How many people now own a Apple iPhone?

How many people download applications for the iPhone every single day?

There are currently (at time of writing) over 90,000 applications available for download in the App Store via your iPhone!

So many people that I meet, that I speak with, that I work with have said the exact same words to me – “wouldn’t this be a great idea as an application for my iPhone!”

I created my very own application for the iPhone earlier this year but I never took it further than that and I also had it submitted into the App Store as a ‘free app’ therefore I did not receive any money from it. To this date, that very application has had a mind blowing number of downloads of which I have only updated a handful of times therefore it is still in demand within that niche.

I became very interested into the developing side of things for the iPhone through their Cocoa programming and it was quite enjoyable yet very annoying at times to get things the way you wanted them to be but, since the very first application that I have made myself, I have developed 2 other applications that I have released into the App Store for download at a cost of £0.99 for the full version and for FREE as a trial download. It has just been amazing to see the amount of downloads for my applications that happen on a daily basis and it does make you feel proud yet very powerful to think that you have done something that people from across the globe are making use of. At first with one of my applications, there was quite a bit of feedback that asked for getting some parts of it tweaked up and I did spend most hours of my days getting it right and it becomes a game because you are never satisfied until it is perfect and it is only perfect after you have tried it tested it over and over again!

But in the end, the result is well worth it.

I have been told (please do not quote me) that the Apple App Market makes about £123 million per month just by the App Store! This figure to me is just amazing on its and and to be a part of that is a good feeling!

You can start making your own iPhone Applications here.

RSEPnP

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Raj_Sareen

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The release of Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) new iPhone OS 4.0 beta 4 indicates the next version of the smartphone will likely offer U.S. consumers data tethering, a feature long desired by AT&T (NYSE:T) subscribers. iPhone tethering–enabling consumers to share their device’s web connection with a laptop via Bluetooth or USB connection–is already available in overseas markets, and was widely expected to make its AT&T debut last summer in conjunction with the release of the iPhone 3GS. While tethering has yet to materialize a year later, the fourth edition of the iPhone (expected to launch sometime in the next few months) should change that: Developers who’ve downloaded the iPhone OS 4.0 beta 4 report a new configuration page for Internet tethering, informing AT&T customers to contact the operator or visit its website if they wish to activate the feature. 

Related developer discoveries in iPhone OS 4.0 beta 4 include a revamped homescreen allowing for greater customization, giving users the flexibility to select a new backdrop from a series of default wallpaper patterns–the new homepage also groups together applications like weather and stocks under one Utilities button, freeing up space for additional apps. In addition, iPhone 4.0 boasts new messaging options like previews, repeat alerts and toggling tools. Gizmodo also reports that most applications “somehow feel faster and more responsive.”

For more on the iPhone OS 4.0 beta 4:
- read this PCWorld article

Related articles:
Apple issues iPhone OS 4.0 beta 3
iPhone developer activity up 185 percent in advance of iPad
iPhone SDK 3.2 beta arrives alongside Apple’s iPad

Sometimes people don’t know when to give up the fight. On Friday night, former world boxing champion Hector “Macho” Camacho Sr.–now almost 48 years old and two decades past his sporting prime–lost to unheralded journeyman Saul “Baby” Duran in a 10-round unanimous decision; it was Camacho’s eighth loss in his last 10 fights, and reports indicate he was simply outmatched by the competition. There’s speculation he will now hang up his gloves for good, but in boxing, you never know. Camacho’s stubborn refusal to move on from the ring reminds me a lot of Adobe Systems’ equally hardheaded unwillingness to give up its increasingly public and increasingly futile war of words with Apple: The latest salvo finds Adobe launching a new advertising campaign proclaiming “We Heart Apple,” with the punchline taking a swing at Apple’s decision to block cross-compiler translation tools like Adobe’s Creative Suite 5 from the iPhone platform, contending “What we don’t love is anybody taking away your freedom to choose what you create, how you create it and what you experience on the web.”

The ads are disingenuous at best–the heart notwithstanding, there is clearly no love lost between Adobe and Apple. Last month, in the immediate wake of Apple’s Flash apps ban, Adobe platform evangelist Lee Brimelow published a remarkably candid and raw Flash Blog post confronting Apple’s actions head-on: “What [Apple is] saying is that they won’t allow applications onto their marketplace solely because of what language was originally used to create them,” Brimelow wrote. “This is a frightening move that has no rational defense other than wanting tyrannical control over developers and more importantly, wanting to use developers as pawns in their crusade against Adobe… Speaking purely for myself, I would look to make it clear what is going through my mind at the moment. Go screw yourself, Apple.” That’s a long way from “We Heart Apple,” but at least it’s honest–the new ad campaign is anything but.

