Barriers to iPhone development

NathanE

NathanE

NathanE

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Looking into this and it seems to the barriers are exceptionally high...

1. You need a Macintosh computer
2. You need to *buy* the iPhone SDK from Apple
3. If you want to use C# you need to *buy* the MonoTouch SDK from Novell. And even then you can't use Visual Studio or even a Windows PC at all to develop on.

You have to wonder how iPhone Apps came to be so popular when the barriers are this high :confused:

Discuss :)
 
I've wanted to dabble with a few apps in my time, but like you have found it ridiculously difficult to do so. Why must it be so difficult to something I want on *my* iPhone? :(
 
It's not too bad, you can get a mac mini for £510, and you only need to buy the SDK once you want to publish your app or develop on the device.

I started from a c# background late december, and in that time i've got to grips with xCode and objective-c and im about to submit my first app for approval in the next few days after a final bit of polishing. I hadn't really heard of MonoTouch until you mantioned it in your post, but do you really need it? Once you get your head around all the syntex for objective-c it's not that hard at all.

The reason why developing app's became so popular was the ability to have them published instantly to the app store (not taking into account the review process) and the wide potential audience.

I will admit there are some parts of developing an app that are a pain in the arse (provisioning profiles and the in-app purchases only working on the device not the simulator), but it's been a pretty smooth ride so far.
 
I actually went out and bought a Mac to do iPhone app development, although I agree the whole process is painful.

Reviewing apps was taking a couple of days but since they've dropped the membership costs world+dog is now onboard and they're taking about a month to review anything.

The whole system is completely tilted. A friend of mine has over $5000 in his account from apps he's made, but can only withdraw about $2000 of it as you can only withdraw from each country where you have made over $150.
 
Spunkey said:
I actually went out and bought a Mac to do iPhone app development, although I agree the whole process is painful.

Reviewing apps was taking a couple of days but since they've dropped the membership costs world+dog is now onboard and they're taking about a month to review anything.

The whole system is completely tilted. A friend of mine has over $5000 in his account from apps he's made, but can only withdraw about $2000 of it as you can only withdraw from each country where you have made over $150.
Click to expand...

It was kind of a lie when i said im about to send in my first app, this is technically my second. My first was a tiny useless app i made in a few hours and submitted to check the review process.

I dont know why it's taking months for your apps to get reviewed, it only took a few days for my first one to get approved.
 
NathanE said:
Looking into this and it seems to the barriers are exceptionally high...

1. You need a Macintosh computer
2. You need to *buy* the iPhone SDK from Apple
3. If you want to use C# you need to *buy* the MonoTouch SDK from Novell. And even then you can't use Visual Studio or even a Windows PC at all to develop on.
Click to expand...
I guess an iPhone or iPod touch may come in handy also... ;)
 
Can you not run OS X through VMWare on a Windows system to develop? I've recently downloaded the necessary files to try this but haven't gotten around to testing it yet.
 
Nathan, you know Anthony in work? hes just started on a big Mac based development project using coco i think its called, he did try and use VMWare with a Mac OSX but it wont let you develop on it, so he had to go out and buy a whole new mac mini.

Then of course you have to pay for the development tools.

UberTiger, no you cant use VMWare to develop on. Hence why my collegue had to go out and buy a Mac.
 
iPhone Apps became popular because the iPhone is popular, but it does seem more awkard than it needs to be,

Android on the other hand is:
Download SDK for either Windows, Mac or Linux,
Develop App (can be in a text editor if you want, or use Eclipse)
Sign up to be a publisher (does cost $25)

Job done, seems a lot easier, but of course the market for android apps isn't (as yet) as big as that for the iPhone...
 
It's worth noting that the simulator supports a larger library set than the device.

You only need to pay (yearly as the signed binary has an expiry date for adhoc) but for the money you get the whole iTunes store at your disposal. adhoc to a closed set of phones is also included.

If your developing then you have to test in the device.. The smae device I use as my personal phone..

The coding is objective-c which is different from c/c++ but the phone is easy to code for and the same bits and ideas are shared with OSX mac apps.

So the ability to publish you app and make money easily is a big draw
 
NathanE said:
Looking into this and it seems to the barriers are exceptionally high...

