SDK

Apple to 100,000 iPhone developers: don't call us, we'll call you

Three days ago it seemed as though the world had finally opened up for would-be iPhone developers.

After eight months of pent-up demand, the pieces were in place to begin exploiting the new platform in earnest. Getting hold of the free software developers kit (SDK) was as simple as entering your iTunes name and password. The tools were powerful. The support was rich.

The programmers were "excited," Apple's PR department assured us MORE

Apple briefs: Beatles '08, roadmap video, BBC iPlayer on iPhone U.K.

Catching up on late week Apple (AAPL) news...

Beatles on iTunes in 2008. We've heard stories like it before, but this one has a twist. The London Evening Standard reported Saturday that Paul McCartney, who is said to be worth more than $1.65 billion, will begin releasing the Beatles catalog on iTunes in the coming months to help defray the $40 to $60 million it may cost him to get MORE

iPhone v. BlackBerry: A battle for hearts and minds of developers

One of the advantages Research in Motion's (RIMM) Blackberry has over Apple (AAPL) is the number of third-party developers writing applications for it: 650 as of last summer, according to RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis (link). Except the rogue developers writing unauthorized apps for jailbroken iPhones, there has been only one developer writing native apps for the iPhone: Apple. Everybody else has been making relatively slow, crippled web apps.

All that changed MORE

Apple ships beta version of iPhone SDK

As predicted, the version of the long-awaited iPhone software developers kit (SDK) being released today is still in beta, or test mode. According to Steve Jobs, the finished software will be shipped to developers as a free software update in June. (See Apple's press release here.)

These and other details of the so-called iPhone software roadmap were revealed today at an Apple (AAPL) special event on the company's Cupertino campus.

After several MORE

Apple will build Microsoft exchange into every iPhone

Finally! Eight months after it was introduced, the iPhone is finally getting the e-mail service it deserves. At the Apple (AAPL) special event today, Steve Jobs introduced and Phil Schiller demonstrated the next iPhone update, one that has everything on your IT department's wishlist:

Push e-mail
Push calendars
Push contacts
Global address lists
Cisco IPsec PVN
Certificates and identities
WPA2/802.1x
Enforced security policies
Device configuration
Remote wipe, in case the iPhone is lost or stolen

In the demo, Microsoft (MSFT) MORE

What to expect at today's Apple event

On Thursday, before an audience of industry analysts, tech reporters and invited guests, Apple (AAPL) will unfold its long-awaited "iPhone software roadmap." The event starts at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) in Building 4, Town Hall on the company's Cupertino campus.

So what's going to happen? Let's review what we know and what's been rumored.

What we know:

The "roadmap" will cover the iPhone software developers kit (SDK) that Steve Jobs had MORE

Rumors: iPhone SDK not ready for primetime?

There's growing speculation among Apple (AAPL) watchers that the iPhone software developer's kit (SDK) that Steve Jobs said he hoped to have ready before the end of February -- and is the headliner of the "special event" scheduled for March 6 -- may still be in beta and might not arrive until the World Wide Developer's Conference some time in June.

This would be a surprise, although probably not the MORE

iPhone software roadmap: You've got (Exchange) mail?

"Some exciting enterprise features." Those were the magic words in the e-mail that Apple (AAPL) analysts and journalists received Wednesday from the company's media events department.

The invitation for a March 6 "special event," illustrated with a map and directions to the company's Cupertino campus, was music to the ears of software developers, who've been itching to get their hands on the SDK (software developers kit) ever since Steve Jobs promised MORE

iPhone SDK: What's holding it up?

The iPhone's software developer's kit (SDK) was supposed to be the answer to the device's many shortcomings: no corporate e-mail support, no cut-and-paste, no native games, etc.

Now, with only five business days before Apple's (AAPL) self-imposed February deadline, Arik Hesseldahl reports in Byte of the Apple that it ain't gonna happen -- at least not on deadline. He writes:

I'm hearing from one source that its going to be late. I'm MORE

Life after Macworld: Apple TV Take 2, Aperture 2, etc.

Good things come to those who wait.

Steve Jobs may have disappointed his fan base -- and Wall Street -- by not having more to offer at Macworld last month. But whether by design or by way of compensation, the folks at Apple (AAPL) have been extra busy in the weeks since.

Last week the company released the new 16 GB iPhone that many Apple watchers had expected to see at MORE