Somewhat more effective is an open letter published by Adobe co-founders and chairmen Chuck Geschke and John Warnock, reading in part “We believe open markets are in the best interest of developers, content owners, and consumers. Freedom of choice on the web has unleashed an explosion of content and transformed how we work, learn, communicate, and, ultimately, express ourselves… If the web fragments into closed systems, if companies put content and applications behind walls, some indeed may thrive–but their success will come at the expense of the very creativity and innovation that has made the Internet a revolutionary force.” Apple CEO Steve Jobs vehemently disagrees with the contention that Flash is open, mind you–in his own open letter, published in late April, he writes “Adobe’s Flash products are 100 percent proprietary. They are only available from Adobe, and Adobe has sole authority as to their future enhancement, pricing, etc. While Adobe’s Flash products are widely available, this does not mean they are open, since they are controlled entirely by Adobe and available only from Adobe. By almost any definition, Flash is a closed system… Rather than use Flash, Apple has adopted HTML5, CSS and JavaScript–all open standards.”

Apple has not publicly responded to the Adobe campaign–it appears the company is moving on, and it’s time Adobe does the same. It’s waging a war of words it can’t win. Apple is virtually impervious to public pressure–both developers and consumers have expressed their frustrations over Flash’s absence from the iPhone platform, but neither sales of Apple products nor submissions to the App Store have suffered as a result. Adobe’s ad campaign will do nothing to change Jobs’ opinion of Flash–if anything, it will only cement his distaste for the solution. Besides, the real battle isn’t between Apple and Adobe anyway: It’s between Apple and Google, which has already lined up Flash Player 10.1 as a key addition to its Android arsenal. And that fight’s going to be a heavyweight slugfest for the ages. -Jason

With dozens of smartphones spanning multiple manufacturers and all four major U.S. operator networks, it was inevitable that Android sales would surpass the iPhone sooner or later, and that time is now. Android represented 28 percent of first quarter smartphone unit sales in the U.S.–behind only Research In Motion’s BlackBerry (36 percent) and seven percentage points ahead of iPhone–according to new data issued by market research firm NPD Group, which credits carrier distribution and promotion as catalysts behind the Google operating system’s growth. “In order to compete with the iPhone, Verizon Wireless has expanded its buy-one-get-one offer beyond RIM devices to now include all of their smartphones,” said NPD executive director of industry analysis Ross Rubin in a prepared statement.

Android’s sales surge caps off an impressive quarter for the OS–in mid-April, Google said application inventory in its Android Market storefront increased 70 percent quarter-over-quarter, and according to tracking service AndroLib, there are now more than 50,000 Android applications in all, up from about 40,000 roughly a month ago. Of course, Android Market still lags far behind Apple’s App Store, which boasts more than 200,000 applications for the iPhone and iPod touch according to Apple’s latest count.

But Google is reportedly stepping up its efforts to court iPhone developers to write for Android, reaching out directly to programmers to convince them to expand their creative horizons. Last month, The New York Times’ David Pogue received a message from iPhone app developer Texts From Last Night, which was recently contacted by a Google representative claiming to write on behalf of the digital services giant’s Android Advocacy Group. “He basically said that he wanted to open a line of communication with me in case I chose to port the app to Android, and he offered to ship me a free Nexus One to play around with… Contrast with Apple’s approach: it took us about three months of resubmitting our app to Apple before they stopped rejecting it for inappropriate content. And even now (after we peaked at the No. 7 paid app), we still have no relationship with anyone there. Huge difference in approaches between the two companies.”

And yet for all the developers who’ve run afoul of Apple’s draconian App Store approval policies, defections from the iPhone platform remain relatively few and far between. Chalk it up to the bottom line: Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi estimates that iPhone developers presently generate $1 billion to $1.8 billion in annual App Store sales. That number stands to get a whole lot bigger: Sacconaghi forecasts Apple’s forthcoming iAd mobile advertising initiative could yield developer revenues reaching $825 million this year, an annual increase between 40 percent and 80 percent. (TechCrunch reports the iAd effort will incorporate the new ViP [Verification of iTunes Purchases] Program for App Downloads, a real-time conversion tracking system that will tie the ad directly into purchasing data from iTunes–according to an email pitch sent to select developers by mobile advertising network Quattro Wireless, acquired by Apple earlier this year, iAd will boast features that “cannot be duplicated by any of [Apple's] competitors.”)

