Services like Kanchoo and Sweb are providing a route onto iPhone for non-coders.
Launching an iPhone app is famously a lot easier than it was on previous mobile platforms. But you still have to be a developer, capable of coding your app using the iPhone SDK.
Well, not any more. Two new services offer non-coders a way to launch iPhone applications.
Sweb Apps has made headlines this week. Aimed at everyone from restaurants and shops through to schools and government departments, it offers a building-block approach to putting an app together.
Meanwhile, rival DIY service Kanchoo exited beta this month, and offers features perhaps more suitable for websites and publishers looking to take their content to the App Store.
Both make a virtue of their ease of use, while handling the administrative side of actually getting customers' apps onto Apple's store.
How about pricing? Going with Sweb Apps costs an initial setup fee of $200-$400, plus a $25 monthly support fee. Kanchoo is $88 to set it up and then $28 a month.
It's not just SMEs and web publishers who are being targeted by these kinds of DIY companies, though.
The music industry already has several firms offering a similar service to bands, including iLike - which launched 250 iPhone apps earlier this month - and Mobile Roadie.
Opening up access to the App Store to non-developers could be an important development. Yes, the resulting apps may feel somewhat formulaic - although as time goes on, the customisation options will only increase.
Companies who want the slickest, cutting-edge iPhone 3.0-toting apps will naturally still need to seek out a talented developer, of which there are many.
It will be fascinating to see what kind of apps result from the more affordable off-the-shelf tools being launched by the likes of Kanchoo and Sweb Apps.
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