It's easy to forget now, but there actually was an iPhone without an App Store. It's a fundamental part of the device as it heads towards three years on the market, but the delay in its debut actually aided developers looking to make their mark on the marketplace.

That's because every studio looking to launch an App Store app could hold an iPhone in their respective hands and see, on a practical level, just how the device was used by consumers.

With the iPad not launching until next month, developers looking to have their apps ready for day one are essentially working blind.

That's the claim made by Dan Moren of Macworld.com. Studios are apparently suffering because they can't get a sense of how it will feel to play their titles on the device.

The invisible format

"The trouble is that even with the ability to run iPhone apps in a virtual simulator on their Mac, developers cannot fully replicate the experience of using an iPad - because nobody has one," Moren says on the site.

"And yet developers are being asked to design applications to show off just how cool the device can be and enhance its appeal for millions of potential customers. It's a little bit like being asked to decorate and furnish a room with your only reference being a photograph."

It's Moren's belief that developers are having to make the difficult choice between launching buggy, not-fully-compatible apps ready for the iPad's debut or holding back until they actually a unit of their of own to test their code on.

Uneven playing field

Naturally, however, this isn't a quandary all developers are having to contend with. Moren states that key players already have iPad units "under padlock and key", enabling the bigger boys to have fully-functioning apps on iPad at launch.

While entirely logical, such a move doesn't tap into the open spirit of the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch. The ability for small start-ups to give the larger, more traditional publishers a run for their money is well documented.

"I'm not suggesting Apple give each and every iPhone developer an iPad, since I imagine that would be cost prohibitive, not to mention flying in the face of Apple's tightly controlled product launch," Moren concludes.

"But it would be great if developers had a chance to actually see and touch the hardware they're working with before releasing their apps: I'm thinking something like the Tech Talks that Apple periodically holds to allow developers to talk to the company's engineers."
Macworld