Apple opens iPhone to developers—well, kinda, sorta

Smart-phone developers learned Monday that they won't be shut out of Apple's iPhone. But they're going to have to wait for the red carpet.

CEO Steve Jobs announced during his keynote address at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco that developers of third-party applications will be able to create Web applications for the iPhone using Safari, Apple's Web browser.

This gives developers the chance to create iPhone applications using common Web development standards such as Ajax ahead of the device's June 29 launch. As a bonus, those applications will also work on Windows now that Safari will run on Microsoft's operating system.

But this is not what many mobile developers were hoping to hear. Unlike other mobile-phone makers, Apple has chosen not to set up a software development kit or support community for iPhone applications at this time.

Call it the iPhone compromise--Apple is giving developers a chance to get their wares on the iPhone, but not every application will work properly inside a browser without native support. The decision means Apple has a better chance of guaranteeing application security and reliability on the native applications it does allow on the iPhone, but it falls short of what other smart-phone companies--notably Nokia--offer mobile-application developers.

"It's a first small step in the right direction, but they have many more steps they need to follow," said Daniel Kyte, founder and CEO of Kyte.tv, which allows mobile-phone users to share videos and photos.

When Apple unveiled the iPhone in January, Jobs hinted that Apple would be the only game in town for iPhone application development. He seemed concerned that a rash of third-party applications could create security and reliability problems that could derail Apple's first attempt at cracking the smart-phone market.

http://news.com.com/Apple+opens+iPhone+to+developers-kind+of/
2100-1046_3-6190302.html