Along with the release of the new iPhone this month, Apple also took the wraps off the App Store. The App Store enables developers to market mobile applications to consumers that they create with the iPhone SDK. Developers may charge any price for their programs and Apple takes 30% to cover hosting and transaction costs. Even with Apple taking a 30% cut, this offers developers a lucrative opportunity. In the first month alone, many developers have earned in excess of $100,000 from selling their programs in the App Store.
While my development background is primarily with Microsoft technologies and the web, I find the potential user experiences afforded by the iPhone to be irresistible. Besides the touch screen interface, the phone has many other interesting features including an accelerometer and an Open GL graphics engine. The applications currently available in the App Store barely scratch the surface of what’s possible.
Microsoft provides an incredible toolset and a wealth of resources for developers who code for the Windows platform. They publish their technology road map and invite developers to work with and discuss prerelease alpha and beta products. On the other hand, Apple has adopted a very heavy handed non-disclosure agreement that prohibits developers from discussing many aspects of iPhone development in blogs, message forums, and user groups. While the SDK is free and Apple provides some reference resources, you must first agree to the NDA before accessing the material.
Many believe that the legality of this agreement is questionable and that if challenged, it would be thrown out in court. At this stage, it puzzles me why Apple is preventing developers from collaborating and sharing knowledge. Apple should consider taking a page from Microsoft’s playbook by fostering iPhone developer evangelism. Nobody, including Apple, benefits from this restrictive model.