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Broadband & Mobile Featured Article
October 18, 2007
Apple to Open iPhone for Developers
By Raju Shanbhag TMCnet Contributing Editor
In an apparent change of heart, Apple (News - Alert) says it will now allow third party developers to work directly on the iPhones.
The company had recently updated the iPhone with a software release that disabled installing third party software on iPhone (News - Alert). The consumers had protested about this move by the company and the hackers have been trying their best to ‘unlock’ the iPhone.
In blog posted on the company Web site, Steve Jobs (News - Alert) said Apple will release a software development kit in February that will let coders create applications to work directly on the iPhone and the iPod Touch. iPod touch is a new iPod portable player that looks like iPhone but not really a phone.
Steve Jobs also wrote: “Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.”
Even earlier, many hackers had posted many unofficial programs to install on the iPhone. But the iPhone users had to download those programs on their own peril as they knew fully well that any damage arising out of installing this software was not reimbursed by Apple. Still, many users have installed third party applications on their iPhones but the company promptly disabled those phones few days ago. This move was widely criticized and hackers vowed to unlock the iPhone all over again. Some even filed a lawsuit against the company accusing the company of engaging in monopolistic behavior and unlawfully restricting consumer choice by preventing users from "unlocking" their iPhones.
Apple spokesperson Natalie Kerris says that what Jobs said is that it will take time to open up iPhone to third party applications. Indeed, even though Steve Jobs has indicated that Apple will open iPhone to third party developers, he hasn’t set a date for the same. Also, even if the changes are allowed, AT&T's (News - Alert) network will still remain the only compatible network for iPhone in US.
Raju Shanbhag is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
The company had recently updated the iPhone with a software release that disabled installing third party software on iPhone (News - Alert). The consumers had protested about this move by the company and the hackers have been trying their best to ‘unlock’ the iPhone.
In blog posted on the company Web site, Steve Jobs (News - Alert) said Apple will release a software development kit in February that will let coders create applications to work directly on the iPhone and the iPod Touch. iPod touch is a new iPod portable player that looks like iPhone but not really a phone.
Steve Jobs also wrote: “Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.”
Even earlier, many hackers had posted many unofficial programs to install on the iPhone. But the iPhone users had to download those programs on their own peril as they knew fully well that any damage arising out of installing this software was not reimbursed by Apple. Still, many users have installed third party applications on their iPhones but the company promptly disabled those phones few days ago. This move was widely criticized and hackers vowed to unlock the iPhone all over again. Some even filed a lawsuit against the company accusing the company of engaging in monopolistic behavior and unlawfully restricting consumer choice by preventing users from "unlocking" their iPhones.
Apple spokesperson Natalie Kerris says that what Jobs said is that it will take time to open up iPhone to third party applications. Indeed, even though Steve Jobs has indicated that Apple will open iPhone to third party developers, he hasn’t set a date for the same. Also, even if the changes are allowed, AT&T's (News - Alert) network will still remain the only compatible network for iPhone in US.
Raju Shanbhag is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