Sacconaghi’s estimates are even more astounding given that estimates for total U.S. spending on mobile advertising in 2009 range from $184 million to $416 million. But iAd is not like past mobile advertising programs–The Wall Street Journal reports Apple is planning to charge marketers as much as $10 million for inclusion in the first wave of iAd promotions when the service goes live on iPhone and iPod touch devices in June. By comparison, ad execs say they typically pay between $100,000 and $200,000 for similar mobile deals. Sacconaghi anticipates Apple will collect about $815 million from iAd this year–$550 million from apps and $265 million from media providers like publishers and television networks–which the analyst contends would afford the company the latitude to subsidize the iPhone moving forward. If that’s true, then all bets are off. Android sales may have edged past iPhone for now, but iAd–and the new opportunities it portends for Apple and developers alike–could shift the balance of power once again. -Jason

Adobe Systems CFO Mark Garrett said he doesn’t anticipate the fallout from the firm’s public scuffle with Apple over the Flash multimedia platform will deter potential customers from embracing its Creative Suite 5 products. In early April, Apple quietly but significantly updated the terms of its iPhone developer agreement to mandate that all applications must be written to run directly on the iPhone platform, effectively banning cross-compiler translation tools like CS5–speaking Monday during the JMP Securities Research Conference in San Francisco, Garrett said “We don’t think there is going to be an impact to our Creative Suite tools as a result of this change from Apple.” Instead, Garrett continued, developers will now utilize two “workflows,” one to “create content for the Apple devices, and one to create content for everything else.”

Adobe announced the release of the Adobe Creative Suite 5 product family in mid-April, promising developers and designers full-version upgrades of tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver and InDesign. Days later, the company said it will cease investment on solutions targeting the iPhone platform. “We will still be shipping the ability to target the iPhone and iPad in Flash CS5. However, we are not currently planning any additional investments in that feature,” wrote Adobe product manager Mike Chambers on his blog. “Developers should be prepared for Apple to remove existing content and applications (100+ on the store today) created with Flash CS5 from the iTunes store.”

Late last month, Apple CEO Steve Jobs issued an open letter to outline the thinking behind his decision to block support for Flash across devices running the iPhone OS. In summary, Jobs takes issue with Adobe’s contention that Flash is an open system, also calling into question its security, battery life and touchscreen interaction before arriving at what he calls “the most important reason”–control. “We know from painful experience that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform,” Jobs writes. “If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features. We cannot be at the mercy of a third party deciding if and when they will make our enhancements available to our developers.”

The decision to ban Flash applications from the iPhone platform may prove costly for Apple: The computing giant reportedly faces a federal antitrust inquiry to determine whether its actions threaten competition by forcing developers to focus on one platform to the exclusion of others. Citing a source familiar with the matter, The New York Post reports the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission are currently in negotiations to determine which organization will initiate the antitrust probe. The report notes that a federal inquiry does not necessarily indicate regulators will take action against Apple, but serves instead to determine whether a full-scale investigation is warranted–if so, Apple likely would receive a subpoena seeking additional information on its decision to update its developer rules. Both the DOJ and FTC declined comment; Apple did not return requests for comment.

For more on Garrett’s outlook:
- read this Wall Street Journal article

Related articles:
Apple facing antitrust probe over Flash apps ban
Adobe throws in the towel on Flash app tools for iPhone
Adobe slams Apple’s plot for ‘tyrannical control over developers’
iPhone developer rules rewritten to block Adobe tools

Apple released its iPhone OS 4.0 beta 3 update, available for download here to registered developers. In addition to several bug fixes, the upgrade includes new features like file sharing between the desktop and iPhone via iTunes, iPod media player widgets, simplified multitasking and a screen orientation lock. It also extends to the iPhone and iPod touch the spellcheck/word replacement options introduced in iPhone OS 3.2, which powers Apple’s iPad tablet.

