Shortly after its first launch in January 2007, Apple’s iPhone proved to be one of the most popular phones of all time. Many phones before had functions for calling, listening to music, and surfing the web, but the iPhone was the first one to offer a fully functioning browser equal to that of a PC, rather than the cut down versions figured on other mobiles, thanks to its innovative touch screen. Ever since then, iPhone application development has blossomed and thousands of applications have been developed. However, Apple caused some controversy by at first not allowing any other third parties to develop applications for the iPhone. In June 2007, this decision was taken back and it is now possible for anyone to participate in iPhone application development. Once one has developed such an application, one can sell it through the Apple application store once one is registered with Apple and agrees to work within certain boundaries that are in place to ensure a continuity in style, design and usability of the iPhone.

The iPhone Application Software Development Kit

Anyone who registers with Apple can have Apple’s Software Development Kit (SDK) for iPhone applications free of charge. This includes licensing agreements that are necessary, as well as a bunch of videos that contain helpful hints concerning iPhone application development. This is also a place to get sample codes from that you can then incorporate into your own application. If you feel you are up to developing iPhone applications in conjunction with Apple, the SDK is a crucial tool for you.

Want to leave Apple out?

Through Apple’s application store, it is possible to sell your iPhone applications only if you observe certain regulations: the application must meet the terms of the licensing agreement, and you must turn in 30% of your proceeds to Apple. These regulations don’t suit every iPhone application developer and some prefer to do things their own way. There is some good literature to help you along that path; try “iPhone Open Application Development” by Jonathan Zdziarski. A review of that book by blogger Thomas Duff, however, states that such applications not approved by Apple are unlikely to appeal to anyone but the hacker crowd, due to trust issues amongst the mainstream users. However, it cannot be denied that the book offers a pretty clear introduction to the operating system of the iPhone, as well as application development software
Many people feel the SDK has now made the book, which came out before the launch of the former, obsolete. When the SDK did not exist, hackers were the only people writing third party iPhone applications; now, anyone can do so and most people feel that the advantages of doing so legally and in cooperation with Apple outweigh the disadvantages that the restrictions set by Apple would imply. If the book is still of interest to anyone, it is available both in hard copy or eBook form, either from Amazon or from the publisher (O’Reilly Media).