Apple announced their new SDK for the iPhone with large amounts of hype and fanfare earlier this month on March 6th. 100,000 plus eager developers had downloaded the new SDK the first few days after it launched.

Now many of the developers are receiving emails stating that they aren’t being allowed into Apple’s $99 iPhone Developer Program yet. Here is the email form letter Apple is sending out:

Dear Registered iPhone Developer,

Thank you for expressing interest in the iPhone Developer Program. We have received your enrollment request. As this time, the iPhone Developer Program is available to a limited number of developers and we plan to expand during the beta period. We will contact you again regarding your enrollment status at the appropriate time.

Thank you for applying.

Best regards,

iPhone Developer Program

Here’s a excerpt from the iPhone OS Programming Guide about testing applications on the iPhone:

In order to test your application on a device, you must configure your computer and your device for iPhone OS development. This process comprises the following tasks:

• Become an iPhone Developer Program member
• Obtain a developer certificate
• Designate your device for development
• Obtain and install a provisioning profile

What does this mean for those that are on hold? They can still download the SDK and start writing applications for the iPhone. The catch is that they can’t deploy and run any of their applications on an iPhone. The only way they will have to test their creations is to use the iPhone simulator. This means that although developers will be able to test the look and feel of their applications they will not be able to do reliable performance testing or testing of the hardware devices in an iPhone device such as multi-touch input and accelerometers. The simulator also doesn’t support OpenGL for 3D graphics. Also, they won’t be able to sell their applications on the Apple Store until they are accepted into the program.

Let’s face it, the real thrill of writing an application for a device like the iPhone is actually seeing it running on that device.