Apple first released the iPhone OS 4.0 SDK in early April. The updated operating system features ports seven different APIs for multitasking–support for background audio, VoIP, background location, push notifications, local notifications, task completion and fast-app switching–and 1,500 new APIs overall. iPhone OS 4.0 also boasts a folders function that will allow users to organize and access apps; an improved email service with a unified inbox, fast inbox switching and threaded messages; enhanced enterprise support with improved data protection, mobile device management and wireless app distribution; and iBooks, the digital book reader introduced on the iPad. Also on tap: Apple’s iAd mobile advertising initiative.

For more on iPhone OS 4.0 beta 3:
- read this Boy Genius Report article

Related articles:
iPhone developer activity up 185 percent in advance of iPad
iPhone SDK 3.2 beta arrives alongside Apple’s iPad

Four weeks after the U.S. retail release of Apple’s iPad, it’s clear the company has another hit on its hands. On Monday Apple announced sales of the tablet have already surpassed the 1 million benchmark–by comparison, the company needed 74 days to sell the first million iPhone units. Consumers have downloaded more than 12 million iPad applications from Apple’s App Store, as well as over 1.5 million ebook titles from the new iBookstore. Apple notes that developers have now created over 5,000 new applications expressly for the iPad–the device also runs almost all of the App Store’s 200,000-plus applications for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Not bad for a device that many skeptics initially greeted as the biggest folly since the Esdel first rolled off the Ford assembly line in late 1957. For all of the early criticisms and complaints–no support for Adobe Flash, no camera, no multitasking capabilities, etc.–the iPad appears to have captured the collective imagination of the Apple faithful. In late April, technology journal Wired reported that the iPad already accounts for 26 percent of mobile traffic to its website: Mobile devices make up between 2.6 percent and 3.5 percent of total Wired.com traffic, and from April 3 through April 19, the iPad represented 0.91 percent of total site traffic. Most intriguing, Wired adds that the sudden increase in iPad traffic correlates with a declining share of iPhone and iPod Touch users, suggesting that most iPad visitors are existing Apple mobile device users trading up to a bigger screen.

“Bigger” seems to be the operative word here–everything about the iPad is larger, including the developer revenue opportunity. One of the early iPad success stories is Vimov’s Weather HD, a 99-cent application boasting current and forecast meteorological updates presented in high-definition video. A recent Vimov blog entry analyzes Weather HD’s App Store success, reporting that downloads reached the 3,500 mark in connection with the iPad’s Apr. 3 launch, slipped below 1,000 per day a week later, then jumped back as high as 2,300 by mid-month. Correlating its internal accounting with the App Store sales and rankings of other iPad applications, Vimov estimates that on Apr. 15 alone, the top 100 premium iPad apps collectively took in $304,058 in revenue–the firm also calculates that the top 1,000 apps are earning roughly $372,000 per day, translating to about $136 million in annual U.S. sales. Factor in the international market, and Vimov forecasts that iPad application sales could average $272 million per year.

It’s no wonder that free iPad applications are relatively scarce. According to data compiled by app store analytics firm Distimo, 80 percent of all iPad applications fall into the Paid Apps segment–by comparison, 73 percent of iPhone and iPod touch applications carry premium price tags, while the average iPad app costs $4.67, as opposed to $3.82 on iPhone. Medical apps for iPad lead the way at an average price of $42.11, followed by Finance apps at $18.48; on the iPhone, Medical apps average $10.74, and Finance apps average $5.74. From the screen size to the app prices, it’s obvious that bigger is better for the first wave of iPad developers–and equally recognizable that their ranks are only going to keep growing from here. -Jason

A month after rewriting its iPhone Developer Program License Agreement to mandate that all iPhone and iPod touch applications must be written to run directly on the iPhone platform, effectively banning cross-compiler translation tools like Adobe Systems’ Flash Professional CS5, Apple reportedly faces a federal antitrust inquiry to determine whether its actions threaten competition by forcing developers to focus on one platform to the exclusion of others. Citing a source familiar with the matter, The New York Post reports the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission are currently in negotiations to determine which organization will initiate the antitrust probe. The report notes that a federal inquiry does not necessarily indicate regulators will take action against Apple, but serves instead to determine whether a full-scale investigation is warranted–if so, Apple likely would receive a subpoena seeking additional information on its decision to update its developer rules. Both the DOJ and FTC declined comment; Apple did not return requests for comment.

Apple updated the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement early last month in conjunction with the release of its iPhone OS 4.0 SDK. Section 3.3.1 of the agreement now reads “Applications may only use Documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs. Applications must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine, and only code written in C, C++, and Objective-C may compile and directly link against the Documented APIs (e.g., Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited).”

