Why the iPhone?

A guest post by Mike Smithwick, author of Distant Suns 2 for the iPhone and blogger at distantsuns.com. Mike is a seasoned iPhone developer who has developed numerous iPhone applications. Follow Mike’s work on Twitter for more information.

It’s no secret that the iPhone has become a phenomenally successful development target among both seasoned professional engineers, and midnight hobbyist fanboys alike. Some of the most interesting and innovative mobile apps are delivered regularly, courtesy of the Appstore, and are just as likely to be developed by one guy after work with a six-pack of Mountain Dew as a large and well-financed software studio.

As a result, ever since that memorable summer day, back in August of aught-7 when the first iPhone hack was announced, the iPhone/iPod app scene has really become nothing short of a worldwide phenomenon.

When I started the Distant Suns port,(what? Another shameless plug?), it was very cool to say to people with an air of superiority “Oh, me? I’m just doing some iPhone stuff.” I would then pause for the genuflections and the bombarding of flashes from the paparazzi. Nowadays the response is more like “so, who isn’t?”

So what makes the iPhone such a compelling platform? There have been many other smart phones out there. Palm, Windows Mobile, J2ME (Java) based systems, Symbian, and so on. Each of these has available public SDKs, and some even come with free dev tools. And there have also been sites and storefronts aplenty for third party apps.

So then, what makes the iPhone development scene different from all of the others that have been around for years? Read the rest of article…