Hungry for a piece of the Apple

Local developers make iPhone projects

Anyone can hand over $199 for the newest iPhone and see what the buzz is about. But if you really want attention, tell people you wrote a little game or other some other program that runs on the gadget. That's the part that makes the phone so darn fun to use.

Several developers with local ties have software programs available for the iPhone. They're for sale at the iTunes App Store, the only place to buy such applications.

From a part-time developer who already has a day job to an entire company in Durham, they're are all attracted by the same thing -- a chance to cash in on the newest flavor of cool.

"Some people are developing for the bragging rights," said Keith Shepherd, an Athens Drive High School graduate who moved to Washington after college and recently developed a game called Imangi with his father, who lives in Cary.

"It is cool to be a part of the store," Shepherd said. "But for us it is also a business decision. We see the iPhone as a potential market where we might be able as a small developer to actually make some money. It's an extremely large audience."

"Extremely large" is one way to put it. Apple sold more than a million iPhones in the first three days when they went on sale earlier this month. The company said this week that it expects to sell 10 million phones worldwide in 2008.

For the no-phone crowd, some explanation about developers, software and apps makes it easier to understand the buzz.

Part of Apple's marketing plan involved setting up a single store online where anyone could submit programs that work on the iPhone. The iTunes App Store is that place.

The phone itself has a bit of an identity crisis, equally comfortable acting like a little computer as well as phone.

So customers who want to take advantage of the computer abilities can browse the online store and download programs. Many are games -- both inane and educational. Other programs help keep track of things, find information on the web or offer directions.

The store boasts more than 900 applications. Some are free, and others cost money, usually between $2 and $10. A running list of the 10 most popular applications offers a place to get started.

How the deal works for developers

Apple maintains the upper hand in this deal. Developers pay the company $99 a year to be a part of the program, and Apple keeps 30 percent of the sales revenue. Software updates are offered on Apple's timetable, which tends to slow things down when an application has a bug that needs fixing.

Apple also controls the information regarding sales figures for any given program, which means developers can only guess how much they have sold until a monthly tally is released.

And those who write programs are also required to sign nondisclosure agreements that prohibit them from talking with each other, an oddity for some developers who often turn to colleagues for technical feedback.

"We're not supposed to compare notes with each other, which has caused some consternation," said Rob Terrell of Raleigh, who developed the game Sumo in his spare time. "In the Macintosh world, it's a pretty friendly group of developers who are used to working with each other."

Promotion, however, is up to the individual developers unless land on the Top 10 list in the App Store. And the developer decides how much to charge per download.

The most popular pricing strategy, according to local developers, was to wait and see how much Sega was going to charge for Super Monkey Ball (it's $9.99). The game was already popular in other formats before the iPhone, so it was clear the App Store price for Super Monkey Ball would establish a bar for everyone.