The change was perceived in many quarters as a direct attack on Adobe–Apple CEO Steve Jobs has both publicly and privately stated his distaste for the Flash multimedia platform. In the wake of the developer license update, Adobe said it will cease investment on solutions targeting the iPhone platform. “As developers for the iPhone have learned, if you want to develop for the iPhone you have to be prepared for Apple to reject or restrict your development at anytime, and for seemingly any reason,” Adobe product manager Mike Chambers wrote on his blog. “The primary goal of Flash has always been to enable cross browser, platform and device development. The cool web game that you build can easily be targeted and deployed to multiple platforms and devices. However, this is the exact opposite of what Apple wants. They want to tie developers down to their platform, and restrict their options to make it difficult for developers to target other platforms.”

Jobs issued an open letter last week to outline the thinking behind his decision to block support for Flash across devices running the iPhone OS. In summary, Jobs takes issue with Adobe’s contention that Flash is an open system, security, battery life and touchscreen interaction before arriving at what he calls “the most important reason”–control. “We know from painful experience that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform,” Jobs writes. “If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features. We cannot be at the mercy of a third party deciding if and when they will make our enhancements available to our developers.” (The full text of the letter is available here.)

For more on the antitrust inquiry:
- read this New York Post article

Related articles:
Adobe throws in the towel on Flash app tools for iPhone
Adobe slams Apple’s plot for ‘tyrannical control over developers’
iPhone developer rules rewritten to block Adobe tools
Adobe ’still on track’ for planned Flash Player 10.1 release

Frustrated because Apple rejected your iPhone application and looking for a surefire approach for earning App Store approval? The answer is simple: Win a Pulitzer Prize. It worked for SFGate.com’s Mark Fiore, who last week became the first online-only editorial cartoonist to claim Pulitzer honors. A day following his win, Fiore told the Nieman Journalism Lab that in December, Apple turned down his NewsToons app for iPhone, contending his political caricatures include “content that ridicules public figures and is in violation of Section 3.3.14 from the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement which states: ‘Applications may be rejected if they contain content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, sounds, etc.) that in Apple’s reasonable judgment may be found objectionable, for example, materials that may be considered obscene, pornographic, or defamatory.’”

Fiore said he did not re-submit NewsToons according to Apple’s suggested tweaks, telling The New York Times the process “seemed like it would be so daunting.” But as news of Fiore’s Pulitzer victory and App Store rejection began making the rounds, a red-faced Apple reached out to the cartoonist and encouraged him to submit NewsToons again. Apple customer Robert Williamson even emailed CEO Steve Jobs to chide him for Apple’s handling of the situation, writing “While someone can still view these [cartoons] on the web with no problem, I would like to say that having these and others of their ilk available more widely as apps is a benefit to society. While ridicule might be involved, they it can play an important role in civic discourse–look to the Fool in King Lear, or other similar jesters in a royal court for examples the importance of satire… Editorial cartoons of all stripes should get a pass when it comes to the license agreement with the exception of those that espouse violence.” Jobs soon responded to Williamson’s message, writing “That was a mistake that’s being fixed” (a reply that arrived with a signature line reading “Sent from my iPad,” for what it’s worth).

Despite its happy ending, the Fiore saga is just the latest in a long line of App Store approval absurdities and inconsistencies. Developer outrage continues to grow over Apple’s decision to alter its iPhone developer agreement to mandate that all applications must be written to run directly on the iPhone platform, effectively banning cross-compiler translation tools like Adobe Systems’ new Flash Professional Creative Suite 5–The San Francisco Chronicle reports that after Michigan-based Flash developer John Addis created the Facebook page “I’m with Adobe,” membership swelled to over 8,500 within a week. “[Blocking conversion tools is] the equivalent of Apple rejecting bands from iTunes if they use a PC to mix their CD,” Addis said. “It’s a way of funneling every decision a developer makes through a single company rather than letting the market compete.”

But at least for now, the development community remains overwhelmingly positive about the iPhone opportunity. Eighty one percent of mobile software developers are either creating applications for the iPhone platform or planning to do so according to a new survey conducted by research firm Ovum, and it seems like a safe bet that even the Adobe Flash debacle isn’t enough to drive developers away in significant numbers. No wonder Apple rejected NewsToons the first time around–who needs satire when you’re already laughing all the way to the bank? -Jason