Expecting that there would be no "real" SDK for iPhone, I made an iPhone-optimized web app a few weeks ago:

http://www.mrgan.com/onetrip/

It's a simple shopping list.

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See now this is the kind of stuff I was waiting for. I know people are pissed about now real API being released for the iPhone, ie. No Core Animation Goodness, only access to "Apps" when online. But there is another way to look at this decsion.

I've heard over and over again that web apps are the future. People saying things like local apps will become a thing of the past in 10 years. And after using all of the new Web 2.0 services online, I'm starting to buy it.

This is the beginning. It is a bit of tough love from Apple, basically telling developers that they have to move into the next gen of development. And what more perfect a device could usher that in. Low hard disk space and processing ability make the iPhoen susseptible to a lot of functionality problems with external apps, but with this solution not only will Apple developers be pushing forward this idea of external computing and web apps, they will probably be able to create apps that function better as web apps than they would on the phone. This is something people are going to hate now, but love after developers get a year or so to work with it.

It's tough but it's for your own good.

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As we found out earlier, unfortunately not everything that works in Safari 3 will work on the iPhone.

http://www.tuaw.com/2007/06/12/its-official-no-flash-support-on-the-iphone-yet/

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yeah, but as long as these apps are built in AJAX they'll work, right? ...right?

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My iPhone doesn't seem to be a revolutionary web browsing device...

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/4070/iphoneaw8.jpg

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AJAX isn't exactly a "framework", but yes, any JavaScript+HTML+CSS apps you can put together should run. As an added bonus, the beta release of Safari 3 runs JavaScript much, much faster and better than the current release. It definitely beats Firefox and IE.

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Collin Ruffenach:

What does that app...*do* exactly? :)

More importantly...how much are you willing to pay the developer of that app? :)

Anytime someone charges more than $10 for an app and scott and the boys (and girls too...no offense intended, Erica ;)) announce it here, 15% - 25% of the comment weight is about how it "costs too much"...the Apple Party Line on subscriptions has always been "people don't want to rent...they want to 'own'..."

The consumers have voted on this issue time and time again...see:dot-com boom/bust.

ASP-based services were the "wave of the future"...or am I the only one around here old enough to remember this?

Apple isn't at WWDC right now telling devs to *not* bother with cocoa...forget 64 bits...core animation? feh!

Trust me.

So COlin, you're "buying" it are you? The question is...how much are you willing to *pay* for it?

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I'm glad you guys like the app. The page got dugg and is down, but someone was kind enough to post a mirror:

http://www.alexsuraci.net/iphone/

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Just one question: it seems that the scrolling capability that David has implemented here is, not to be mean, useless. Wouldn't the iPhone be taking care of the scrolling effect by itself?

Either way, it's a great app.

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So if enough websites make these "apps" won't we just end up with a new "baby internet" that Steve said the iPhone would free us from?

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I feel like I'm in the minority here, but I really like it!

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Frank brings up a very good and kind of ironic point. It's supposed to be "just the Internet...on your phone". But it seems his Steveness really wants there to be the Internet and the iPhone-optimized Web. I'm not against it, but they seem to be giving mixed messages.

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Yeah.. I see your point on the baby Internet thing; but if you think about it, it isn't the dumbbed down version of the internet.. whether its on your mac or your iPhone it'll look the same, unless they make two versions. Also Steve meant baby internet meaning a site (or I guess program in this case) that isn't giving its full potential to the iPhone.. but here it is giving everything thing that it offers (except Java).

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Well no...you guys have to keep in mind that mobile browsers are *really* bad...outside of Nokia's new webkit-based one, they really, REALLY suck. Opera Mobile (NOT Mini!) is getting there...so in a sense, its correct to say that its not limiting you to the "baby" internet.

Its more like the "flash free" internet :)

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Hey, whats the story with flash player support?

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If iPhone runs a real OS X how is it different from Mac computers, in terms of ability to run third party apps?! Anybody pls. tell me that I am getting it wrong... Cause otherwise I can not trust what Jobs is saying, about "secret features", Leopard delay, iPhone OS and now about how cool the web-apps for iPhone are.
PS how can they be cool if 15% of the screen is taken by safari address line!!!!!!!!

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Kai:

Profit... How can one have any with a product like this? That seems to be a key question. This idea of Web 2.0 applications acting as robust to a user as a regular application is one that will evolve. At the moment, you are probably right. With possibly expensive and unstable hosting for smaller companies web applications and the overlying idea at the moment that these apps will take on more widget functionality than anything else, the idea of making any money on the platform is unrealistic.

But I see bit by bit this idea growing. In a years time I wouldn't be surprised to see some real stand out apps becoming a regular site on iPhones. And just like with Widgets Apple is going to help. The idea of a "iPhone app" directory and even hosting from Apple itself is totally realistic. And as people begin to create and distribute there own iPhone Ajax Frameworks I can see the experience of web apps on the iPhone becoming in a sense it's own platform.

Whether AJAX and this whole Web 2.0 thing really do transform apps is still to be seen. But this is going to evolve into a big step for the increased production of web apps I think.

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can I get someone's opinion on the following?
If the iPhone will run AJAX apps, does this include Google docs&spreadsheets? If so, wouldn't this mean, that with a bit of help from Google (like in maps) they could easily add support for MS Office files on the iPhone?

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Err... That Digg site is awash with links to sites with Flash Video all over them. Not much good... oh, but of course everyone's going to covert to H.264, silly me.

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I'm pissed too. Not that the iPhone only allows standard web sites/applications. I'm pissed that Apple is making such a big deal out of it. Like Gruber said over at Daring Fireball "you can't bullshit developers". But they're trying to, and that's not Apple's style.

It would have been kinda cool if the iPhone allowed running those apps locally, like Google Gears - but this is ridicolous.
I hope Apple wakes up soon from this bad dream...

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