As predicted, the version of the long-awaited iPhone software developers kit (SDK) being released today is still in beta, or test mode. According to Steve Jobs, the finished software will be shipped to developers as a free software update in June. (See Apple’s press release here.)

These and other details of the so-called iPhone software roadmap were revealed today at an Apple (AAPL) special event on the company’s Cupertino campus.

After several demonstrations of what third-party developers were able to create with only two weeks notice — including a preliminary version of Electronic Arts’ Spore — Jobs spelled out the terms by which iPhone programs will be distributed.

• The developer picks the price and keeps 70% of the revenue, paid monthly
• There’s a one-time $99 iPhone developers fee
• Most developers will pick “free,” says Jobs, and Apple will host their software for free
• Apple distributes the software on the iTunes store
• Apple absorbs the credit card and hosting fees
• There are some apps Apple will not distribute (porn, malware, duh)
• iPhone update 2.0, due in June, will contain the enterprise support and the SDK
• iPod touch will also get these features, but for a “nominal” fee to be set in June
• Kleiner Perkins has created a $100 million iFund to support iPhone developers

Finally! Eight months after it was introduced, the iPhone is finally getting the e-mail service it deserves. At the Apple (AAPL) special event today, Steve Jobs introduced and Phil Schiller demonstrated the next iPhone update, one that has everything on your IT department’s wishlist:

• Push e-mail
• Push calendars
• Push contacts
• Global address lists
• Cisco IPsec PVN
• Certificates and identities
• WPA2/802.1x
• Enforced security policies
• Device configuration
• Remote wipe, in case the iPhone is lost or stolen

In the demo, Microsoft (MSFT) Exchange appears on the e-mail configuration panel, right above .Mac.

No word yet on the live blogs when this becomes available, but I’m not waiting. I’m putting my request to replace my BlackBerry with an iPhone today.

UPDATE: I’ve already been turned down. “Unfortunately, no,” was the reply. “The iPhone is still not a standard device.” Anyway, it looks like all this enterprise stuff won’t be ready until Apple ships firmware update 2.0, some time in June.

Transcripts from Betsy Morris’ extended interview with Apple’s (AAPL) CEO in Kona, Hawaii, have been posted on Fortune.com. Among the subjects he addresses:

• The birth of the iPhone
• On market research (or the lack thereof)
• Why people want to work for Apple
• What if he got run over by a bus?
• The devices he chose not to make
• His management style
• Why recruiting new people is hard
• The benefit of owning the OS
• Apple’s marathon Monday meetings
• Story crises at Pixar
• The iPod tipping point
• Launching the Apple Store
• Catching the next wave
• What was wrong with Apple TV
• Weathering the economic downturn

You can read the excerpts here. The Morris story that appears in the current issue is available here.

On Thursday, before an audience of industry analysts, tech reporters and invited guests, Apple (AAPL) will unfold its long-awaited “iPhone software roadmap.” The event starts at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) in Building 4, Town Hall on the company’s Cupertino campus.

So what’s going to happen? Let’s review what we know and what’s been rumored.

What we know:

• The “roadmap” will cover the iPhone software developers kit (SDK) that Steve Jobs had hoped to have in developers’ hands last month. If what is revealed is a beta SDK, as rumored, there will widespread disappointment.
• Apple also promises “exciting new enterprise features,” which has got the attention of IT managers and the employees who have to work with IT to get corporate support for the iPhone.
• The SDK will almost certainly not include support for Adobe Flash — one of the current limitations of Safari on the iPhone — given that Steve Jobs declared, at Tuesday’s shareholders meeting, that it”performs too slow to be useful” on the iPhone.
• That Jobs has promised “a lot of apps out there this summer,” including games.
• That native iPhone apps will be written in Cocoa, Apple’s proprietary development environment. When asked about a blogging application for the iPhone at the shareholders meeting, Jobs told the shareholder that if Apple doesn’t address his needs, he should learn Cocoa and write his own app.

What has been rumored:

• That the SDK runs only on Macs running OS X Leopard and is facilitated through an enhanced version of XCode made available to members of Apple Developer Connection. (see here)
• That iPhone applications will be allowed to use both EDGE and WiFi for data. (see here)
• That Apple will have the final say on which commercial iPhone applications are sold, will distribute them through iTunes, and will take a small cut of the proceeds. (see here)
• That iPhone freeware is unlikely to be subject to much if any scrutiny by Apple. (see here)
• That this SDK will not support applications that access peripherals through the iPhone dock connector. (see here)
• That the final version will be released at the World Wide Developers Conference in June. (see here)
• That there’ll be lots of demonstrations of business applications from the likes of IBM (IBM), Salesforce (CRM) and Microsoft (MSFT). (We’ve already been contacted for pre-SDK coverage from several firms that make apps for business, including SAP.)

How much of this will come true? We’ll find out soon enough. Jon Fortt will be covering it for Fortune.com. Several Apple sites will be liveblogging from Town Hall, including Engadget, Gizmodo and Ars Technica’s Infinite Loop.