14 DAY TRIAL // Two new announcements have been spotted on Apple’s iPhone Dev Center, aside from Apple’s confirmation that iOS 4 apps are now being granted access in the iTunes App Store. The Mac maker has kicked off the free Safari Development Program, which provides tools and resources for devs looking to create extensions that enhance and customize Safari, as well as the opening of the iAd Network for developers, which enables a new source of revenue through incorporating rich media ads in iOS apps.
“We are pleased to announce the Safari Developer Program,” Apple states on the News and Announcements section of its iPhone Dev Center. “This free program provides you with the tools and resources you need to create extensions that enhance and customize Safari. You can add buttons to the Safari toolbar, create bars of your own, modify the behavior and appearance of webpages, and more — all with HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript,” the iPhone maker explains.
Safari has received quite an important update recently, adding a new Reader function, as well as enhanced support for HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. The Safari Dev Center provides technical resources to assist devs with creating Safari extensions. These include programming and conversion guides, and sample code.
Apple doesn’t forget to notify developers that, while iOS apps are now being accepted in the App Store, the iAd Network is currently open for devs looking “to implement source of revenue through incorporating iAd rich media ads in your applications. Apple sells and serves the ads, and you receive 60 percent of the advertising revenue,” and advises developers to “learn about getting started with the iAd Network, how to prepare your apps for iAd, and how to create iAd rich media ads.”
To get started with the iAd Network, iPhone Developer Program members need to log in to the App Store Resource Center and download iPhone SDK 4, which “lets you easily embed iAd rich media ads into your application that are dynamically delivered to the user's device,” according to Apple. Another tool developers need to achieve this goal is iAd JS, which “provides you with the foundation to design and create rich media ads that incorporate audio, video, graphics, and animation.” Apple confirms that, “iPhone Developer Program members can download iAd JS and supporting technical documentation from the iPhone Dev Center,” as reported by Softpedia earlier this week.