Follow the map!
So before I delve into the finer points of my travelogue, I figured I should probably outline the situation with a little more detail.
When Apple first launched the iPhone in June 2007, it came with the basic applications one would expect on a “smart phone”: email, a web browser, text messaging, a calendar, a calculator, stock market updates–you get the idea. The phone also came with a YouTube player and a Google Map application that allowed the user not only to look up their current location via GPS but also driving directions and nearby attractions. All these cool features were demonstrated by a disembodied hand in commercials like these.
Of crouse, as we all oohed and ahhed over all these cool features, Jobs and Co. were already planning the next big steps the iPhone would take. As early as October 2007 (according to Wikipedia), Apple was already intending to release their SDK (software development kit) to third-party developers so they could learn how to make an application for the iPhone.
So at the press conference where they released the SDK, the Apple people went on and on about how easy it is to use. They demonstrated an app they built in two minutes, called “Hello World.”
They showed another app they built in two days, which allowed the user to distort an image with his/her fingers.
And then they showed an app built in two weeks by the engineers at Electronic Arts who had never seen the SDK before, and they made a rather impressive iPhone app version of the game “Spore.”
But even though the SDK is available for free on Apple’s website and it’s allegedly soo easy to use (by computer-programming standards, that is), there are some other hurdles you have to jump in order to put your app in the Apps Store. First, you have to become a member of the Apple Developer Connection, for which there is a fee (there are different kinds of membership packages so I’m not really sure what the fee is for the one that allows you access to the Apps store, but I’m guess it’s this one, which is $499–not a small investment, especially if you’re Joe Sixpack). And even after that, in order to distribute your application, you have to apply for the iPhone Developer Program, which costs either $99 or $299. And still then, your application can get rejected, for a variety of reasons, including the aforementioned flatulence (now that is a phrase I never thought I’d use…).
So now that we all know how the Apps Store works, where do I go from here? Well, my next stop is exploring the nondisclosure agreement Apple placed on its developers and their subsequent decision to repeal it. Should be an interesting trip…
2 Comments
You could try to make an app, I guess, though that could be a bit difficult since you, y’know, would have to have a computer science degree.
I agree that the App store process kinda sucks. (Which is why I’m writing my travelogue about the Android store.) But at the same time I think that you should take a look at all of the awesome apps that have come of this process and the money that it’s making for some small developers. I know one person reported making something like $2000 in a week or so with one app, which is a pretty good chunk of change for coding a small app.
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