Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPod Family, iPhone
Poll: iPhone SDK nomenclature
Gruber's got a good post up on the topic du jour for most Mac blogs-- the iPhone's newly announced SDK and how its release will affect already created (and to-be-created, for that matter) web apps. I'm not sure I agree with him that web development for devices like the iPhone will be bigger than native app development after February (assuming Steve gives us a full SDK, and not a widget maker), but I do agree that web apps for the iPhone need more-- either Flash, Silverlight (shudder), or some other quality runtime.However, I think the most interesting part of Gruber's article is in the note at the end. When we say iPhone (as I've done throughout this post), we really mean "iPhone and iPod touch." While lots of people have picked up touches, I tend to still consider the iPhone the vanguard of this situation. And so, while the SDK will also be able to create applications for the iPod touch (even Steve himself relegated it to a PS in his big announcement), the iPhone tends to get all the press.
But I'd like to know what you think, readers. Is it OK for us to say "iPhone" and mean both devices? Should we spend the extra time typing to point out that everything that runs on iPhone runs on the iPod touch? Or should we use them interchangeably-- make "iPod touch" mean both the iPhone and the iPod/iPhone Frankenstein monster that is the touch? What do you think? It's a small issue, sure, but little things can mean a lot.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
jonathan ober said 1:12PM on 10-20-2007
1. Apple made an iPod with touch screen?
Well I needed the iPhone, since my SLVR went in the wash so I wouldn't have bought the touch if I wanted too.
I don't think it's a big deal, but maybe it should state both anytime we are talking about the interchangeable-ness of the situation.
Anyone who knows the TUAW community will know that they are interchangeable. Those n0obs or perhaps parents/grandparents looking to make their teen...or younger...happy may not.
He/She/It complex I suppose?
...and the voting thing isn't working
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Nate said 1:21PM on 10-20-2007
You could say Apple touch devices.
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Sparks said 1:26PM on 10-20-2007
Off-topic, but why the shudder at Silverlight? I know it's Microsoft, but in my dinking-around testing thus far, Silverlight seems way, WAY more CPU-and-memory efficient than Flash (which, I grant, is legendarily resource-hungry on Mac OS, so not a hard target to beat). Granted, Flash has a bigger audience just through its pervasiveness, but still.
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BJ Nemeth said 1:28PM on 10-20-2007
I think "iPhone" will work just fine for sites like TUAW. If a new shareware/software program works on both the iPhone and the iPod Touch (which should apply in most cases), then just say "iPhone."
If a specific application only works on one or the other, that would be the exception, and it should be noted in those cases only. ("This software is iPhone only, and will not work on the iPod Touch for reason XYZ.")
I'd say the name of the software operating system would be *more* correct, but mobile OS X hasn't caught on -- for the foreseeable future, everyone will be saying "iPhone."
This is my recommendation for sites like TUAW, where you can assume a certain level of understanding. For larger mainstream audiences (an ad or a product page), you should clearly list all compatible devices. ("XYZ Software is compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch.")
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kapeka said 1:31PM on 10-20-2007
Call them iTouch ;-)
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Mike Schramm said 1:32PM on 10-20-2007
Is it just me or is the poll broken?
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dtsomp said 1:32PM on 10-20-2007
How about "the iTouch devices"?
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Alex Bratu said 1:33PM on 10-20-2007
I think you should just call them the IP and IT and make a note at the top of the page for a while. People will catch on very quickly and that'll be the end of it.
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ryan said 1:41PM on 10-20-2007
Just treat them as a singular unit: iPhone Touch
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clockskew said 1:45PM on 10-20-2007
Just call them Touchables
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punkassjim said 1:48PM on 10-20-2007
SO not worth the bother. The "politically correct" movement now extends to inanimate objects? Oh brother.
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ivat said 1:51PM on 10-20-2007
Ooo, I 2nd that one. "The Touchables" Kind of like The Untouchables, but with turtlenecks.
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Shaun McLane said 1:55PM on 10-20-2007
or maybe iPhouch or iTone
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Aaron Harpole said 1:56PM on 10-20-2007
How about if it's called Mobile OS X? Or OS X Mobile?
Well, maybe not OS X Mobile. It sounds too Windows Mobile-ish.
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STrRedWolf said 2:15PM on 10-20-2007
Wait wait wait. First, it's the same damn firmware in both. It runs MacOS X as root 100% of the time, and it runs dedicated software that's pre-bundled.
Folks, what we have here is the Mac nano.
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PaperQueen said 2:43PM on 10-20-2007
I’m with number 4 - call them Apple touch devices. If you start lumping them together now, you just know some hot program will come out that fits one but not the other. Then, instead of typing “iPhone” you’ll have to type “the iPhone but not the iPod.”
Simplify, simplify, simplify......
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Macskeeball said 3:10PM on 10-20-2007
It's definitely a good question. I don't know of a generic name for both that's really caught on. I like "OS X mobile" but I imagine many mainstream people are not aware that the iPhone runs OS X, what OS X is, or even what an operating system is in general. "Apple touchscreen handhelds" is correct and can be understood, but is a mouthful. "iPhone and iPod touch" would probably be the best choice for a mainstream audience, but there ought to be a generic term for both that simplifies it.
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Geoff said 3:26PM on 10-20-2007
I imagine we'll see it branded soon enough, perhaps as "Leopard Mobile," paving the way for future successors to share in the hoopla surrounding their desktop counterparts.
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Heron said 3:38PM on 10-20-2007
I vote for Mobile OSX or MOSX for short :P
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Mo said 4:01PM on 10-20-2007
Bear in mind that the iPhone doesn't exist in an awful lot of countries (yet) where the iPod Touch does. My personal experience in the UK is that a lot of people I know aren't waiting for the iPhone with its 18 month contract, and just buying the iPod Touch instead.
Also, as Gruber points out, the “Classic” label has very distinct connotations. Apple's strategy would appear to be that all iPods (except perhaps the Shuffle) run OS X, and the iPhone is just part of the line-up. As far as Apple's strategy, and how most people will see it longer-term, the iPhone is just a kind of iPod, and this SDK will be for the newer-generation iPod family (as opposed to the other way around).
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