What's that in your pocket?

Joe Hewitt, iPhone developer at FaceBook, writing on his personal blog:

I'd like to add my voice to the stream of complaints about the iPhone App Store, but before I say anything critical, I have to promise one thing. No matter how annoyed I get, I will not stop developing for Apple's platforms or using Apple's products as long as they continue to produce the best stuff on the market. I never forget how deeply Apple cares about making their users happy, and that counts more than how they treat their developers. Besides, when I have a problem with a friend, I don't threaten to boycott our friendship until they change, so I'm not going to do that to Apple either.

Having said that, I have only one major complaint with the App Store, and I can state it quite simply: the review process needs to be eliminated completely.

Read it all...

Live coverage of Apple's iPhone OS 3.0 event is available from the from the following sites:
Electronista/MacNN
Engadget
Macworld
Gizmodo

Here are some of the highlights:

• End User: Free update for iPhone coming this summer, 1st gen will have some limitations due to hardware (no MMS, A2DP). iPod touch upgrade $9.95
• Developers: iPhone OS 3.0 beta available to all today (???)
• Stereo audio over BlueTooth (A2DP)
• Spotlight system wide search
• Voice Memos.app, enhanced Calendar.app, Stocks.app
• New built-in apps and upgrades
• MMS
• Forward, delete SMS
• Multiple photo selection (you know, for the email...)
• Landscape mode support for key apps: Mail, SMS, etc...
• Cut/Copy/Paste within and across apps
• 100 new features for end user...
• Demos from Oracle, ESPN, Smule, ngmoco
• Streaming media support over HTTP, bandwidth optimized
• Access media library from apps
• Email directly from app, access to Proximity sensor (not just for Google anymore),
• Still NO to background apps
• Push notification finally ready
• Turn-by-turn GPS navigation now possible but developers must supply own maps, can't use Google maps
• Maps API allows devs easy access to Google maps
• Hardware interface, developers can make apps that talk to hardware over dock connector, BlueTooth
• Peer-to-peer APIs make it easier for developers to build multi-user apps, Bonjour based
• In-app sales - buy more levels, upgrades from inside an application (paid apps only)
• iPhone OS 3.0 to include 1000 new APIs