March 5th March 6th sees an Apple media event to roll out the Software Development Kit. It’s likely that MS Exchange and Lotus Notes support and/or native apps will figure in the mix. But further questions abound:
- is it really ready for primetime?
- will developers will get access to Wifi and mobile connectivity?
- will the dock connector be addressable (leading to innovative hardware)?
Regardless of those questions – we, the users, will be getting installable applications in the near future. Hooray!
Which begs the question – what’s on your wishlist?
Macworld has compiled their list of 25 native apps they’d like to see. It deliberately shys away from OS-level issues such as cut and paste, fuller bluetooth support etc., and highlights some interesting apps that are sure to come to light, and which have not yet been developed for the unofficial jailbroken SDK:
- a finger-painting app
– sounds a bit silly but would be very handy I’m sure for for quick sketching - a comic book reader
– just need 2000AD to get onboard! - Slingplayer
– which would be a very interesting app, especially in conjunction with a 3G iPhone
There’s one on their list that isn’t mentioned though – a blacklisting application. One of the thing I really miss from my S60 phone is the ability to have fine-grained control over who can call me. Right now I only have two options – answer or send to voicemail. This isn’t really enough – especially as more and more people are solely using their mobile as their only phone. I give my phone number out to pretty much everyone (yes, I even gave it to Steve!), so I need to be able to block all those pesky 0870 numbers who seem to think my mobile contract’s up for renewal. If Handy Blacklist or similar could be written for the iPhone, I’d be a very happy camper.
But let’s wait and see what turns up from tomorrow. With Mobile OS X as a true smartphone platform, it only gets more exciting from here on in 
Oh, I almost forgot: Yes, firmware 1.1.4 was released. No, I didn’t post about it. Why not? Little to report, little to say that that hadn’t been said elsewhere, and your RSS readers are probably full enough already…
[edit: Date of SDK launch corrected]
Quick tip:
For anyone who does get 08xx calls and wants to track them down. The GSM code *#147# will usually reveal the originating number of the last call, including 08xx numbers.