Apple Has Signed Up 200,000 developers For iPhone

Apple has revealed that over 200,000 iPhone developers have downloaded Software Development Kit (SDk) so far. Apple also announced that in mid-March, the iPhone SDK had been downloaded 100,000 times. According to Apple CFO Oppenheimer Apple is signing up more developers each week.

Oppenheimer called the response to the SDK "tremendous" and said that interest in developing enterprise applications for the iPhone is also going well. More than 400 higher educations are now creating applications for the iPhone, and more than one-third of Fortune 500 companies are actively creating software for the iPhone as well.

Apple plans to deliver a free update to the software that runs the iPhone -called iPhone 2.0 in late June. That update will introduce the App Store, a new feature that will enable iPhone users to purchase, download and install third-party application software for the device. Apple also plans to release a similar update to the iPod touch delivered for a nominal fee that will enable iPod touch users to access the App Store as well.

Apple has sold 1.7 million iPhones in the quarter and is now selling phones in Austria and Ireland. Apple's COO, Tim Cook, reiterated to analysts who questioned him after Oppenheimer's preamble that Apple is on track to sell 10 million iPhones by the end of the year.

References:

http://www.macworld.com/article/133146/2008/04/iphonedevs.html

HWPen: Handwriting Recogniton For The iPhone

A Chinese developer has released HWPen - a handwriting recognition app for the jailbroken iPhone. HWPen works in both Chinese and Latin alphabets.

The screen cap above shows the ‘writing area’ for HWPen. You need to enter letters within the left half of the work area, and numbers on the right. Because it integrates with the native text input of the iPhone, HWPen is available anywhere you would normally use the keyboard. It even works with the iPhone's auto-complete function, so you can start to type a word and hit the spacebar to pick spelling suggestions.

The software application can be downloaded from Installer.app. Then one can go to “Sources,” click on “Edit” and “Add” a new source: http://iphonecake.com/src/new

Refresh the sources to locate HWPen in the iPhoneCake packages. Install the software and restart your iPhone. After you install you will see a writing area making the standard keyboard vanish. The application is currently in beta and is also available for the Palm OS platform.

References:

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/iphone-gets-handwriting
-recognition-video-

No Mozilla Firefox For iPhone

Mozilla invited a handful of technology bloggers to come down to its office for a roundtable discussion. After long discussions about different things connected with Mozilla Firefox it became clear that no firefox would be available for iPhone.

Mozilla CEO John Lilly and VP of engineering Mike Schroepfer said that Apple’s software requirements for the device are too restrictive, and as such, they will not be making Firefox for iPhone, at least in the near future.

According to John Lilly - "Apple has not written a license which allows Firefox to run on the iPhone."

"Android and iPhone are closed platforms. There are carriers and device manufacturers who are more open with their platform, and we'll do well there - the Nokia N810 internet tablet, for example. People can just take the (Firefox) code and run with it, so there's a lot happening that we don't even see until it shows up... XUL (the language in which Firefox's user interface is written) makes it easy to experiment on mobile devices. That's our main advantage on mobile platforms." - added Mike Schroepfer.

P.S It should be noted that 10th anniversary of Mozilla will be celebrated on Monday.

References:

http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2008/03/mozilla-execs-o.html

Hello World From The iPhone SDK

Apple iPhone, a wonder device, has reached an milestone. Yesterday, Apple officially announced the iPhone SDK.

The iPhone SDK is available as a part of the iPhone Developer Program. The iPhone Developer Program provides a complete and integrated process for developing, debugging, and distributing your free, commercial, or in-house applications for iPhone and iPod touch.

According to Apple, developers now have everything they need to go from code to customer.

The Developer Program comes in two flavors: Standard and Enterprise. It costs $99 and $299 respectively to join the program.

Unfortunately, the Developer Program will initially be available to a limited number of developers in the United States. According to the company, the program will expand to other countries in the coming months.

The iPhone SDK itself, which includes the Xcode IDE, Instruments, iPhone simulator, frameworks and samples, compilers, Shark analysis tool, and more is available for download free of charge.

It must be stated again that this fact is probably one of the most important moments throughout iPhone's lifecycle. We shall expect that a lot application will start to appear, which will further strengthen iPhone's already strong market position and penetration.

