BeLeMoiH

Apple has revealed that its next iPhone update will include more than just the expected addition of a software development kit (SDK). The company said that a host of enterprise-minded features and an application store will be added to the iPhone 2.0 software release. Developers and certain enterprise customers will be able to download the beta release immediately. All other users will have to wait until June. But this is the result of a little bit of searching on Mininova. The SDK will include APIs for the iPhone’s Core OS, Core Services, Media and Cocoa Touch software components. Developers will be able to sell their software to users via Apple’s new iPhone App Store which will allow users to download the software directly to the iPhone or iPod Touch. Apple said that developers can set their own prices for applications sold on the store, and that the company would take a 30 per cent commission. The figure is similar to the prices Apple reportedly pays record labels for songs sold via iTunes.

Apple plans to add support for Exchange 2003 and 2007 servers into the update, and has licensed Microsoft’s Exchange ActiveSync, which allows the iPhone to support push email as well as automatic calendar and address book updates. The iPhone will support Exchange’s remote wipe, password policies and auto discover security features. The 2.0 update will also allow the iPhone to support Cisco’s IPSec encryption protocol and the WPA2 wireless protocol, ensuring secure transmission of data to and from the device. This is iPhone’s giant leap towards becoming a complete Smartphone. Expect iPhone sales to reach the number one spot (currently at number 2 in the US) by the end of this year.