ComponentOne Delivers ASP.NET Controls for Creating iPhone Apps

ComponentOne, a maker of components for Microsoft developers, has introduced ComponentOne Studio for iPhone, which enables Microsoft ASP.NET developers to create applications for the iPhone. The company also announced new tools for Microsoft SharePoint.

The new ComponentOne tool suite enables ASP.NET developers to build Web applications that mimic the user interface of the iPhone and iPod touch devices. With the advent of mobile technology, more and more people are using an iPhone as their primary method of connecting to the Internet while on the go.

In the third quarter of 2008, ComponentOne, a leading component vendor in the Microsoft VSIP (Visual Studio Industry Partner) Program, announced the CTP (Community Technology Preview) of Studio for iPhone. On April 16, the company made the technology generally available.

"ComponentOne Studio for iPhone works with the power of ASP.NET to create cutting-edge Websites that mimic the iPhone and iPod touch UI when rendered in Mobile Safari," said Chris Meredith, product manager at ComponentOne.

Meredith said the Studio for iPhone suite includes navigation lists, calendars, views, tab bars, cover flow, and various controls, such as buttons and sliders. They also incorporate the unique iPhone UI elements such as animation, portrait or landscape views, and touch navigation. He added that ComponentOne Studio for iPhone is the first and only ASP.NET control suite in the industry for building this type of Web application.

"With the ComponentOne Studio for iPhone release, developers are introduced to a suite of components previously unavailable, that allows them to easily create iPhone-styled applications using the ASP.NET Framework," said Lauren Cooney, group product manager at Microsoft. "Along with sharing our commitment to increasing developer productivity, ComponentOne is working with the Microsoft Visual Studio development environment by allowing ASP.NET developers to create a custom view of Web applications."

Moreover, developers will be able to build Web applications with Studio for iPhone without the hassle of learning a new technology, Gustavo Eydelsteyn, co-founder of ComponentOne, told eWEEK.

Indeed, the new ComponentOne tool set enables Microsoft developers to create iPhone applications without having to learn new skills such as the Objective-C language. Objective-C is the primary language used to write Mac and also iPhone software.

All of the Studio for iPhone controls are AJAX-enabled Web controls, Eydelsteyn said. "Developers can start building applications from day one; there is no new technology to learn as this suite of controls are AJAX-compliant and feature rich client-side object models built on the ASP.NET Framework," said Meredith.

ComponentOne will include Studio for iPhone in its Studio Enterprise offering. Studio Enterprise, the company's flagship product, is a comprehensive suite of visual components. For $1,100 per developer seat, ComponentOne bundles Studio for WinForms, Studio for WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation), Studio for ASP.NET, Studio for Microsoft Silverlight, Studio for iPhone, Studio for Mobile, and Studio for ActiveX together. ComponentOne offers online purchase options at www.componentone.com.

Meanwhile, also earlier this year, ComponentOne, announced the CTP release of three Web Parts for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0. On April 16, ComponentOne announced the general availability of these Web Parts, DataGrid, Chart, and Maps for SharePoint, based on the success of the CTP program.

"Administrators can install one or all three of our Web Parts and end users may begin using them immediately, without having to write a single line of code," said Dan Beall, product manager at ComponentOne. "After running a simple install program, authorized users will be able to add rich, interactive, high-performance Office SharePoint Server 2007 list or Microsoft SQL Server data views." Each of the Web Parts, individually priced at $500, furnishes dynamic data views, business intelligence and rich data visualization right out of the box.

"Microsoft is pleased with how ComponentOne has found a way to make its Web Parts easy for administrators to incorporate into their sites, plus easy for administrators and end users to configure and use," said Joe Marini, director of Platform & Tools Ecosystem at Microsoft. "ComponentOne's features and efficiency help provide Microsoft customers with an easier solution when using Microsoft products, like Office SharePoint Server 2007 or SQL Server."

Others are sharing similar sentiments. Stephen Seidel, a developer and SharePoint administrator at Dawn Foods, said, "It is clearly the most polished Web Part for Microsoft Virtual Earth on the market."

Chris Pendleton, Virtual Earth technical evangelist at Microsoft, commented on his blog, "What's also nice is that regardless of using a list or database, the designer will be populated with the respective field types so you can select what information you're interested in—in true Office SharePoint Server 2007 fashion."

"We responded to user demand and realized with our expertise in the Microsoft Silverlight arena we could harness the power of the Silverlight platform for our Web Parts," said Beall. Given that ComponentOne's Web Parts are built on Silverlight, it gives them superior interactivity, design and performance.

Beall noted that the product consists of actual Web parts, right out of the box, as opposed to ASP.NET or Silverlight controls, which require a development effort to make them work in the Office SharePoint Server 2007 environment and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0.