Photo source: Apple.com

iPhone's Native P2P Torrent Is Still Raw But Functional

An iPhone Hacker, Core, has ported a P2P torrent application to iPhone. The software is based on Mac OS based client Transmission.

The application is still very raw, but functional. It has no GUI, though. It is a command-line too. EDGE is still a problem. So you are left with WiFi.

Another problem is that the application will quickly eat up your battery power.

Again, if this application is still very preliminary and must be used only experienced users. If you hardly find the power button on your iPhone, you'd better stay away until the developer polishes the application and it gets a proper GUI and installer support.

For those experienced users here is the link: http://wickedpsyched.net/iphone/torrent

Free iPhone Applications Will Fly Under Radar

There is some good news for developers who plan to create free applications for iPhone. According to Apple, the company will not regulate free applications. On the other hand, all commercial applications for iPhone will be subject to an approval process. However, both free and commercial applications will be distributed through iTunes. In other words, Apple will act as a gatekeeper and will increase iTune's importance as a distribution service.

It is unticipated that Apple will be getting a cut from all commercial software revenues.

In my opinion this is an extremely adroit plan.

First, the company will be getting additional revenue. If we look at the abundance of commercial applications for example for Win Mobile or Symbian, we can safely assume that this can turn out to be an extremely profitable revenue source. At least, in my opinion it will cover the costs associated with the approval process.

Secondly, Apple will have control on all, both free and commercial software as long as the applications will be distributed through iTunes.

Third, this decision shall encourage free application developers, because they won't have to go through an approval process and thus we shall expect to see a lot free applications for the wonder device.

On Thursday more information will be released during Apple's press event regarding the iPhone SDK. So, stay tuned and don't forget to subscribe to our RSS feed.

Voice E-mail - “Voice on the Go” For The iPhone

Motricity announced recently that their new service, Voice on the Go, is now ready for those wanting to utilize it. Voice on the Go allows people to dial into their email, and listen/compose/reply and delete at will, while accessing your calendar or searching contacts - by voice alone.

Voice on the Go, is essential for “People on the Go” and provides safe, hands-free and eyes-free access while driving, or any other time. Voice on the Go works on any mobile phone, BlackBerry smartphone, Apple iPhone, Palm Treo, Symbian, and Windows Mobile devices. Voice on the Go can be activated quickly with no voice training, no special hardware or software to download. Voice on the Go works on any phone, on any carrier network and supports most popular email services.

Voice as you Go is a product that would be perticularly useful to those with disabilities with seeing and the like. Persons having difficulty reading on the iPhones screen can now navigate using voice commands and have text read aloud to them instead.

Voice on the Go is available immediately on Motricity’s network of Web sites, including http://www.Pocketgear.com and www.Smartphone.net that offer applications direct to consumers for their mobile devices.

Worthy of note, 50 countries in the world currently have legeslation strictly prohibiting the use of cellphones while driving unless usage is "hands-free". Now, with this software, it can be.

HyperOffice Makes iPhone More Corporate-Friendly

As you might be aware, AT&T has already started offering plans for corporate users. It seems that iPhone is starting to take off for the corporate sector.

One of the iPhone problems so far has been the lack of an easy way to put corporate e-mail on iPhone. However, this is quickly changing. HyperOffice allows you to connect your iPhone to corporate email, contacts, calendars, tasks and notes. The software doesn't communicate with the Exchange Server. Rather, it syncs with your MS Outlook on your desktop.

With HyperOffice you can use your iPhone as an effective business collaboration tool to:

• Update personal and group calendars, contacts, tasks and notes


• Manage projects Share calendars, contacts, tasks and notes


• View and Edit personal and shared documents


• Send and receive Email


• Manage internal teams and intranets


• Manage mixed teams and extranets

Get your HyperOffice now at: http://www.hyperoffice.com/hypermain/highlights/iphone.cfm

Users Of The iPhone Can find Their Location By The Help Of Skyhook

The big idea came on a trip: Ted Morgan and Michael Shean used Wi-Fi signals in their travels so often to pick up e-mail; they saw a business opportunity in their future. What if they could figure out locations and directions via Wi-Fi signals instead of the more commonly used Global Positioning System (GPS)?

After discovering that it could work, they left their jobs at e-billing company eDocs and formed Skyhook Wireless in 2003. The Boston-based firm raised $16.8 million and signed up several partners to showcase the technology, including AOL (TWX) and mapping firm Navteq (NVT).

