iOS 2nd device required for development?

[kaksisa]

Hi,

I'm in the process of setting up my iPhone 3g for development and I notice in the development portal it says:

"Note: Once a pre-release version of OS X iPhone is installed on the device you cannot restore the device to an earlier version of OS X iPhone. The device may only be used for development and testing purposes until that version of OS X iPhone is publicly released."

Does this mean you can't use your device normally with the development OS? IE can you access the appstore and such?

thanks,
Christopher Hamersley

 

[kainjow]

The iPhone software isn't pre-release anymore, so that statement doesn't apply.

 

[detz]

Depends, I only have an iPhone and use it normally but if you upgrade to the bleeding edge versions(2.01) then you can't access the app store because you have features on your phone which others do not so software will not work.

 

[firewood]

The iPhone software isn't pre-release anymore, so that statement doesn't apply.

This may or may not be true at any point in time, depending on when new beta SDK's are released by Apple. Log in and check the dev center periodically.

Many developers buy a 2nd-hand iPod Touch, if they are using their iPhone for other than development, to avoid potential problems with either beta OS versions or their own apps crashing or bricking their cell phone. YMMV.

 

[psingh01]

OS 2.1 beta is still pre-release software.

 

[SwampThingTom]

I've been using my personal iPhone for all of my development and since last week have been using my new 3G iPhone for development. I was worried about that same statement at first but I've had no problems. I've continued using my device for phone calls, web browsing, accessing the App Store, etc. No functionality has been lost by using any of the OS betas.

I *think* it's a CYA statement from Apple so if something in a beta does cause a problem with your personal device, they can disclaim any responsiblity for it. So keep that in mind and recognize that if something does go wrong you may not be able to continue using your phone. In reality, though, as long as you keep a backup, I can't believe anything would go wrong that can't be fixed by a full system restore.

Tom