Starting an iPhone® Application Business For Dummies®

Introduction

When Apple opened its App Store along with the iPhone 3G in the summer of 2008, it took a mere three days for iPhone users to generate 10 million downloads from the 800 apps that were available, averaging 12,500 purchases per application. Barely a year later, the App Store has swelled to 65,000 applications and boasts over 1.5 billion app downloads. In short, the App Store is its own economy. Perhaps you've heard of the iPhone or you own one, or even several, applications and you want to see how you can take advantage of this 21st century gold rush. Perhaps you're a software developer looking to create something for this booming economy. Perhaps your company is looking to reach out to new and existing customers. To all of you, welcome to Starting an iPhone Application Business For Dummies.

When the iPhone launched in June of 2007, it was a smash success. The ability to use a handheld device that was a real Apple computer enthralled Apple enthusiasts. The device's sleek, leading-edge design and innovative features elevated it to a status symbol quickly in the eyes of the general public. But there was only one problem. What about all that space for more apps? Apple hadn't made it possible to install additional apps and was mum about the subject.

By the time the iPhone SDK (Software Development Kit) was announced in March 2008, the thirst for apps on the iPhone was palpable from both consumers and developers. As soon as the SDK was released to developers, the mad dash to ...