Apple announcements galore today.
First, the best news of the day, iPhone SDK coming (I’m linking the index page because for some incredibly stupid reason, Apple doesn’t use permalinks):
Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.—Third Party Applications on the iPhone
[Update] Gruber archived a permalinkable copy of the text.
In the very interesting department, unlocked french iPhones are coming!
The Apple iPhone will be sold in France by Orange, which is owned by the dominant telephone company, France Télécom, for €399 ($560). And since French law bans phones being locked to a network for more than six months, Orange will also sell an unlocked version, reports International Herald Tribune. However, Orange spokesman Béatrice Mandrine declined to reveal the price when unlocked.—Official unlocked iPhones will be sold in France
Too bad they’re selling for roughly $160 more than in the US (and that’s locked), I’d be looking for someone going to Paris to pick one up for me.
Nettwerk with no DRM on iTunes:
Apple® today announced that it has expanded its iTunes® Plus offering to over two million tracks and lowered the price of all iTunes Plus tracks to just 99 cents. All iTunes Plus tracks feature DRM-free music with high quality 256 kbps AAC encoding for audio quality virtually indistinguishable from the original recordings (www.itunes.com). The iTunes Plus catalog is now the largest DRM-free catalog in the world, and includes artists from Sub Pop, Nettwerk, Beggars Group, IODA, The Orchard and many others, along with EMI’s digital catalog.—iTunes Plus Now Offers Over Two Million Tracks at Just 99 Cents
Not an announcement but:
In comparison, Apple has seen a 37.2% increase in growth over the same period. As a result, Apple’s individual marketshare has grown from 6.2% to 8.1% year-over-year.—Apple’s 3rd Quarter 2007 U.S. Marketshare Up to 8.1%
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