Poll: Special iPhone SDK Edition

We know it's still four months away, but today's bombshell announcement of a forthcoming iPhone / iPod touch SDK has got us asking a lot of questions, and we're turning to you for the answers. Sound off!

What do you expect from the iPhone SDK?

An open platform with tight security but no restrictions.A totally open platform with no restrictions at all. Also, I want a pony.An open SDK, but Apple will still control everything through iTunes.Pretty much just widgets.A massive disappointment, obviously.Vote

How much are you willing to pay for third-party iPhone apps?

Anything! Just give 'em to me!Not more than $5Not more than $20The same as corresponding Windows Mobile apps.Nothing! OpenMoko 4eva!Vote

How does the announcement of an SDK affect your opinion of the iPhone?

Welcome news -- I'm definitely getting one now.Let's see how these digital signatures play out first.Who cares? I'd rather carry a first-gen StarTAC than be caught dead with an iPhone.Um, I was second in line to the iLoser and already have one, duh.Whatever, Apple is still way behind Windows Mobile, Symbian, and even Palm OS with this.Vote

[They @ Oct 17th 2007 1:59PM]

Apparently, I'm one of few who want a pony.

[nmason @ Oct 17th 2007 3:07PM]

I've also got my eye on that pony.

[jack.givens @ Oct 17th 2007 4:00PM]

After the Bricking and lack of love I deserve a pretty pony.

[Ireland @ Oct 17th 2007 4:03PM]

I all for .99c an app, and of course freeware too :P
Seriously though, it may actually be a good idea.

[Mike Jenkins @ Oct 17th 2007 5:21PM]

Unless the legit apps are better than and cost the same as the current apps on the hacked iPod Touch, I'm not upgrading.

[bob @ Oct 17th 2007 2:55PM]

i hope it is taken very seriously and controlled by apple for both quality and security, like the console market with authorization.

[Addy Osmani @ Oct 17th 2007 3:02PM]

*sigh*

Ryan...I understand that some of your readers wouldn't think twice about having children with the iPhone..but for the rest of us could you please please put up a direct link to the filtered feed on the top of the main page?

>> Fanbois: If you don't like it, just scroll past!

It's a little hard to do that when there is such a high volume of iPhone related content on one page.

I don't know. Maybe there's a solution to these constant story problems. Maybe setting up extra sub-domains for different filtered content would solve it. Eg. iphone.engadget.com for iPhone stories. and other.engadget.com for the rest.

[teetdogs @ Oct 17th 2007 3:14PM]

Agreed as much as I would like to have an iphone and as much as I like this site I am sick that every other story is an apple or iphone story my god i supprised that this isn't iengadget. I mean come on apple isn't the only tech company making news but it seems this is all you write about lately, with as much inews on here it is just making it seem like this is a home for apple fanboys and nothing else. Come on engadget dont make a hater out of me.

[Krimzn @ Oct 17th 2007 3:38PM]

Maybe you guys should make an EngadgetApple much like Mobile and HD.

[Kamokazi @ Oct 17th 2007 3:42PM]

I don't want a no Apple/iPhone feed. I still want to see iPhone and Apple news. Just not this much. TUAW exists for a reason; If people want every little Apple rumor and poll, they should go there for it, not to a general gadget/tech site.

All I want is a little evening out. Your TUAW comrades might like you more too for sending more readers their way.

So please, tone it down, at least a little? Pretty please?

[Yaphi @ Oct 17th 2007 3:47PM]

What I love reading is the endless number of "WAH" posts. Someone call the wambulance.

[Krimzn @ Oct 17th 2007 5:19PM]

My thoughts were more along how HD and Mobile work now, some stuff (read: Highlights, more important stuff) still shows up on the main Engadget page. Just not everything. So new releases, Macworld coverage stuff like that would show up in both. but the day by day tidbits of how version XYZ is getting hacked could just stay on EngadgetApple.

[Mike @ Oct 17th 2007 5:38PM]

I don't know if you guys realize this or not, but the iPhone really IS a big deal. A few years from now you'll all be typing away on your touchscreen media/internet communication devices, laughing at the thought of physical QUERTY keyboards and the BS phone interfaces of the 90s and 2000s, conveniently forgetting the fact that it was Apple who once again flipped the industry on their ear with their unprecedented maneuvers.

I'm all for articles focusing on other pieces of tech, obviously, but you all are letting your emotions get the best of you, in this case your dislike of Apple. The reason they're everywhere is because they've literally doubled their marketshare in a few years and will be growing leaps and bounds. Remember, 1% marketshare = billions in revenue for Apple. This growth is amazing, considering how well entrenched MS is. On top of that, they rewrote the book on DAT players and their integration with computers, and rewrote the book on how to sell music in this day and age. As much as I appreciate Zune stories as much as the next guy, MS and the rest are literally following Apple's lead when it comes to certain markets.

