Building an industry around the iPhone

The details on Apple's long-awaited software developer's kit and the kit itself are out and it looks like it has been worth the wait for software makers.
Here's a good running commentary on the launch event in Cupertino.
Boy this is slick on Apple's part - a developer's kit that appears to be incredibly easy to use, the "App store" within iTunes serving as a platform for delivering third-party software applications to iPhone users with a revenue share split of 70-30 to the developer and Apple respectively.
Developers need only pay US$99 to join Apple's developer programme so the barriers to entry are low.
Then there's Apple's arrival in the mobile enterprise space with support for Microsoft Exchange along with all of those things you get on Windows Mobile devices like push email and remote control of devices to erase their contents if they are lost. Corporates love those types of features.
To top it all off, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm has set up a US$100 million iFund to support iPhone software development.
Developers using the SDK, which application creators working in the Mac environment will find very familiar, pretty much have free reign, though there are a few areas that will be banned - "Porn, privacy, bandwidth hog, illegal, malicious," are out, according to Steve Jobs.
There also won't be a place for applications designed for jail-broken iPhones running on networks other than those of Apple's official partners or for VoIP services that operate over the mobile network - only Wi-fi-based VoIP is allowed at this stage.
This is a boon for software developers and one of the first calls I received after the SDK announcement today was from Guy Horrocks of Christchurch-based iPhone application developer Polar Bear Farm.
The website carries his take on the news and if you check back this afternoon some news of upcoming releases, but it's fair to say he sees a major opportunity for himself and likeminded New Zealand developers.
"We think there's an opportunity to create a bit of a local industry rather than just a company around that," he told me.
Polar Bear has the advantage of being early on the iPhone development bandwagon with its Search and ShowTime applications. Horrock said the response to those applications (300,000 downloads of Search, which lets you easily search your contacts and calendar entries) has resulted in enough revenue coming in through donations alone to allow the company to bring onboard another software developer, with more hires on the agenda.
If you think the opportunity here for companies like Polar Bear is niche, think again.
The statistics coming out of the US speak volumes - the iPhone already has 28 per cent of the smartphone market, the leader RIM with its BlackBerry devices has around 40 per cent but has built that share up over years. The iPhone has what the BlackBerry doesn't - strong appeal in the consumer market which plays into the hands of developers, giving them critical mass.
"This could basically kill Google's Android platform and is potentially a big hit for Microsoft," said Horrocks.
"And it's put an end to the debate about the BlackBerry having many more decent features than the iPhone," he added.
I tend to agree. As much as I love the BlackBerry I'm currently trialling, my iPhone with push email and better mail server integration would win my vote any day.
But is Horrocks right, is there an opportunity to make New Zealand a centre of iPhone application development? Why not? Apple isn't discriminating against developers based on location. I'm sure the money sloshing around in that iFund won't be too fussy about national boundaries either.
Here's a chance for innovative Kiwis to get in on the bottom floor in a fledgling market could come to dominate the mobile industry. After the dozens of emails I've received this week from frustrated IT workers and entrepreneurs complaining about the lack of R&D resourcing here, the scarcity of worldclass positions and an apparent unwillingness for our IT companies to pay decent salaries that reflect their experience, the iphone SDK launch comes as a ray of light.
It's these sorts of opportunities that are going to breathe new life into our ailing IT industry and it is where significant funding and software and business development efforts should be put immediately.
We need new thinking around supporting start-ups and nimble partnerships and development vetures that can take these types of opportunities and run with them. Then, we need a local operator to sign a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone here so we can become a true testbed for iPhone applications destined for the world market.