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No, it's different. When the iPhone came out, it was a gold rush for a totally new field of development with almost no experienced devs (just a few companies w

No, it's different. When the iPhone came out, it was a gold rush for a totally new field of development with almost no experienced devs (just a few companies who wrote programs for Mac knew anything about Obj C). The iPad is instead a windfall for the now existing devs. iPad growth has been very explosive though, and I think I speak for most iPhone devs in saying the platform continues to excite and delight us.

ZeroGravitas 16y ago
I don't understand. The number of apps seems small. The number may be wrong, or the perception may be incorrect, but the existence of a base of developers with the requisite skills should make this number higher, not lower compared with the early days of the iPhone.
- glhaynes 16y ago
  Consider how many iPhone apps work essentially perfectly on the iPad, though — it's an awful cliche, but imagine if you're the maker of a 'fart app': do you do that much better by scaling your UI [still just supporting the exact same set of features... it's not like an iPad runs such apps better than an iPhone does] to fit the iPad a tiny bit better, or by adding more and better fart noises to your existing iPhone app?
- 10ren 16y ago
  How many apps did the iPhone have, 2 months in? I guess also that because today the iPhone is a bigger market, and its apps also run on the iPad, it makes more sense to target the iPhone. Plus, the uncertainty of whether the iPad would really take off. Now that the iPad does seem to be successful, the apps may follow.
kmfrk 16y ago
First and foremost, getting an app for the iPad on Day 1 has been the priority for a lot of developers---presumably some of the best, too. Second, as a developer, from a design perspective, the iPad is much harder to design for. See this as a bonus to the iPad: a sh#t deterrent. Security by obscurity if you will. Third, the kind of applications, games aside perhaps, that feel apt may not feel as tangible as with the iPhone which was an all-portable device, meaning you could bring it with you everywhere: cities, restaurants, vacations, beaches, ski resorts, running, in a cocktail bar mixing drinks, partying, going to the theatre, for use with (acute) pocket reference, etc., etc., etc. Add to this the microphone. I also think we are overestimating how many genuinely great apps there are in the App Store. Everyone's BS detector goes off when they hear Steve Jobs touting the number of apps in the App Store. A lot of these apps extend already existing services on behalf of companies who also develop the apps for their services, usually as a web client for an already existing internet service. Take away the apps on my iPhone that are pocket references, out-and-about-based and extensions of services already existing in another form, and the number dwindles precipitously. And that is counting the oh-so fantastic catalogue that Jobs love to rave about. There are a lot of challenges facing iPad developers that iPhone developers did not face. We should also accept the fact that comparing the two devices will usually be counterproductive.

ZeroGravitas 16y ago

I don't understand. The number of apps seems small. The number may be wrong, or the perception may be incorrect, but the existence of a base of developers with the requisite skills should make this number higher, not lower compared with the early days of the iPhone.

glhaynes 16y ago
Consider how many iPhone apps work essentially perfectly on the iPad, though — it's an awful cliche, but imagine if you're the maker of a 'fart app': do you do that much better by scaling your UI [still just supporting the exact same set of features... it's not like an iPad runs such apps better than an iPhone does] to fit the iPad a tiny bit better, or by adding more and better fart noises to your existing iPhone app?
10ren 16y ago
How many apps did the iPhone have, 2 months in? I guess also that because today the iPhone is a bigger market, and its apps also run on the iPad, it makes more sense to target the iPhone. Plus, the uncertainty of whether the iPad would really take off. Now that the iPad does seem to be successful, the apps may follow.

kmfrk 16y ago

First and foremost, getting an app for the iPad on Day 1 has been the priority for a lot of developers---presumably some of the best, too. Second, as a developer, from a design perspective, the iPad is much harder to design for. See this as a bonus to the iPad: a sh#t deterrent. Security by obscurity if you will. Third, the kind of applications, games aside perhaps, that feel apt may not feel as tangible as with the iPhone which was an all-portable device, meaning you could bring it with you everywhere: cities, restaurants, vacations, beaches, ski resorts, running, in a cocktail bar mixing drinks, partying, going to the theatre, for use with (acute) pocket reference, etc., etc., etc. Add to this the microphone. I also think we are overestimating how many genuinely great apps there are in the App Store. Everyone's BS detector goes off when they hear Steve Jobs touting the number of apps in the App Store. A lot of these apps extend already existing services on behalf of companies who also develop the apps for their services, usually as a web client for an already existing internet service. Take away the apps on my iPhone that are pocket references, out-and-about-based and extensions of services already existing in another form, and the number dwindles precipitously. And that is counting the oh-so fantastic catalogue that Jobs love to rave about. There are a lot of challenges facing iPad developers that iPhone developers did not face. We should also accept the fact that comparing the two devices will usually be counterproductive.