Developers

Apple Makes iPhone Developer News and Announcements Available via RSS

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Dec 8, 2009 a 8:33 pm

Apple has sent out an email to developers that informs them iPhone developer news and announcements are now available via RSS feed.

You can now subscribe to a new RSS feed for iPhone Developer News and Announcements. Stay up to date and receive valuable information on a wide range of topics including:

Tips on submitting apps to the App Store

Current turnaround time for app review

Program updates

Development and testing techniques

Notes from Apple's iPhone Tech Talk World Tour

By Rene Ritchie, Monday, Dec 7, 2009 a 11:06 pm

TiPb had a chance to talk to some developers who attended Apple's recent iPhone Tech Talk World Tour (San Jose, Seattle, New York, Toronto, Paris, London, Hamburg, Bejing, and Tokyo), where they promised expert advice at cities near developers. So how has it gone? The T-Shirt's given away say it all they "came, saw, and coded".

There were different tracks for developers to choose from, and one of the complaints we heard was that the devs wished it had been longer so they could have attended them all. Still, we have some notes they were willing to share, after the break!

(And if you think this is just for geeks... well it is, but it explains some of why the iPhone does what it does, and what developers could do to ease some of our frustrations).

Developers Turn, Return, and Reaffirm -- iPhone Still Unmatched

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Oct 20, 2009 a 7:24 pm

Tim Cook (in)famously said other platforms and devices are still struggling to catch up with the original 2007 iPhone 2G, and while TiPb wouldn't go that far (the App Store didn't show up until the iPhone 3G in 2008), strictly in terms of user experience and functionality, he may have had a point.

Macworld: This Be the C4 of iPhone Developers' Discontent

By Rene Ritchie, Thursday, Oct 1, 2009 a 4:24 pm

Dan Moran of Macworld has an interesting post up about this year's C4 Independent Developers Conference, and how the indie devs seem to have cooled towards iPhone development and turned their attention back to the Mac. Why? Not the technology, of course. They're up on the handset and almost everyone had at least one. No, it was dissatisfaction with the state of how Apple runs the iTunes App Store, of course.

Lack of control over elements like release times was cited as one issue. Profitability, another:

Apple Recruiting Developers to Beta Test Push Notification

By Rene Ritchie, Monday, May 18, 2009 a 2:44 pm

Apple has begun emailing registered developers with the following:

As a developer actively working with iPhone OS 3.0 beta, we would like your help in testing the Apple Push Notification service. We have selected a pre-release version of the Associated Press app for iPhone OS 3.0 to create a high-volume test environment for our servers.

Great move on Apple's part, provided they recruit enough developers to really test the scaling of their iPhone 3.0 Push Notification system. After last year's disastrous MobileMe launch, Apple needs to make sure their infrastructure is as bullet-proof as possible before they pull the push lever... even if they are planning some limited multitasking as well...

Full text after the break:

iTunes Connects Developers With Crash Logs

By Rene Ritchie, Monday, May 4, 2009 a 12:18 pm

Ars Technica reports, with some very nice commentary and screen caps from Equivalence (iTunes link) for iPhone, that:

One of the most requested features from developers, automated crash reports, can now be submitted by users via iTunes 8.2. Developers can access the reports via iTunes Connect.

No code is ever perfect, but anything that helps developers make their apps more solid for more users is certainly appreciated.

Push Notification a Burden to Small Developers?

By Rene Ritchie, Monday, Apr 13, 2009 a 7:19 am

Apple has gone out of their way to point out the cons of multi-tasking background applications -- a claimed 80% reduction in battery life while on standby with a single 3rd party IM client enabled. Push Notification, likewise, has been promoted by Apple as providing a single point of coordination for 3rd party alerts routed through servers on Apple's end.

But unlike the code-once, release-done model of background processing for a single app, Push Notification requires developers to create a server system on their end as well, one that's constantly and reliably available to send alerts to Apple, and scales to an iPhone and iPod touch user base already exceeding 30 million units.

Apple Push Notification Service Available for Testing... Today!

By Rene Ritchie, Thursday, Apr 9, 2009 a 3:44 pm

Apple has just let developers know that they can start testing the upcoming Push Notification Service starting today!

Start testing your applications using the Apple Push Notification service today. Log in to the iPhone Dev Center and review the Apple Push Notification Programming Guide and Getting Started video. Team Agents can log in to the iPhone Developer Program Portal and proceed to the App ID section to create the components necessary to enable and test applications using the Apple Push Notification service.

Apple Calling Emailing All Developers

By Rene Ritchie, Sunday, Mar 22, 2009 a 8:41 pm

Following hot on the heels of last Tuesday's monster iPhone OS 3.0 announcement, Apple wants developers to know that there's never been a better time to develop for the iPhone:

With a rich set of over 1,000 new APIs, iPhone SDK for iPhone OS 3.0 beta provides you with an amazing range of technologies to enhance the functionality of your iPhone and iPod touch applications. New APIs also provide support for applications to communicate with hardware accessories attached to iPhone or iPod touch.

iPhone SDK Beta/iTunes Connect Contracts Extended to July 11

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Mar 13, 2009 a 6:04 pm

The Situation: Developers who signed up for Apple's iPhone SDK Beta and iTunes Connect program last year are coming up on their 1 year renewal deadline.

The Problem: Apple has no mechanism in place to handle such renewals.

The solution: Er... there is none -- yet. But in the meantime, Ars Technica's Erica Sadun reports:

Apple has now e-mailed iPhone developers to extend their memberships until July 11, 2009. A short-term solution to the problem is good, but it shows that Apple is still working out the longer-term details.