Last week, Skyhook was thrust to center stage courtesy of Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs. He not only demonstrated Skyhook at the Macworld conference here, but also gave a detailed and spirited explanation of how the technology works. "Isn't that cool?" Jobs said. "It's really cool."

Now, users of the iPhone and the iPod Touch (an iPod that can pick up Wi-Fi signals) can find their location and, in conjunction with mapping information from Google (GOOG), get instant directions. The feature is part of a software update that is free for the iPhone and $20 for current Touch owners.

The alliance and plug from Apple are "enormous for us," Skyhook CEO Morgan says. "It's a huge endorsement of the technology."

Morgan won't discuss terms but says Skyhook generally gets a royalty on each device sold, similar to how GPS tech companies work with device manufacturers.

USA TODAY caught up with Morgan and Shean during their Macworld visit. During their time together, they drove around the city to see if the iPhone really could tell if they were near the Golden Gate Bridge, at Fisherman's Wharf or cruising down zig-zaggy Lombard Street.

No wrong turns: Skyhook worked as advertised.

Morgan explained how the technology works: "Every Wi-Fi access point, whether public or private, sends out a signal every second or so, like a lighthouse. We pick up those signals and use our technology to calculate your exact location."

To get the system up and running, Skyhook sent teams of drivers around the USA and Canada to map out hot spots; it now has 70% of North America covered. Skyhook vehicles now are cruising Europe and Asia to add to the database.

Skyhook isn't the only company touting GPS alternatives.

Google introduced its free "My Location" technology in late November, picking up its information from cell phone towers. Google's offering works on a handful of Motorola (MOT) and Sony Ericsson (SNE) phones, smart phones from BlackBerry (RIMM) and "most" Windows (MSFT) Mobile devices, Google says. Apple uses both Skyhook and Google technology on the iPhone. It looks for Wi-Fi signals first, and if there are none, it switches to Google's cell-tower information.

iPhone 'fails to live up to hype' in Britain

The long-awaited iPhone has failed to match the hype with sales of Apple’s ground breaking gadget falling short of expectations.

Mobile network giant O2, which is the only network provider in the UK for the handset, sold 190,000 for the first eight weeks from the iPhone’s launch in November - 10,000 short of the figures it predicted, according to the Financial Times.

02 had anticipated selling 200,000 iPhones in the first two months, but analysts predicted the sales would be far higher after pre-launch hype led to expectations that the £269 phone would quickly become a best seller like its iconic iPod predecessors.

But the high price tag and restrictions on using the phone on just a single network is thought to have put many consumers off buying the ground-breaking touch sensitive mobile phone.

Customers buying the phone were required to take out an 18 month contract at £35 a month, facing an outlay of £899.

Apple also released software updates in a bid to prevent people from having their iPhones "chipped", which allowed them to use the phone on other networks.

O2 has insisted that the iPhone has attracted "unprecedented levels of customer satisfaction" and said the iPhone was its fastest ever selling handset.

It also said that the device had triggered a three-fold increase in the number of people visiting its stores in the past two months.

Consumer technology analysts Gartner, however, had predicted in November that sales of the iPhone could reach up to 400,000 in the first two months.

The first weekend of iPhone sales sparked fears that uptake would be disappointing after UK stores failed to attract the long queues seen outside retailers in the United States when the phone was launched there earlier in the summer.

Apple chief Steve Jobs this week revealed that the company has sold more than 4 million iPhones worldwide - an average of 20,000 iPhones a day.

Speaking at Apple’s technology showcase MacWorld Expo, he also announced new software, including an upgraded location detection feature, in a bid to attract more customers.

Apple and O2 have both declined to comment on iPhone sales figures in the UK.

The O2 figures come as Carphone Warehouse, which has also been selling the iPhone in its stores, reported disappointing sales figures over the Christmas period.

It reported an 11 per cent rise in connections of all mobile phones compared to the anticipated 15 per cent.

iToner Catches Up With 1.1.2

In the beginning of September Ambrosia Software released iToner, a nice application for putting custom ringtones on your iPhone.

The company has recently released an update for firmware 1.1.2. The $15 utility upgrade is free of charge of registered users.

Along with the support for the 1.1.2 firmware, the new release provides French, German and Italian localizations. This is quite useful if we take into consideration iPhone's arrival in Europe.