Ringtone Blog

In order to bring this particular section of iPhone information to you, I ended up having to get an Apple developer registration, and then download the massive Software Development Kit in its Beta version. The hilarious part of this entire process, was that the SDK is a .dmg file; so if you’re planning to get the Beta SDK, then I suggest you a) be on a Mac, or b) expect a hell of a lot of trouble trying to convert the .dmg to an .iso. I gave up, but shortly discovered that now that I was a registered Apple developer, I had access to a lot of information about the contents and make-up of the Apple software development kit. This is what we’re going to go over in this section of the site, and it’s a lot more interesting than you think.

Overview Of Apple’s Software Developers Deal

The iPhone “Appstore” is how developers of iPhone applications reach their users and customers. The Appstore has a list of the top fifty iPhone applications; all the user has to do is tap the application in the list, and the application is immediately downloaded and sent to the iPhone. Applications for the iPhone are also available from the Appstore on iTunes. The most attractive features for developers are:

• The developer can choose any price whatsoever for their iPhone application.
• The developer gets an immediate 70% of the revenues for the application.
• Payment is made twice a month.
• No credit card fees.
• No marketing fees.
• No hosting fees.
• No charge to the developer for distributing free applications.
• Applications developed for the iPhone are also going to be available in the AppStore in the iPod Touch.
• The whole Software Development Kit and Program together costs only $99.

Highlights:

• The SDK is free to download and doesn’t cost you anything unless you want to actually get your application into the Appstore
• Games! The iPhone contains an accelerometer, which means the game is controlled by the direction you turn it in. This is going to make game design for developers a major deal; their games are going to be that much more attractive.

The iPhone Developer’s Center

This is just an overview of what you get when you sign up as an Apple developer for iPhone applications. These are basically just helping hands to the actual software, whether you need help figuring something out in the program, or are having trouble with inspiration, for example. There are several sections to assist developers in learning their way around the iPhone Software Development Kit. Even if developers have never even developed anything before, Apple gives people completely new to the trade all the information they’ll need.

Tools In The Apple Developer Center

• Almost a dozen video tutorials on how to get started.
• Half a dozen document tutorials for beginners.
• A section entirely dedicated to coding tutorials, with seven different sub-directories, for audio playback, recording, user experience, graphics, security, tools, and data management.
• Ten different examples of sample code for iPhone applications to assist in inspiring the developers.
• An entire reference library full of tutorials, in video, document and audio form, as well as guides for programming fundamentals, and several other subject. Literally, a library dedicated entirely to the iPhone SDK.

Why Is The iPhone Software Development Kit Important?

Well, to the average iPhone user, it probably doesn’t seem like a very big deal. But several thousands of iPhone users, are at some point, going to be sitting back one day, using an application developed for the iPhone. And then it’s going to hit them, that some guy out there, was doing exactly the same thing as he was, when he or she stopped and said, “I could make something like this.” That’s what any software development program is really all about. Taking a step back and realizing what you’re capable of. For less than a hundred dollars, you could be the next person to have a hit application, selling in the Appstore, which is reachable from iTunes, iPod Touch, and the iPhone.

Let’s just take a second to use our imaginations. Some guy, normal college kid, working a crap job to pay the bills stumbles onto the iPhone Software Development Kit, from maybe a video he saw on YouTube, or a link he may have gotten from this website. He decides to go ahead and get the iPhone SDK. Keep in mind, you don’t even have to pay for the program until you actually want to start making your applications available to iPhone users. So this guy, who knows absolutely nothing about developing applications of software design, starts tinkering around, and makes a few games, or tools for the iPhone. In just a few months, he’s taught himself a completely new skill, from all the great stuff found in the Apple Dev. Center.

So, this guy decides, having created these games that he thinks they can sell. Well, he does the right thing, and makes the $99 investment to start selling his applications. So now, he’s in the program, and he submits a game for approval. Lo and behold, it’s approved, and he decides he wants this game to be seen by as many people as possible, so he makes it free. Smooth move, because it doesn’t cost a developer a dime to put free games in the AppStore. Later on, he decides to throw a few more free games out there, and get some recognition. At this point, in a few months, thousands of people have these games on their iPhones, and now he can finally release a game that people will pay for. Well, since so many people have bought free games, they figure that a game by him that you pay for, has got to be worth it. That guy keeps seventy percent of every sale, and has built a solid reputation as a developer in just a few months. The point of the iPhone SDK buzz is to make people realize that they could be doing the same thing!