Apple event: iPhone SDK, games, and biz apps unwrapped

The iPhone software development kit—well, a beta version, at least—has finally made its debut, and Apple market the occasion by showing off some early applications, including an iPhone-ized version of EA's Spore, AOL Instant Messenger, and some business-minded apps. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait until June to start installing.

A beta version of the iPhone SDK, which was supposed to arrive last month, is available now to developers as a free download. The kit will allow coders to build native apps for the iPhone, which—until now, at least—has been closed off to outside development.

Much of the discussion (held at Apple HQ in Cupertino) centered on the iPhone's OS architecture, salient APIs, debugging, and…well, I'll spare you the details. The real highlight, of course, were the demos.

And what demos they were. First up were some games, including a snazzy-looking space shooter called "Touch Fighter"—you tilt the iPhone to steer, and tap to shoot. Even better, though, was a demo of Spore from Electronic Arts—a full 18-levels worth of Spore, in fact. Also on tap: SuperMonkeyBall from Sega. Great stuff—and long overdue.

Another cool demo was for AIM, AOL's instant messaging app, which features full-on buddy images and status indicators. A true, native IM application for the iPhone has been a long time in coming, and I'm glad to see that one is finally on the way.

So, to the details: a software update slated for June (yeah, I know...June) will add a "App Store" icon to the iPhone, and you'll be able to buy and download applications over the iPhone's EDGE and/or Wi-Fi connections. The update will be free for iPhone users, but iPod Touch owners will have to pay a "nominal charge." Ugh.

Meanwhile, Apple will handle all the hosting and distribution for third-party iPhone apps—but it will also keep a 30-percent cut of any revenue.

 

Something tells me that developers aren't going to be all that thrilled with Apple terms—30 percent is a pretty hefty take, and we're still waiting for word on what kind of approval process Apple will have for iPhone apps.

That said, the news looks great for iPhone and iPod Touch owners. From what I've seen of the games, at least, they look pretty slick—much better than what you'll find on the average cell phone—and reps in Cupertino were crowing that the iPhone can handle "console"-level games. 

Meanwhile, the new SDK shows promise for business users as well. Salesforce.com showed off a contact-, task-, and event-management iPhone app, while we also saw a program to help doctors track patients and prescriptions.

So, what do you think—ready to start downloading some programs for your iPhone? What kind of apps do you want to see, and how much are you willing to spend? [Thanks for the photo, Engadget!]

Related:
Live from Apple's iPhone SDK press conference [Engadget]