Hate it all you want, but we've all been here before. People laughed at the mouse in the 80s, and look what happened. It's mainstream now, thank you Apple for flipping the computer industry on its ear with the first truly marketable GUI/mouse combo.

You've watched the same thing happen with computer industrial designs, DAT players (does ANYONE remember the Nomad before iPod? Yikes!), and the distribution of music. You're literally watching the same thing happen to cell phones, whether or not you want to admit that.

You guys may hate this, but we've been here before. Including the hate.

Engadget is about ALL technology. Apple's just been in the news ALOT lately.

If you've read this far, understand I'm not trying to start a flame-war. I understand iPhone's short-comings and hell no, Apple's not perfect. But they have some great ideas, and certainly they're not the only one. They've just been executing amazingly the last few years. This is important, not just to Apple fans, but all fans of technology as this will influence where we go from here.

Thanks for reading.

[Krimzn @ Oct 17th 2007 6:53PM]

Apple has been in the news a whole lot. And that is kind of the point. Apple products and news has grown into what could be its own full time feed of news. I am in no way trying to say I don’t want to read any apple news, or that the news is bad. I would go to an Apple section of this site every time I visit. My feeling is just that apple news has become such a huge chunk of the overall gadget news that it deserves its own place. There are several pros to this. 1st even more news about apple could be posted without any need to care about disruption the flow of other news, and 2nd it keeps the main Engadget page filled with more of a random assortment of tech news (The main reason I come here). I have a great respect for Apple and Apple Products, and my comments are in no way at all me "hating" on Apple or its products. I merely presented an Idea about Engadget and my personal thoughts on what could be a good organizational addition to the site. So to wrap all the crap I just wrote in to a smaller package, an Apple section would be a compliment to Apple and its products, and I do feel that is deserved.

[Gadget Chick @ Oct 17th 2007 3:10PM]

im really really hoping (practically begging on my knees) that we dont have to pay for the apps

[Reader @ Oct 17th 2007 6:20PM]

Aha, you do notice this is an Apple product, right?

[Tim Laughlin @ Oct 17th 2007 3:33PM]

"Um, I was second in line to the iLoser and already have one, duh." -- are you serious?!?

Where is the "I bought an iPhone when it came out and despite the 3rd party apps I still think its the best phone on the market" option?!?!?!?

I mean really.. I came from a Blackjack (windows mobile) to an iPhone.. I can't tell you how hard it was to do simple tasks on the Blackjack like.. answering a call without the phone locking up..

Despite the lack of apps.. the phone does a great job making calls.. favorites on your contacts list is awesome.. text messaging (despite sending bulk messages) is soo much better than the inbox approach.. MMS messages is a bummer but you can use email. Lack of video sucks but who cares I haven't seen video worth a damn from any phone yet anyway. Voicemail is awesome.. the ipod is awesome.. maps is awesome.. youtube.. safari..

who are you kidding.. this is the most well thought out PHONE on the market.. I would recommend it to non-tech people all day long.. I have no appologies to the uber-geeks that want it to make coffee for them.. maybe Apple is not the company for you.. they want to develop software that does a specific job very good. The mainstream needs a headache free phone and this is it..

[Cagrino @ Oct 17th 2007 4:10PM]

"I mean really.. I came from a Blackjack (windows mobile) to an iPhone.. I can't tell you how hard it was to do simple tasks on the Blackjack like.. answering a call without the phone locking up.."

You can't be serious... You obviously don't know what you're doing then. I've had the BlackJack since it came out and I've customized it to my hearts delight to make it do what I want and it has never locked up on me. I've never restored it nor have had any adversities.

Try having 3G on your phone, Full YouTube (not that have converted crap) and Slingbox. Not to mention practically any 3rd party app you can dream up or write yourself if you're so inclined.

For NOOBs that don't know what they are doing, Apple's safe sandbox is where you belong.

And before you start that PC fanoi BS, I have 3 iPods. One of which is a Jailbroken Touch!

[Jeff @ Oct 17th 2007 3:35PM]

For F*ck sake, you guys just asked something like this an hour ago.

I knew when this stupid story hit that this site would just milk the ever loving shite out of it just to keep it at the top of the page. I'm sure there will be 14 more by the end of the day.

Add the f'ing poll to the existing "what type of apps do you want on the iphone?" story. Creating another story is just to keep the story from page 2.

