It's true that you must pay $99, even if you're developing freeware. I don't know if it's per year, but probably. Part of the cost is for the encrypted certif

It's true that you must pay $99, even if you're developing freeware. I don't know if it's per year, but probably. Part of the cost is for the encrypted certificate that apps need to be signed with in order to legitimately run on the iPhone. This has always been the case. It also allows Apple to know which developer is responsible for an app. So if your iPhone app ends up being malicious, Apple knows who is responsible.