Here's an interesting solution for anyone who has a killer idea for an iPhone app but doesn't know the first thing about software development: Moobila turns your idea into an app and markets it on the App Store.
Actually, the company specializes in turning existing corporate software into iPhone apps, thereby eliminating the need to train or hire programmers.
But Moobila also provides an opportunity for budding entrepreneurs to see their ideas turned into potentially money-making software. You pay for the development; you keep whatever revenue it generates.
Want to see a few proofs of concept? Moobila has already developed three iPhone apps, including tape-measure replacement iFlipMeasure and iPicolo, which lets you upload a photo to multiple social-networking sites at once.
You'll have to contact Moobila for a quote, of course, as no two apps are alike when it comes to development. But hourly rates start at around $15-20, according to a company rep.
Microsoft released the latest version of its robot-building platform for professionals and hobbyists of the Lego Mindstorms AlphaRex level.
(Credit: Lego)Microsoft released the latest revision of its robotics development software platform at the RoboDevelopment Conference and Expo in Santa Clara, Calif., on Monday.
Robotics Developer Studio 2008 is intended to satisfy the gamut of roboticists from hobbyists looking to program things like the iRobot Create to professionals developing commercial robots for sale.
As such, there are three versions of the software: Express, Standard, and Academic.
The Standard version for professionals will be available for $499.95, with the Express hobbyist version offered as a free download. (Pricing for an Academic license was not disclosed.)
This latest version of the software platform offers increased runtime performance, including faster load times and increased throughput.
The platform's Visual Programming Language tool, Microsoft's drag-and-drop authoring tool, has been updated for greater ease of use when working with distributed applications, according to Microsoft.
Simulations can now be recorded and played back using the Visual Simulation Environment tool to see what things might go wrong before testing applications out on hardware.
... Read more
DeviceAnywhere allows for complete control of mobile devices without having one.
(Credit: DeviceAnywhere)DeviceAnywhere, a global provider of end-to-end solutions for the mobile development, announced Tuesday its support for the iPhone 3G. This doesn't mean much for the average consumer, but this is good news for developers.
DeviceAnywhere is a service that lets developers access about 1,500 different mobile devices located throughout the world in real time. They can interact with the devices to ensure all development, porting, testing, and monitoring needs are met.
The service offers complete control over the devices as if they were in your hand. This is a solution that lets developers create software with different or multiple devices without having to purchase the phones or cellular service.
The addition of iPhone 3G support makes DeviceAnywhere the only solution, for now, that offers developers a simple, direct connection to both the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G.
DeviceAnywhere's support of the iPhone includes the latest features available on the device, including downloading applications through the App Store and testing how fast Web sites load on the 3G network.
If you are a developer and want to try out the service, DeviceAnywhere offers a three-hour trial. After that, it costs from $13 to $16 per hour depending on the package you choose. You can also buy the device package that cost $100 per month per type of device. Existing subscribers can access the iPhone 3G through their standard DeviceAnywhere subscriptions. Additional DeviceAnywhere features--such as monitoring and test automation--are also available on the iPhone 3G.
In conjunction with the App Store that launched earlier this morning, there's an upgrade available for iPhone users to bring their devices up to speed with the compatible iPhone 2.0 software.
News.com Poll
There's not an easy path to it yet, but the firmware is on Apple's servers, MacRumors.com reported Thursday.
Twitter users reported that the software is 225 megabytes in size. The download is free for iPhone users and $9.95 for iPod Touch users.
The iPhone 2.0 software allows existing iPhone and iPod Touch owners to have access to the software features that will be available on the new iPhone 3G that hits stores Friday morning (but not to the hardware upgrades, which include 3G Internet access and GPS). This means not only the 500+ third-party applications already in the iPhone App Store, but also support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync.
Third-party applications range from games and electronic books to iPhone versions of big social networks like MySpace and Facebook. Facebook and MySpace's iPhone applications will let users seamlessly upload photos to albums on the social networks, and Facebook's will let members with location-aware iPhone 3G devices see which of their friends are nearby.
- prev
- 1
- next
