Well, it looks like Microsoft is going to be getting some cash from Apple and RIM has a lot to fear in their lucrative business market. During a session with tech journalists on Thursday morning, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the long awaited iPhone SDK. Available as a free download, it is basically an updated version of Apple’s Xcode development environment that lets you program for the iPhone. This will mean games, an AIM instant messaging client and other cool stuff beginning in June, when version 2.0 of the iPhone software is rolled out to users. Most significant, however, is the fact that has licensed Microsoft’s Exchange ActiveSync, and will embed it right into the Mail application on an iPhone. That and other new features, such as Cisco IPsec VPN, will enable business users to readily embrace iPhones and, Apple hopes, send their Blackberries out to pasture. Although the iPhone SDK is free, if you want to actually sell your stuff to iPhone users courtesy of the new Apps Store, you have to enroll in one of Apple’s iPhone Developer Program packages, beginning at $99 per year. And, oh yes, let Apple keep 30% of the take on each sale (although free stuff costs nothing to distribute).

This article was posted on Thursday, March 6th, 2008 at 7:00 PM and is filed under News and tagged with: Activesync, Apple Ceo, Business Users, Cool Stuff, Developer Program, Development Environment, Iphone, Iphones, Mail Application, New Features, Pasture, Rim, Steve Jobs, Thursday Morning, Xcode.