Novell Tool Opens IPhone to .Net Developers

Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service

More applications for enterprise users may become available for the iPhone with a new developer tool from Novell.

The MonoTouch software development kit lets developers write an application using .Net and then produces a native iPhone-compatible application. “It enables .Net developers to target the iPhone,” said Joseph Hill, product manager for Mono at Novell.

Currently, developers write in Objective-C, a language that is not otherwise widely used, to build applications that comply with Apple’s requirements for the iPhone. “What this does is bring a different kind of developer who might have been trying to figure out how to leverage the iPhone but didn’t have the skills or didn’t want to engage in a unique development environment,” said Al Hilwa, an analyst at IDC.

Since .Net is widely used in the enterprise and by enterprise application developers, MonoTouch could encourage more iPhone programs geared toward business users.

MonoTouch includes software that looks similar to Visual Studio, which .Net developers are familiar with and runs on the Mac. “That will enable them to get the experience they should be comfortable with and integrates into the tool chain we’ve built,” Hill said.

Novell has heard a lot of interest in this type of tool from enterprise developers who would like to extend applications to workers with iPhones but who have found that the investment in the skills to develop for the iPhone has been too high, he said.

But since a growing number of enterprises don’t have many in-house development resources, it’s more likely that ISVs (independent software vendors) will be interested in using MonoTouch, Hilwa said. “ISVs who are built around Mono or .Net will find it more interesting because they worry a lot about the cost of development or maintenance,” he said. “Some haven’t jumped into the iPhone fray and might now.”

Novell did not work with Apple to develop the product but doesn’t anticipate that the company will have any issue with it, Hill said. Hilwa also expects the iPhone maker won’t have a problem with MonoTouch but “Apple is unpredictable” so it’s uncertain, he said.

Beyond the enterprise, game developers may be even more interested in MonoTouch, Hilwa said. Mono, the Novell tool that lets developers write applications that can run across multiple platforms, is already fairly popular in the gaming market, he said. “These people will find it appealing to go to the iPhone with the same code base,” he said.

For individual developers, MonoTouch costs US$399 for a one year subscription. The enterprise edition costs $999 and an enterprise edition that supports five concurrent users runs for $3,999.

Apple looking into reports of exploding iPhones

Reuters

By Timothy Heritage

August 18, 2009

Apple is investigating media reports that one or more of the company’s iPhones have exploded in Europe, a European Commission spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The spokeswoman for the EU executive, which oversees the safety of consumer products sold in the 27-country bloc, said Apple had described the reported incidents as isolated.

Apple said it was aware of the media reports, which include a case in which a teenager in France said he was slightly injured when his iPhone made a hissing noise and shattered, but did not comment on any contacts with the commission.

“Apple have come back to us … and what they’ve said to us is that they consider these are isolated incidents. They don’t consider that there’s a general problem,” commission spokeswoman Helen Kearns told a news briefing.

“They’re trying to get more information on the specific details of those incidents (reported in the media) and they will do tests as necessary to investigate the possible cause,” she said.

Apple did not comment on the commission spokeswoman’s remarks.

But a spokesman for Apple Europe Ltd. said: “We are aware of these (media) reports and we are waiting to receive the iPhones from the customers. Until we have the full details, we don’t have anything further to add.”

Apple Probes Reports of iPhone Explosions in Europe

CNBC Asia

Apple is investigating media reports that one or more of the company’s iPhones have exploded in Europe, a European Commission spokeswoman said on Tuesday. The spokeswoman for the EU executive, which oversees the safety of consumer products sold in the 27-country bloc, said Apple [AAPL  164.0056    4.4156  (+2.77%)   ] had described the reported incidents as isolated.