Apple Launches ITunes App Store With 500+ Apps 121
L. Miriam writes "Apple launched the iTunes App store for the iPhone and iPod Touch today, following the earlier launch of iTunes 7.7. There are over 500 applications available for download, with prices ranging from free to around $35. Both MySpace and Facebook apps are there, as well as a mix of games, utilities and ebooks. You can download applications now, but you can't do anything with them until the iPhone/iPod 2.0 firmware is released. The App Store can't be accessed directly through iTunes, but Mobile Computer explains how to get to it, and has a few screenshots, too."
"500" (Score:5, Insightful)
The 500+ figure includes each e-book as a separate "app", but still there's a pretty good showing with much more to come. A lot of it is free or very cheap.
Still, if people thought FairPlay DRM was a lock-in factor for iPods, they haven't seen anything yet. Android is going to be about 6 months too late to intercept the wave of lock-in happening right now with the app store. I'll bet Stallman is firing up a good rant as we speak...
where's the remote desktop or vnc app? or hell, (Score:3, Insightful)
why not even a ssh/telnet client of any kind. WTF apple?
Re:where's the remote desktop or vnc app? or hell, (Score:4, Insightful)
Well, barring anything in the SDK that might prevent an SSH/telnet client from being developed, I suspect it's because none of the the currently-ready iPhone developers thought the market needed it badly enough to develop it now. Don't like it? Write one yourself [apple.com].
iPhone Developer Program (Score:5, Insightful)
By current guesses, Apple had about 25k developers sign up for the iPhone Developer Program and only let 5k in. I am sure that the 20k developers who are (still) locked out are pleased as punch that the 5k got first opportunity to get their apps into the App Store.
Apple has been giving away the SDK, but you need to be in the developer program to run your code on an actual device (or to get your app into the App Store). They say that the Simulator in the SDK should be good enough even if it can't simulate one of the more interesting features of the iPhone/iPod touch, the accelerometer.
The iPhone and iPod touch are so cool that we just put up with everything that Apple does and be happy little developers until Apple thinks we deserve to be let in, right?
Re:iPhone Developer Program (Score:4, Insightful)
No, the iPhone and iPod touch will sell so many units that developers are salivating at the idea of selling on it.
Just like developers are now jumping onto the Wii bandwagon.
Re:iPhone Developer Program (Score:4, Insightful)
Apple has been giving away the SDK, but you need to be in the developer program to run your code on an actual device (or to get your app into the App Store). They say that the Simulator in the SDK should be good enough even if it can't simulate one of the more interesting features of the iPhone/iPod touch, the accelerometer.
I'm still furious that Apple released the Macintosh before I had a chance to write $APPLICATION, and now it's been about 24 years since anybody has written anything for the Mac, because the first 500 applications written covered everybody's needs.
OK, seriously - yeah, it sucks that not everybody gets to be one of the first 500 applications. But, if you blow us away with your application, it doesn't matter. Make it so intuitive, pretty, and powerful that we can't resist. Find an application that meets the needs that I don't even know I have yet, then show me how much better my life would be with your application. That's what Apple does with its products (they were not the first to market with an MP3 player, but they effectively cleared the market of everybody else), and that's what you'll have to do to sell your software to the same users.
Re:"500" (Score:5, Insightful)
An app for the iPhone seems similar to the lockin one gets buying a game for the DS or PSP. Sure, Apple is controlling all distribution, but free apps are fine and I haven't seen anything that prevents you from releasing the source code of your app on your own website.
Overall, the iPhone ecosystem is one that other phone makers are going to try and copy because it's easy for the users and appears to just work.
Re:where's the remote desktop or vnc app? or hell, (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:iPhone Developer Program (Score:5, Insightful)
Of course, it may very well be (and hopefully is) that Apple has a better algorithm for bringing up new apps to users than that.
If you spend 5.99 on a sudoku app in the next week are you really going to buy a much better one in a month? Probably not, you probably won't even be looking for one. Not that sudoku is the killer app for the iphone but the app that is already available is going to have a HUGE leg up on the app that isn't yet in the store.
Re:iPhone Developer Program (Score:3, Insightful)
You mean like that Moo Cow Music guy with the "Band" app? IIRC he's an indie developer and Apple liked his app so much that they let him demo it at WWDC.
Re:"500" (Score:3, Insightful)
testing (Score:2, Insightful)
testing