1. You need a Macintosh computer
2. You need to *buy* the iPhone SDK from Apple
3. If you want to use C# you need to *buy* the MonoTouch SDK from Novell. And even then you can't use Visual Studio or even a Windows PC at all to develop on.

You have to wonder how iPhone Apps came to be so popular when the barriers are this high :confused:

Discuss :)
Click to expand...

1. Ok, yes.
2. You do not need to buy the SDK. You can develop apps to your hearts content without paying a penny. You only need to pay Apple the $99 licence fee if you want to sell your app on the App Store.
3. Well, that's more Novell's issue than Apple's.

The barriers aren't that high, the MacBook and MacBook Pro are now the worlds best selling laptops, selling more of them than any other manufacturer. Not to mention that buying a Mac isn't that expensive anymore, not with the Mac mini and MacBooks.
 
Xenoxide said:
1. Ok, yes.
2. You do not need to buy the SDK. You can develop apps to your hearts content without paying a penny. You only need to pay Apple the $99 licence fee if you want to sell your app on the App Store.
3. Well, that's more Novell's issue than Apple's.

The barriers aren't that high, the MacBook and MacBook Pro are now the worlds best selling laptops, selling more of them than any other manufacturer. Not to mention that buying a Mac isn't that expensive anymore, not with the Mac mini and MacBooks.
Click to expand...

No you need to sign the binary with a certificate from apple if you wish to dl the app to the iPhone including to test on the device itself.

(registered iPhone dev here)
 
NathanE said:
Looking into this and it seems to the barriers are exceptionally high...

1. You need a Macintosh computer
2. You need to *buy* the iPhone SDK from Apple
3. If you want to use C# you need to *buy* the MonoTouch SDK from Novell. And even then you can't use Visual Studio or even a Windows PC at all to develop on.

You have to wonder how iPhone Apps came to be so popular when the barriers are this high :confused:

Discuss :)
Click to expand...
There is always the hackintosh option for the first requirement, being a dev this should be no problem for you. (it's very easy these days).

You don't really have many options if you want to go for mobile apps atm. The only real alternative is android where you have to suffer a reduced market and have to support differing screen resolutions. I'd hedge my bets on android just because of its multi-vendor nature tbh, something has to be said for the huge growth figures published recently. Google always seems to blow the market wide open whenever they enter. The use of java over objective c is another plus.
 
maybe because the first iPhone was three years ahead of the game.

it was revolutionary, big screen, no buttons, no stylus, capacitive screen, multitouch etc.

When companies see sales go through the roof for a device, they will pay a lot to jump the bandwagon.

Demand will be met by supply, whenever it is possible.
 
NickK said:
No you need to sign the binary with a certificate from apple if you wish to dl the app to the iPhone including to test on the device itself.

(registered iPhone dev here)
Click to expand...

You can still develop the app though, it's only for the publishing and using it on a device that you need to pay the $99 for. You can test on the simulator while you're developing (Registered here also. :))

Dj_Jestar said:
I want to develop an app for my iPhone. I don't want a Mac. I don't want to publish my app.
Click to expand...

Well, poop. :p Try Hackintosh?

In all seriousness, I see why Apple does it. App Store is popular. Want to make money off it? Buy a Mac and make Apple more money.
 
wush said:
The MonoTouch point is a bit of a stretch - its very existence is a side issue.
Click to expand...

When the alternative is Objective C ... ?

I don't think asking for C# is much of a stretch.

Agreed though it's not Apple's problem. It's Novell's and Microsoft's. But still, it is a barrier to entry for me.
 
Xenoxide said:
1. Ok, yes.
2. You do not need to buy the SDK. You can develop apps to your hearts content without paying a penny. You only need to pay Apple the $99 licence fee if you want to sell your app on the App Store.
3. Well, that's more Novell's issue than Apple's.

The barriers aren't that high, the MacBook and MacBook Pro are now the worlds best selling laptops, selling more of them than any other manufacturer. Not to mention that buying a Mac isn't that expensive anymore, not with the Mac mini and MacBooks.
Click to expand...

I read somewhere you had to buy the SDK. If that's false, then fine. That's good.

So assuming I'm not interesting publishing my apps on their App Store. All I need then is a Macintosh and possibly MonoTouch SDK?

What's all this about needing a digital certificate if you want to run your creations on your iPhone?
 
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