Companies demo first native, third-party iPhone apps

As a part of its WWDC keynote, Apple today brought a number of companies on-stage to demonstrate some of the first third-party applications designed to run natively on the iPhone. Leading the presentation was Sega, which presented a more complete version of Super Monkey Ball, its 3D action game controlled via the accelerometer. The final version will have over 100 levels with four playable characters, and should be available at the launch of the App Store for $10.

eBay presented a dedicated auctions app, which has only been in development for five weeks, but already lets users browse auctions, current bids, and photos presented in a custom gallery.

Loopt gave a presentation of a client for its "location-aware" social network, which displays pins representing the locations of friends; profiles show information including photos, places traveled, and quick call and texting information. It should be free at the App Store launch.

TypePad presented a simple app for blogging and photo uploads, while the Associated Press debuted the Mobile News Network, a reader which gathers content from multiple sources, including photos and video. MNN users can browse multimedia directly, and sources are selected locally based on location detection. The software will be free at App Store launch.

Game developer Pangaea demoed two games: Enigmo, a physics-based game where players guide water droplets, and Cro-Mag Rally, a 3D racing title that treats the iPhone as a whole as a steering wheel. Both games will go on sale for $10.

Moo Cow Music's entry was Band, a virtual instrument app which lets users record directly to their iPhone. Instruments include bass, drums, piano and a 12-bar blues piece, as well as a guitar, played by "strumming" virtual strings.

Major League Baseball previewed a game-tracking program, which not only delivers live scores but video highlights updated after each play.

Two medical apps on display were an anatomy guide by Modality, and an imaging tool by MIMvista, which supports live 3D rendering and the iPhone's special photo manipulation controls.

Digital Legends, finally, presented a a 3D fantasy adventure game, only two weeks into development. It is however said to resemble the PlayStation game God of War, and use OpenGL-based graphics. It should be finished in September.