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I do think Apple is hostile to developers, because I don't want a vendor to get inbetween me and my user audience, but that problem applies equally to iOS devic

by sho_hn 10y ago

I do think Apple is hostile to developers, because I don't want a vendor to get inbetween me and my user audience, but that problem applies equally to iOS devices and gaming consoles. I didn't argue that point in my post. I'm aware the reasons for the iPhone not having a SDK on day one and the reasons for why gaming console vendors don't have a mass developer relations story are very different. The more interesting point is that developer relations for gaming consoles and iOS devices are really conceptually pretty similar: Both require you to ask the device vendor for permission to ship your app. It's equally walled gardens.

tommorris 10y ago
> I don't want a vendor to get inbetween me and my user audience, but that problem applies equally to iOS devices and gaming consoles. So, pre-iPhone, the market for downloadable apps for mobile phones was huge and there wasn't any intermediary parties (like, say, network operators) getting in the way of developers, right?
- sho_hn 10y ago
  Where did I say that again?
- daxelrod 10y ago
  On my Palm Treo, apps were plentiful and there was no intermediary.
  - tommorris 10y ago
    And widely used by millions of people?
    - daxelrod 10y ago
      Yes, several million Treos alone were sold, and the Palm ecosystem was much larger than just the Treo line. http://blog.treonauts.com/2006/03/sales_double_ov.html http://blog.treonauts.com/2006/03/sales_double_ov.html For a number of years, Palm OS was the dominant mobile ecosystem, with sales almost double of its main competitor WindowsCE.
      - tommorris 10y ago
        Several million devices sold ≠ several million people buying software for device.