iPhone SDK Limitations Criticized by Experts and Consumers

Apple has announced the release of its Software Development Kit (SDK), allowing users and third party developers to create applications in the iPhones native format. However, Apple has fallen under heavy criticism for some of the restrictions it has put on its software development environment, specifically those preventing users from using background processes, sparking debate on whether the iPhone can be defined as a smart phone or not. Some experts even go as far as comparing the iPhone with an 1981 IBM PC, which can only execute one process at a time. Other experts believe that Apple sacrificed functionality for design, and that their claims for always on connectivity are not exactly true.

iPhone

Apples decision to deny developers access to background process, for whatever reason, reflects poorly on them. It either makes




Apple appear greedier than they would like to admit, or it proves that Apple is more limited by design flaws, either sacrificed for design or by their own omission, than previously thought.

Other people are sitting on the fence when it comes to Apple’s decision. On the one hand, Apple has the resources to make the outcome more stable and consistent. On the other hand, it will be interesting to see how developers manage to work around these limitations made by Apple. Because the iPhone is such a unique and popular device, developers will develop software for it, regardless of these limitations, where as similar limitations on a less hyped device would most likely be ignored. It also offers the opportunity for cellphone development to influence PC development, with better memory and CPU management.



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    • Posted on Apr 2nd, 2008 by Philip King in Software | 2 Comments


    2 Comments to “iPhone SDK Limitations Criticized by Experts and Consumers”

    1. on 03 Apr 2008 at 11:28 pm1Salman Khalid

      I await Microsoft to launch ZPhone (or Zune Phone - the answer to iPhone). Microsoft may be popular for picking ideas from others, but it is one heck of a innovator. I’m sure that when they do release a ZPhone - or whatever they call it - it’ll be one heck of a device. Not to mention, Zune already supports (or is in works to support) games built via XNA (the free and powerful .Net language based game development studio) so the ZPhone would totally rock.

      C’mon Microsoft… what’re you waiting for?

    2. on 04 Apr 2008 at 4:09 pm2exNewt

      I’ll ignore the obvious “MS…one heck of a innovator” trollbait.

      Apple wants to limit (not flat out refuse) background processes to preserve battery life. Background processes eat batteries - my BlackJack barely lasted 4 hours on the stock thin battery. We already know apps like mail and others can run in the background.

      “Some experts even go as far as comparing the iPhone with an 1981 IBM PC, which can only execute one process at a time. ”

      Citation please.

    What's your opinion?

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