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Some time ago I decided to list a couple of options available for iPhone development on windows. Now, months later this is still something that has been brought up recently. So I have decided to expand the list, and include some of the other solutions that have cropped up since the original posting, and some upcoming that look interesting.  Please note, that there is no official solution for developing for the iPhone SDK on windows (and it’s doubtful there ever will be).

At some point you will need to compile your app on the official iPhone SDK running on the Mac OS X if your goal is to get your app in to Apple’s iPhone app store.  Now, I know there is the obvious "hackintosh" solution, but I won’t get into that, not only is it possibly illegal, but I’ve seen someone try it… and it was a major continuous hassle, every update of the OS and SDK cost them valuable hours, when they could  just get a sub-$600 Mac Mini and avoid all hassles.  That being said there are ways to develop your iPhone app in windows.

I am limiting those shown here to those from which apps already available in the store have been created with, and some that appear to be exceptionally well done.

These two Windows alternatives are specifically for entertainment apps, and will allow you to (when the projects are loaded on a mac) compile directly into code usable on the iPhone.  Both of these game development engines offer a free trial.

1) Unity 3D – Game development engine and editor that utilizes Boo and C# and the editor works on both Windows and Mac.

2) Stonetrip S3D – Game develop engine and editor utilizing LUA, the editor runs within Windows.

Both these solutions can compile to code that is native to the iPhone and many apps available in the app store have been created using them.

These solutions allow you to create apps using web technologies (HTML/CSS/Javascript) and then run them through an Objective-C framework that responds to actions within a UIWebView, thus allowing you to access native functionality on the iPhone.  These frameworks are free.

3) Appcelerator Titanium – This is probably the most complete of these development platforms at this stage (other than the above game engines), and extensive support is provided.

4) Genuitec MobiOne – This is an interface designer that uses the Phonegap framework to deliver native functionality.  It only runs on windows.

There are a couple of other solutions that were either in testing, required payment without any form of trial (or in some cases even screenshots), or just aren’t out yet.  The most promising of those solutions are  Flash CS5 (which supposedly may let you bypass the Mac altogether), and the Dragonfire SDK (you can visit their site, and sign up for the dragonfire beta.).

Best of luck, if you know of any other alternatives that enable iPhone Development on Windows then please list them below.

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