The release of the iPad and Apple’s continued supremacy over the mobile phone market has many local software developers cashing in on the new demand for fun, convenient applications.

“There is an increasing demand for quick in-and-out information and entertainment,” said Kevin Hnatiuk, executive director of New Media Manitoba (NMM), a non-profit association that provides training and support for those in the new media industry.

Over the next few months, NMM is holding a series of events catering to developing and marketing iPhone applications out of Winnipeg. The events include seminars on iPhone game development, and how to market and sell an application.

“Not all of these training seminars are for the same kinds of people,” said Hnatiuk. “Some help university graduates, some help game or business developers ... [The bottom line is] that the market potential for iPhone app development is huge.”

Brian Fawkes is the program co-ordinator for the digital multimedia technology program at Red River College (RRC). He has consistently promoted the NMM events to his students.

“It is a fact that these devices are here, and we need to cater to that,” he said. “Apple has developed a vastly superior product with the iPhone.”

Among the virtues of the iPhone is that the software development kit required for building iPhone applications is available to any developer. Any tech-savvy person can develop an app, go through the iTunes store, set a price and receive a 70 per cent take in profits generated from it, said Fawkes.

Others remain more critical over the various controls that Apple places on distribution.

Nearly two years ago, Winnipegger Dan Messing created the application “4 in a Row,” which simulates the popular Connect Four board game. The app has reached nearly 10,000 downloads since it was first put in the store, with prices ranging from $3.99 to $5 per download.

“I would like to see the system more open so that developers can sell and distribute their apps wherever they want,” said Messing, a developer with Stunt Software, which specializes in Macintosh and iPhone development.

He added that Apple ensures that all apps can only be distributed through their store.

“I [also] think that applications being denied because of competition is a little bit silly.”

Last summer Apple rejected an application by Google called Google Voice, claiming that the app replaced certain iPhone features and functions. It is clear that Google is slowly entering into the mobile phone market, now virtually monopolized by Apple Inc. In 2007, Google purchased Android, a mobile operating system that has now seen three updates in its software and is supported by several phone models worldwide.

Others don’t see these controls as an issue.

“Apple reserves the right to delete [or reject] apps they don’t like,” Rylaan Gimby, an employee at web design firm Modern Earth, said in an e-mail interview. “And they can do that because it’s their system.”

Published in Volume 64, Number 19 of The Uniter (February 11, 2010)