RSSNew iPhone firmware, Exchange support, third-party software en route
By Ed Oswald | Published March 6, 2008, 3:39 PM
Two of the Apple iPhone's biggest negatives were addressed on Thursday, as the Cupertino company announced both native third-party application and Exchange support.
Along with the new functionality, Apple also demonstrated a beta of the 2.0 release of the iPhones firmware, which incorporates the changes necessary for the new development platform.
Beta releases of the 2.0 framework will be made available to developers for a $99 fee, while enterprises will be charged $299. The fee covers one year of SDK and development tool access, pre-release iPhone software, the ability to get code onto iPhones for testing, technical support, and distribution of applications within the App Store.
Space within the beta program is limited, the company said.
The App Store would essentially be Apple's official answer to the popular Installer included on jailbroken iPhones. Of course, any software listed here would be pre-approved by Cupertino first.
Developers once listed in the store will have the ability to set prices for their applications, including zero. If the developer chooses to charge, Apple will take a 30% cut of all sales revenues. In addition, an Enterprise customer will have the option to make its applications available exclusively to select members with access to its private App Store page.
Apple said that the 2.0 release of the iPhone software will include new network and security features, as well as mail enhancements. Users would now be able to view Word, Excel, and PowerPoint attachments, as well as mass-delete and move e-mail messages.
The new native support for Microsoft Office documents likely has a lot to do with Apple's move to officially license ActiveSync for the iPhone, which would be used to sync the device with Exchange Server. That capability will be critical for businesses that centralize their e-mail communications, calendaring, and planning functions, and that would probably have already invested in iPhones anyway if only they could serve as effective Exchange remote clients.
In addition, Cisco IPsec VPN support has also been added to give users IP-based encryption options.
...but it's still AT&T. F*** AT&T.
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|I would certainly hope they add MMS too...
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|sukit BB
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|"Apple will take a 30% cut of all sales revenues."
Wow. Developers do all the work and marketing, and Apple want 30% of the cut??
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|Re-read the statement: Developers ONCE LISTED IN THE STORE. In other words, they will be using Apple's iTunes to reach MILLIONS of users they otherwise might not have access to. How much is that worth?
This is kind of like what Lulu and other on-demand book publishers do with books. One might argue whether 30% is a fair percentage, but certainly Apple is entitled to some of it, if they are going to take advantage of iTunes.
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|Yeh, you get hosting of your app, payment processing, and millions of eyeballs looking at your app to buy.
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