After months of rumors and speculation, Apple iPhone was officially introduced to the world on June 29, 2007. In addition to an iPod and cell phone combination device, the iPhone has become popular for its large database of downloadable applications.
While these applications began as playful distractions, similar to low-tech games found on other phones, they have since taken on more practical functions. There are now many applications that programmers, like Tufts sophomore Alex Williamson, refer to as "life-hack applications" — programs designed for help in everyday life. They include applications for splitting a restaurant check, identifying songs on the radio, translating speech and helping people with stuttering problems.
Designers of the programs have a wide range of experience. Many professional programmers have used iPhone application development for business-related reasons. Others, like Williamson, design and program these applications as a hobby.
"For me, creating these applications is a way of broadening my knowledge of computer science," Williamson said. "As a computer science and economics double major, most of the classes I take at Tufts are taught in C++, which is not the language of Macs and the iPhone, so I decided to download the Apple [Software Developing Kit] and have been fooling around with developing simple programs like a coin-flip application and a solitaire program."
Unfortunately, creating and testing these applications is not free. As a result, Williamson creates most of the programs on his computer but is unable to test them out on his iPhone in order to tweak them and get them ready for mass distribution.
"The big problem with creating iPhone applications is paying to put them on your phone," he said. "Obviously, I am a college student on a limited budget, so I don't really have the funds to be continuously paying to download the newest versions of my programs to test how well they work."
As the popularity of the iPhone and its applications continues to increase, the question of whether or not the applications will start being used in everyday life as serious tools or retain their role as playful distractions for iPhone users remains unclear. And since the iPhone is still an extremely expensive luxury well beyond many budgets, some wonder whether or not such life-hack applications will ever be able to be programmed for phones from different companies. According to Williamson, even if people begin to see similar programs in other phones, the iPhone is likely to remain the most popular.
"The iPhone will likely remain at the top of the application market because it is a niche market, and the iPhone already has a solid reputation, but also because the iPhone applications are so easily mass distributed and the iPhone has very broad options," Williamson said. "There are already over 20,000 iPhone applications available, with more being created and perfected every day."
Some users are convinced that some iPhone applications are already witnessing widespread use as serious tools. Junior Nicholas Renner, an iPhone user, says he uses his iPhone applications for more than just fun.
"I am constantly using my iPhone applications," he said. "The unit converter is very helpful for my homework, and I use Shazam [a song identification program] and Urban Spoon [a city restaurant guide application] all the time. I wouldn't say these applications are necessary, but they definitely do make my life easier — having them right on my phone — and I think that's all people are really looking for. To be fair though, I do still use my iPhone mostly for phone calls, music, and playing Risk."
While there is a great deal of money to be made in the iPhone industry, there are many developers competing for original ideas, according to Williamson.
"The biggest challenge associated with iPhone programming is coming up with a unique idea. With so many applications already created and so many people doing it, finding something new to do is quite a difficult task," he said. "[But] there is still money to be made in perfecting the ideas of others, and while I got started to expand my computer science knowledge, I definitely hope to turn this into a money-making hobby after college."
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