iPhone Hill

UPDATE: XNA Game Studio is the Zune SDK? B’okay…

Has Microsoft been approaching successful iPhone developers, offering “a bucket of money” for them to port their popular apps over to the new Zune HD platform? That’s what Daring Fireball is hearing:

I got an email from the developer of an iPhone Twitter client. He was contacted by Microsoft a few months ago, with an offer to port his app to the Zune in exchange for “a bucket of money”. He turned them down, but assumes, as I do, that Microsoft reached out to the developers of multiple popular iPhone apps.

There’s no way of knowing how many iPhone devs have gone “Zune for pay” at this point, but it’s a smart move by Microsoft, since they’re trying to compete directly with the iPod touch and apps are a huge part of the iPod touch’s appeal.

The iPod touch, however, has had a public SDK and apps since version OS 2.0 was announced and subsequently released over a year ago. Apple’s platform therefore has a huge lead and Microsoft is again left more competitive with previous years’ offerings. In any event, here’s hoping Microsoft does release a public Zune HD SDK of their own at some point — and that they finally, finally, decide to share a consistent platform between Zune and Windows Mobile 7…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

UPDATED: Microsoft Offering iPhone Developers “Buckets of Money” to go Zune?

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New Product Watch

• Apple Shoots Top Secret Commercial for New Product?
• Updated: Apple Going Social? More iTunes 9, “Social App”, and App Organization
• iTunes 9 to Add iPhone App Organizer, Blu-Ray?

App Store

• Apple VP Phil Schiller Responds to Ninjawords iPhone App Store Incident
• Apple VP Phil Schiller Emails Steven Frank, No E-Book Rejection Policy, Working to Improve App Store
• Google to Launch Google Voice on iPhone as WebApp
• iPhone 3GS-Specific Apps Start to Land in App Store

The Competition

• Zune HD to be Priced $100 Less than iPod touch?
• BlackBerry to Get iPhone-Class Web Browser… Next Summer
• Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 Caught on Video
• Sony, Warner, Universal and EMI to Launch iTunes “Cocktail” Album Competitor?

More News

• Would You Give Up Using Your iPhone in the Car for Increased Safety?
• Deposit Checks Via iPhone Photos
• Still No MMS on AT&T — But Would You Use it Anyway?
• Patent Watch: Apple Taking Stand Against Abused iPhones

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This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb Presents: iPhone Live! #23 – Schiller Time!

Will the third generation iPod touch, widely expected to be released at Apple’s next Music Event in September, weigh in at 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB, and be position at $199/$299/$399?

Whether Daring Fireball is making the logical assumption based on Apple’s previous behavior and iPod touch price points, or they’re privy to something a little more concrete, that’s what Gruber is saying in response to the Zune HD’s pricing of 16GB/32GB for $219/$289.

(Though currently the second gen 8GB iPod touch is $229, not $199…?)

Since the iPod touch has two NAND Flash slots for the iPhone’s one, it typically gets double the upper-range of storage for the same year’s iPhone. Thus, the 32GB iPhone 3GS almost certainly means a 64GB iPod touch this September.

If accurate, then, there goes Microsoft’s purported pricing advantage, storage-wise. (If the iPod touch does indeed have built in camera and video capability, or other so-far-unleaked features, it could again be a case of Microsoft shipping a spectacular Zune, 1 or 2 years too late…)

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Third Generation iPod touch Pricing at 16GB/32GB/64GB for $199/$299/$399?