MyAppleMenu: Archives

You are here in the archive: MyAppleMenu > 2007 > October > 18 > Article

Do You Know What's Inside The SDK?

by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu

Ah... the elusive iPhone SDK. It's finally here... Well, okay, it's not exactly here yet. But Steve Jobs promised there will be one in February of next year. Based on what Apple has been delivering lately, this will be, I guess, the very last day of February, eh? It is a Friday, so all the hackers can spent their entire weekend to port their applications onto the phone.

But then, we still don't know what is inside the SDK, such as the scope of the APIs, and the method by which third-party applications can get onto the iPhones. Steve Jobs definitely hinted at a model where applications need to be approved by Apple in order to get onto the phones. This may mean that you'll get your outliners and minesweepers, but you may not get your instant messengers and internet phones.

Furthermore, we don't know what is the scope of API that will be accessible by third-party programmers. Can third-party applications make phone calls, send SMS messages, or sense the tilt and turns of the phone? (As others have noted, a mini-Wii.)

So, if you are planning to buy an iPhone or an iPod touch, and that a rich and wonderful set of third-party applications is a must-have feature, well, we are not there yet. Buy the gadgets because you like its existing features, not because of its potential, because we don't know where's the ceiling yet come Feb 08.