iPhone SDK beta eight is great

As that July 11th launch of the iPhone 3G creeps ever closer, development of the iPhone SDK continues apace. Yesterday, Apple released the beta 8 version of the software development kit, which appears as though it may be the last pre-release version.

According to release notes, beta 8 is compatible with the final iPhone OS 2.0 software release and is the version required to build and sign iPhone apps that are being submitted to the App Store. Rumors have been flying that the iPhone 2.0 OS could go final as early as today—given that we’re about two weeks out from the iPhone 3G launch, that seems reasonable.

Will we see iPhone 2.0 rolled out before the iPhone 3G launch? In the WWDC keynote, Steve Jobs alluded only to an “early July” release. If it drops at the same time as the iPhone 3G, that’s going to be a heck of a Friday, withnot only those two releases, but also the changeover from .Mac to MobileMe. Let’s hope Apple’s infrastructure is up for it.