Filed under: Apple Corporate, Steve Jobs, Apple, iPhone
Will the iPhone open up to 3rd party apps? Steve Jobs says that Apple is wrestling with the decision, according to Tech.co.uk. Contradicting earlier statements that the iPhone would definitely be a closed platform, Steve Jobs cracked open the door a bit. Supporting this semi-statement is the upcoming Developing Websites for iPhone session at WWDC.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
michel said 2:26PM on 5-11-2007
I think it's more some guidelines to use safari features and make the best of a tiny screen , not my huge 30" display on my Octo-macpro .
I think about css tips, Fonts choice and so on.
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Sean said 2:30PM on 5-11-2007
I think Dashboard widgets will be the entry way in to 3rd party apps on the iPhone. They are releasing the dev environment in Leopard, and the security risk ( as well as unstable app risk) is reduced.
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Jon said 2:31PM on 5-11-2007
It'd be interesting to see what Google can offer in this department. A mobile Docs & Spreadsheets would be awesome.
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JD said 2:59PM on 5-11-2007
Since the connection is so slow (non-3G), I don't think you're going to get very rich web-based apps on that thing, especially if it can't do flash. Please make it open, Apple! That's the deal-breaker for me, and a lot of other people I know.
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Milind said 3:11PM on 5-11-2007
A dictionary would be awesome
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itchytooth said 3:40PM on 5-11-2007
I think that with or without Apple's approval, there will be 3rd party apps running on iPhones very soon after its release. Remember the Apple TV?
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Alfredo Padilla said 3:47PM on 5-11-2007
The annoying thing is that as Apple "wrestles" with what seems like an easy call the chances that we will get an iPhone next month that supports third party applications recedes rapidly. The only reason I can see why this might be an issue is that frankly Steve doesn't want anyone messing with his precious. As a result of that intransigence we probably won't see any third party apps until the end of the year. If Apple had done this right they would have released development materials six months ago and we would be well on our way to a rich development ecology for the iPhone.
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Gene Cowan said 4:01PM on 5-11-2007
"The chances that we will get an iPhone next month that supports third party applications recedes rapidly."
Well, that is kind of a ridiculous statement -- it is unlikely that the iPhone will be somehow hardware-restricted from running third party software. There's no reason that the iPhone won't be able to run third-party software after it is purchased, whether that software is released immediately or not. The restriction isn't in the hardware, it's only in Apple's decision to release the information necessary to allow development by third parties.
Also worth mentioning: the iPhone OS and software will be updated with new features, according to Apple. So it's not as if you'll buy a stunted, disabled, crippled device (like, say, the kind you get from Verizon) that is permanently locked into one state.
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Gene Cowan said 4:06PM on 5-11-2007
Regarding building websites for the iPhone -- I'll wager that sites need to be built with CSS, which may be what enables the "tap on a block of text" to zoom in function. It probably zooms in to the block, which is how it knows what block of text should fill the screen? Should be interesting to see if this is how it works or if there is a more sophisticated technology behind it; and whether it works with all sites..
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Alfredo Padilla said 4:29PM on 5-11-2007
Re: Gene
I wasn't saying that the phone would never be able to run third party applications, I expect that eventually Apple will realize that third party development is desirable and such applications will become available and will run just fine on first generation iPhones.
What bothers me is that if Apple had done this right we would have potentially seen third part applications either ready or well on the way to development by launch next month. I'm complaining about the extra wait, not saying that the iPhone won't eventually be able to run such apps.
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hmurchison said 5:15PM on 5-11-2007
I have no problems with Apple "waiting" before allowing 3rd party apps. With my phone I need the utmost in stability. If Apple provides enough of the basics and handles the first half year to year of software and OS enhancements that should give them time to perfect the iPhone SDK an develop appropriate documentation.
The iPhone likely runs an OS X that is synced with Leopard. I want to see how developer utilize Leopard on my Mac before they go hoping to hop on my phone.
Apple will deliver the iPhone with capable apps that are stable and function correctly. In essence, they will set the bar. Then when the platform is opened up we'll have an idea about what is a good app versus bad.
