About this blog

The App Store is an application for the iPhone and iPod touch created by Apple Inc., which allows users to browse and download applications, from the iTunes Store, that were developed with the iPhone SDK and published through Apple.
The applications are available to purchase or free, depending on the application. The applications are downloaded directly to iPhone or iPod touch. The App Store is also available within iTunes.
This blog is about my experiences using the App store and iphone applications.




Whilst Apple has stated that they do not expect to profit from the store, it has been predicted by Piper Jaffray that the App Store could create a profitable marketplace with revenue exceeding US$ 1 billion dollars annually for the company.^[1] The App Store opened early in the morning on July 10, 2008 via an update to iTunes. Applications were immediately available for download at that time. However, iPhone and iPod touch software version 2.0 was not yet available through Software Update, making the applications unusable. The iPhone software version 2.0 was released on July 11, 2008, and applications were able to be transferred onto the newly updated devices. As of August 20, 2008, there are 2,139 third-party applications officially available for the iPhone and iPod touch on the App Store.

How applications are built: The SDK

The Software Development Kit for iPhone and iPod touch was announced at the iPhone Software Roadmap event on March 6, 2008. The SDK will allow developers (running Mac OS X 10.5 or higher) to create applications, using Xcode, which will natively run on both the iPhone and iPod touch. A Beta version was released after the event, and a final version was released in July 2008 alongside the iPhone 3G. Applications that developers create will be sold exclusively through the iTunes Store on Mac and Windows, or on the App Store on the iPhone and iPod touch.^[2] Developers will get 70% of sales and will not have to pay any distribution costs for their application other than a US$99 fee to use the SDK on the iPhone and upload applications to the store.
To run applications on the iPhone, the application needs to be signed with a certificate assigned by Apple after the developer has developed the software through the $99/year developer package and official iPhone SDK.

On July 10, 2008, Apple CEO Steve Jobs told USA TODAY that the App Store contains 500 third-party applications for the iPhone and the iPod touch, 125 of which are free downloads. These third party applications range from business to game applications, entertainment to educational applications, and many more applications which can either be downloaded for free or can be bought for a specific amount to use the application. As of July 11, 2008, users may buy applications from the App Store, and transfer them to an iPod touch or iPhone which has the iPhone 2.0 software update, which became available through iTunes on the same day. 10 million applications were downloaded the first weekend.
Applications designed for iPhone are nothing short of amazing. That’s because they leverage the groundbreaking technology in iPhone — like the Multi-Touch interface, the accelerometer, GPS, real-time 3D graphics, and 3D positional audio. Just tap into the App Store and choose from thousands of applications ready to download now. Browse the App Store in iTunes


Downloading applications to iPhone is easy. Just tap the App Store icon, browse whatever categories you’re interested in, then download your purchases wirelessly — and in some cases, free. Once you own an application, the App Store automatically notifies you when there’s an update. You can even shop for applications on iTunes, then sync them to your iPhone. Browse the App Store in iTunes