[Sam @ Oct 17th 2007 3:41PM]

What I am hoping is that Apple lets the developers decide what the price is. Just like apples download page, where it is a mix of shareware and freeware (decided by the developer). If the developer wants it to be freeware it should be freeware and if they want it to be shareware it should be shareware.
I fully understand if the only thing Apple is doing is making sure that no one puts viruses, adware, or anything else that can mess up the phone.
I don't know why, but I have this feeling that this was partially AT&T's doing. Most of there phones are completely locked down for third party apps. Some can be downloaded from other sites using the phones browser but most of them have to be bought from AT&Ts online store.
My Samsung Sync is stripped of some features because of AT&T. There is no software update for the phone (the feature is there but its grayed out and isn't usable. I can't upload games to it and transfer games to other phones. And I have a cingular theme that can't be changed.

[ajprice @ Oct 17th 2007 3:43PM]

It will probably be a similar thing to buying iPod games from iTunes, or Xbox 360 games from XBLA. A set price, maybe 2 prices for large and small apps (ie. web apps transferred to SDK apps). I'm more interested in this for the iPod touch. After February 08 I'll seriously look at getting one, might even be 32Gb and have a remote control on the headphones by then (Apple or otherwise).

[someone @ Oct 17th 2007 5:31PM]

WINHAR!

[Natedog @ Oct 17th 2007 3:49PM]

Uh oh, it's gonna be like this until it releases... And then for a few weeks afterwards.

[Nith @ Oct 17th 2007 4:00PM]

Sorry if this come up twice but i don't think my post came up the first time:

Coming soon from Apple:
Apple introduces the iPony. You can get it in black or grey. You must feed it Apple approved foods available only through the iTunes store (soon to be iMart). If it gets sick you must send it to an apple approved vet.

Warning!!! Do not teach it new tricks. Any modification to the original training may kill your pony and/or make it incompatible with future upgrades to your the iPony. We may release an SDK for the iPony after the market is outraged with us but you will still not be able to teach it yourself. Instead an apple trainer will train it new functions approved by apple.

Price of the iPony: $300 (hey it's still cheaper than the iPhone).
Cost of maintenance per year: $3500
Cost of Vet bill: $10,000

Having the pony die after 2months: Priceless!!!

F*** you apple and f*** you apple fanboys

[Grant @ Oct 17th 2007 4:14PM]

God Bless you sir! MOVE ON Engadget! Or we will!

[brian welch @ Oct 17th 2007 4:28PM]

Don't let the door hitcha.

[Xzavier @ Oct 17th 2007 4:36PM]

I have an idea...

How about Apple making the apps that everybody wants and have Apple write the PERFECT CODE for their precious iAccessory instead of pulling a fast one on us by producing a baseline product and holding out on features that everybody wants; purposely building up all of this iHype to the public to get more people to talk/hack a product that isn't even worth the effort!

Hey Apple... if your phone is sooo REVOLUTIONARY then you do the work, YOU MAKE THE APP! I thought you guys wanted to keep Mr. iPrecious pristine as can be, hence one of the reasons why there are no apps in the first place? Boy... those guys at Apple are Slick and Low!

I’m not knocking the SDK it’s ahem… great to have. I’m just wondering where are all of those wonderful iApps written by Apple?

OK everybody… watch my left hand while my right hand slides into your pocket…. Thaaat’s it!

[Ike Skelton @ Oct 17th 2007 6:03PM]

Bigger HDD and I'll get one.

[nathan @ Oct 17th 2007 10:42PM]

You mean you want one *with* an HDD, as they all have flash? It's just better to try to put more and more flash in it; HDDs are power hogs, fragile, and big. Not something you want in your phone.

[VitaminCM @ Oct 17th 2007 6:15PM]

Let anyone make apps like Palm did for years. Many of those apps are still better than iPhone or Windows Mobile. Now how could apple control, sell, and install such applications?
What delivery method could they use to handle this?
Aw shux, it's just too difficult, never mind.

[akessel56 @ Oct 17th 2007 7:05PM]

What about Exchange Mail

[john @ Oct 17th 2007 8:24PM]

This is to typically Steve. He'll say anything just to get into your wallet.
His ace is the digital signature. We'll see just who can (afford) make these apps & how good they are.

The iphone is still a locked system for no good reason.

[N.R. @ Oct 18th 2007 2:10AM]

how can you expect apps to be free? developers waste their time and spend hours of coding, and you want it all and pay nothing? be reasonable people.

[N.R. @ Oct 18th 2007 2:12AM]

how is that typically steve, john? is there ANY company out there who's main purpose is not making business? It's all about money and competition, and that's a good thing for us customers. If they have no motivation, we have no product.

[DENgerous @ Oct 18th 2007 4:35AM]

Wrong poll. Expectations are based on experience. So I think Apple will not give us a chance to see what we all really _deream_ about - fully open SDK & get rid of all those iTunes. USB mass storage device rules!

[jlouis @ Oct 18th 2007 5:46PM]

There should be an option on the last question that reads, "How the hell do I get an iPhone in this country, anyway?"