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vs said 5:30PM on 5-11-2007
I'd love to have Garmin Mobile XT on iPhone
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Pixel Pete said 1:48AM on 5-12-2007
Just my $.02 cents, FWIW...
Maybe Jobs is 'wrestling' with the idea because it's evident that the iPhone will be such a revolutionary device that ALOT of 3rd-parties do not want to "miss the boat", so to speak.
However, as stated earlier, (some of) these very same 3rd-party developers who will want to make software for the iPhone exclusively, have NEVER EVER considered making ANY of their software available for the Mac platform in the past.
Some have even been sitting around dissin' Apple for years, now all of a sudden, they're standing on the beach watching the tide recede before the TSUNAMI hits. (No offense.)
Dunno about the rest of you, but over the years, I personally have lost count of the number of companies whose websites (and/or software products) have incorporated some sort of 'Windoze' or 'IE' only functionality.
Jobs probably just wants to avoid all the possible headaches associated with providing endless tech support to certain 'Windoze' fanboy developers who won't hesitate to blame Apple as soon as their code/spyware doesn't work properly.
- Who wants that headache? Would you?
- Why jeopardize a great reputation for making solid hardware/software that 'just works'?
[Just saw a RealPlayer exec walk out of this thread - lol]
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Cocoa Knight said 12:21PM on 5-12-2007
The real reason Steve doesn't want to open it up is he doesn't want other ITMS competitors to write clients for it enabling direct downloads. imagine if MS ported urge to the iphone. you might use them instead of ITMS etc...
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Jemuel Griffith said 3:23PM on 5-12-2007
the iPhone will have 3rd party apps just that Apple will have strict rules of how the applications are created. It is just not going to be like those other phones with a million poorly written java app that could eventually crash the system. It would be similar to the iPod closed ecosystem with apps sold through iTunes Music Store
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Greg L said 7:14PM on 5-12-2007
Everyone seems to forget that Java midlets have been available and unrestricted on any phone for years now and I have yet to ever hear of one crashing a phone or causing any security issue or network performance issue.
This is Apple/Cingular greed (probably a big combination of both), pure and simple. They want to keep you in the walled garden while pretending to offer you some sort of advanced platform.
iPhone is NOT a smartphone. Adding a web browser and a touchscreen to what is otherwise a regular phone does not magically make it a smartphone. A smartphone needs to have the ability for anyone to write apps for it, not just 'widgets' that, if they are like dashboard widgets for Mac OS, are even more restricted than Java midlets.
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Donkey said 7:23PM on 5-12-2007
re #10
So Dashcode doesn't fall into your radar why?
Come on people, they had google and yahoo on stage during the iPhone announcement, how much bigger of a clue do you need?
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Donkey said 10:07AM on 5-13-2007
#16
Apparently you've never installed many 3rd party java apps on a cell phone. Apple is doing what they have always done and are first establishing a baseline of quality. Apple is positioning itself as the gatekeeper, which is always the price you pay when working with their non-computer hardware.
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Sparks said 2:02PM on 5-13-2007
Yeah, uhm, I'm with the poster who said someone clearly hadn't installed many Java midlets, unfortunately.
I've tested mobile communications software on my Windows Mobile PDA-phones which, frankly, could basically lock that poor little OS hard. I grant you a midlet is harder to explode than a native app, but many of them also run quirkier, and some still can crash the java VM. Which isn't that much more fun than crashing the phone as a whole; if the JVM is eating the PDA's full CPU, for instance, you suddenly discover you cannot receive incoming calls.
So, while I'm all for third-party iPhone apps -- and would love to get into /writing/ them, as an OS X developer -- I can absolutely understand why Apple's taking a cautious approach to this. If they release it and 8 billion badly written third-party apps land on it, people will go 'ZOMG iPhone crashes!'
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portorikan said 7:41AM on 5-14-2007
I'm just wondering, the phone, at least to get started, sounds pretty good.
What other apps are you looking for/NEED to have whenever you get your iphone?
The thing hasn't come out and you're complaining that you can't add software to it? What's it missing for you already besides the fact you can't add more software?
It seems like a lot of people just like the idea/novelty of being able to add stuff to something new.
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