Has anyone else noticed that Apple makes big announcements on Tuesdays?  Well Apple did make a big announcement today for the MacBook, but not the Apple iPhone announcement that we have been anxiously waiting for.  It was rumored that Apple would be releasing an official software development kit (SDK) in February that would allow third parties to create applications that would run directly on the iPhone.  Well here it is February 26, and still no SDK for the iPhone.

Rumors are just that, rumors, but I’ve heard that the release of the SDK would be delayed until March and other predictions say that the initial SDK might only be an alpha or beta release, with a full version SDK coming later this year at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference.

More In-depth with SDK

Back in October, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said, “We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users.”  From a developer’s standpoint, the SDK could be created several ways and that is why there is such anticipation for the release of the SDK.  Apple could be completely conservative and have high security settings thus allowing fewer applications, or creating an “open” operating system which would require no digital signature and any application could be created for the OS.  Of course, there are variations of this release and once again, a rumor says that Apple’s SDK would require any application bound for an iPhone to carry a digital certificate that would verify that the application was created to meet certain standards for security and reliability.  Presumably, Apple will update OS X to lock out unofficial applications when the SDK is officially released, but previous updates haven’t proven to be a deterrent yet.

So what could an SDK do for iPhone users?

Well, an SDK could do a lot of things.  It all depends on which way Apple takes this update.  If Apple goes tough on the SDK, it could wipe all of your applications off of your home screen and make you pay for an official SDK.  If Apple went light, it would allow you to have any application you want, but has the drawback of security and reliability issues.  And if Apple went right down the middle, it seems to be the best of both worlds.  You could have access to powerful applications that would allow you a much improved experience with your iPhone.  Just think, you could have access to your corporation’s e-mail server, you could have flash-based web pages, and even access to fun games that would use the iPhone accelerometer and touch screen.

Apple developers … how much longer do I have to wait?

Well I know I am excited for the release of an SDK for iPhone, but now the question is how much longer do I have to wait?  Once Apple releases an SDK, it could really boom business at an unprecedented rate because people will finally have access to the applications that they want and need.  So come on Apple, haven’t we waited long enough?

 The news section of cnet.com was referenced in writing this blog post.  To view the article, please visit:  http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9878784-37.html

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Tags: Apple, Apple iPhone, iPhone SDK, SDK

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 26th, 2008 at 12:33 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.