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.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Ryan said 1:28PM on 10-23-2007
How about forgetting the hardware all togehther and just calling it "Mobile OS X" / "OS X/Arm" / whatever. After all, nobody would call XCode an iMac dev kit.
Reply
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
Reply
BEC said 11:04PM on 10-20-2007
Perhaps iPod will suffice, eventually, if all of Apple's mobile devices converge to run OS X.
Reply
Nate said 1:21PM on 10-20-2007
You could say Apple touch devices.
Reply
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.
Reply
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.")
Reply
kapeka said 1:31PM on 10-20-2007
Call them iTouch ;-)
Reply
dtsomp said 1:32PM on 10-20-2007
How about "the iTouch devices"?
Reply
Mike Schramm said 1:32PM on 10-20-2007
Is it just me or is the poll broken?
Reply
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.
Reply
ryan said 1:41PM on 10-20-2007
Just treat them as a singular unit: iPhone Touch
Reply
clockskew said 1:45PM on 10-20-2007
Just call them Touchables
Reply
punkassjim said 1:48PM on 10-20-2007
SO not worth the bother. The "politically correct" movement now extends to inanimate objects? Oh brother.
Reply
ivat said 1:51PM on 10-20-2007
Ooo, I 2nd that one. "The Touchables" Kind of like The Untouchables, but with turtlenecks.
Reply
Cleverboy said 6:05PM on 10-20-2007
OS X
Mobile OS X
Mobile OS X 1.0.2
Mobile OS X 1.1.1
Personally I don't care, but we can all play to Apple's violin if that's how it needs to be, but for all other devices, we talk operating systems. Apple's hardware exclusivity is the only thing keeping us talking about the devices. --Meanwhile, this habit has rubbed off on Google, who only wants OS share for its mobile efforts, yet everyone wants to dub the first phone to use it the "Google Phone". This is MADNESS! (Shamelessly baiting the meme).
Reply
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.
Reply
Shaun McLane said 1:55PM on 10-20-2007
or maybe iPhouch or iTone
Reply
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.
Reply
cpu said 5:13AM on 10-21-2007
Let's call it "iPone".
Reply
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......
Reply