Once you do this, you will be able to install your iPhone application on your iPhone and/or distribute your application to the iTunes Store, pending Apple's approval.

The $99/year developer program is initially only available to a limited number of developers. If you are lucky enough to get chosen, you get the following benefits:

- 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 developer program will be presumably opened up to more people closer to June.

But can I download the SDK and install my own Applications on my iPhone?

No. The free SDK only lets you run applications in the iPhone Simulator. To install your application on your iPhone, you need to be a $99/year developer.

A Youtube video from PDAMania.hu claims to demonstrate an iPhone/iPod Touch GPS solution at Cebit 2008.

The demo shows two possible options for GPS integration: a wireless Wifi transmitter and a dock-connector adapter. We think it is only a concept application because the presenter states that it is a prototype and that they need to await an SDK from Apple, and because a similar demo video was posted back on January 9th, 2008.

There's been some confusion on this topic due to the reporting of the iPhone SDK event, but it appears that the $99 fee required to publish your applications to the iTunes App Store is an annual charge.

From Apple's press release:

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.

To sum up:

- iTunes App Store to browse, purchase and download iPhone apps
- Developers set the price and get 70% of revenue. Apple keeps 30% for their costs.
- Applications must be approved by Apple and apps are available exclusively through the App Store
- No charge to distribute free applications, but you still have to pay the $99/year fee.

The floodgates have opened, it seems. Omnigroup hasn't even downloaded the SDK yet, but they posted in their blog that they are very eager to get started on their first iPhone app, and that app will be an iPhone version of OmniFocus.

OmniFocus is a personal task management application and won a Best of Show award at Macworld.

Task management shouldnt be your full time job. Weve built OmniFocus to take a load off your mind by managing your tasks the way that you want, freeing you to focus your attention on the things that matter to you most. Finish that novel. Spend more time with your friends and family. Grow your business. Let us worry about keeping your goals and tasks, both personal and professional, in one ordered, easy to access system that you can depend on.

One of the announcements at today's iPhone SDK event was the creation of the "iFund" by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

The iFund promises $100 million in venture capital to invest in companies developing applications and services for Apple's iPhone and iPod touch.

"A revolutionary new platform is a rare and prized opportunity for entrepreneurs, and that's exactly what Apple has created with iPhone and iPod touch," said John Doerr, Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. "We think several significant new companies will emerge as this new platform evolves, and the iFund will empower them to realize their full potential."

"Developers are already bursting with ideas for the iPhone and iPod touch, and now they have the chance to turn those ideas into great companies with the help of world-class venture capitalists," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We can't wait to start working with Kleiner Perkins and the companies they fund through this new initiative."

The funding will focus on location based services, social networking, mCommerce, communication, and entertainment.

Engadget caught up with EA at the media event today and confirmed that iPhone Spore will be an actual product, but is not expected to ship until September.

EA also confirmed that there were "other games in early stages of development," and that it was "actively using the new iPhone SDK to develop games for the iPhone OS."

During the Q&A Session, Apple indicated that they would allow Voice Over IP (VOIP) applications on the iTunes App Store so long as the applications only ran over Wifi, not cellular networks (such as EDGE).

This means that popular internet telephone applications such as Skype could be easily ported to the iPhone. Allowing VOIP to run over EDGE connections would directly compete with AT&T's voice plans, but even Wifi support for VOIP could be very useful.

Desperately need the new Enterprise features on the iPhone? Apple is accepting applications for the iPhone Enterprise Beta program. Interested applications must match these requirements:

- A team of no more than five people to test the iPhone 2.0 software beta
- One team member with administrative access to your IT infrastructure
- A designated technical lead to act as a primary contact for Apple
- All team members to read and accept the terms of the Apple Customer Seed and Confidentiality Agreement
- A Mac computer using Mac OS X Leopard v10.5.2 or later
- Up to five iPhones that are dedicated to testing the software and assigned to individual team members