Comments on: Apple's Jobs says third-party iPhone apps coming in February

Apple's CEO has stepped forward, promising an iPhone software development kit by February that will open up the device to outside applications.

[sanenazok]

Good

Finally the iPhone starts making sense - requiring all third party apps to run in AJAX within the browser was wrong.

Now we just need lower price and compatibility with TMobile.

[shanewalker]

Smart.

Jobs/Apple & Co. just proved that they "get it."

Their focus on security should also be commended. I know that I
personally don't want my phone to 'crash' or become bogged w/
malware...

I feel better about my desire to purchase an iPhone down the line
and I think many will likewise. Good going, Steve.

[Tomcat Adam]

too bad

the sdk is probably going to be extremely expensive and most people will either pirate it or make apps their own way.

[rcardona2k]

Stops whiners

This should dent all the whiners who knew upfront they were buying a 'closed' device.

If you think about it, Apple was smart to force the Web apps to be developed first, then the native apps. Hopefully the web apps will continue.

[Harfeld Bilgewing]

But somehow...

It didn't stop you from complaining.

[ciparis]

misunderstood reference: less than "totally open"

This is not a statement about how far Apple will go. This is a small
response to Nokia's recent advertisements that attempt to criticize
the iPhone and benefit from the iBrick fracas by claiming that
Nokia's S60 platform is "Totally open".

Steve Jobs was just giving them a bit of an elbow before giving
them a nod about their work in securing applications.

[TNCLR]

Huh?

That is the most ridiculous reasoning I have ever heard. Apple is
offering an SDK as a "response" to Nokia???? Hilarious.

I'm glad Apple is walking down this path if only to shut up those
who feel it is somehow their birthright to create "native" apps for
the iPhone. I had no idea developers could be so damn whiney. I
can't wait for all those ****** apps to flood the web. Hello
instability! Thanks guys.

[Renegade Knight]

The Problem with Digital Signatures

Is that a lot of people use specialized applications specific to their hobby or activities. Not enough sales to justify full fledged development and jumping through hoops to be allowed to run so they tend to get locked out of these platforms.

They have a lot of work to do if they want to embrace hobbiest applications.

[m.meister]

The real surprise

The real surprise is that Apple has publicly spoken about
something that will not be offered for another 4-5 months.

Those of us that know a little bit about developing and creating
an SDK already knew that Apple was likely working on
something but that it would take some time.

As I understand it, iPhone and iPod touch are both based on
Leopard technologies (and will likely require Leopard to develop
for). My guess: Apple probably needed to wait until Leopard was
finalized before they could set a public date for the SDK.

[shanewalker]

Yeah--it's the Leopard, stupid :)!

Good point.

It makes sense that since they pulled tech resources off of Leopard
to get the iPhone out the door, that they had unfinished business in
Leopard that would be necessary for a complete/robust SDK...since
the iPhone is supposedly OSX/Leopard-based.

[slehman1803]

Where is Java?

With the iPhone opening up, where is Java? Are they in a power struggle with Sun over this?

[serpicolugnut]

Java is exactly where it should be...

Which is, missing. The iPhone doesn't need Java. Java is slow,
bloated, and offers nothing that can't be provided through
Cocoa.

6 months after the SDK's release, I guarantee you that the
iPhone/iPod Touch platform will have more 3rd party apps than
any other handheld/mobile device.

Mac developers are salivating at being able to develop for it. And
since the base frameworks are already familiar to them, the
learning curve should be minimal. Look at what has already
happen without any SDK whatsoever.

[paulej]

Completely agree

Why people like the "write once, (attempt) to run anywhere (but fall short and produce a slow application with an ugly, non-native user interface)" concept that Java delivers is beyond me.

I know all of the stated advantages, but given two comparable applications -- a native application and a Java application -- I would prefer the native application both for the better user interface and performance.

Apparently that's true for most people, too, as I have found it very hard to even find a popular application written in Java. I only find it in specialized environments, often associated with a web browser. (Perhaps the web browser might be the one platform where it makes most sense, but even then I have to ask... if you need to power of a language like Java, why is the application running in a browser in the first place?)

[The_Decider]

Java is not slow

In fact, a well written Java app can keep pace with a well written native app.Just because you are a poor programmer doesn't mean it is the fault of Java.

In Java memory allocation is faster then in C.

Memory deallocation is almost free and safer then C.

Saying that Java is slow was true in 2000, today it makes you hopelessly out of touch.

Java is better then Cocoa, because your app won't be confined to OSX based systems. There are some cases where a developer needs to be careful in Java to ensure platform independence, but to say java is write once debug everywhere is also very 2000.

[LuvThatCO2]

Typical Apple

So the impression is that Apple will require that apps be 'certified' and 'signed' to run on an iphone? How much will this certification cost? As a developer, such certification & signature requirements are a major hassle. And its going to kill any possibility of corporate use, as no one's going to go through the trouble of getting an in-house app certified.

I'll stick to Windows Mobile, thank you. I've got my eye on the HTC Touch, should it be released in the US. It actually came out before the iphone, does a lot more than an iphone (dial up networking over bluetooth, movie capture, gps, can run 3rd party apps NOW), and wont require a 'certification' to write apps to run on my own phone!

[paulej]

HTC Touch

You can get it easily enough, but I've been told that performance is lacking. I can believe it, because I have another HTC mobile device that has the same processor and without a touch screen and it's already slower than I can tolerate.

I would suggest you give it a try first, but I would definitely like to see what users think of it. Other than performance concerns, it looks like a good product.

[technewsjunkie]

The article says Symbian and Java use dig. sigs, not Apple

You TRY to make it sound like Apple invented digital signatures and
so blame Apple. If you were a developer as you say you are, you
would acknowledge that as the article clearly states "Java and
Sybian" require digital signatures" and he thinks that for SECURITY
reasons it's a necessity.

How does Windows Mobil handle security? (Windows and security
don't go together in case you haven't heard).

[technewsjunkie]

cnet pans HTC Touch, raves iPhone...

But they aren't professional reviewers like you...

http://reviews.cnet.com/smart-phones/htc-touch-
unlocked/4540-6452_7-32465595-4.html?tag=sub

[J.G.]

You must measure up

If you use the SDK and write good programs there should be no
problem getting approved.

The HTC touch phone is not comparable and has problems with
functionality. See the current edition of Computerworld online for
a professional comparison, including the Nokia N95.

[otter]

Options to Edge and ATT?

So how long will it be before we have options to the Edge network
and ATT?

otter

[Captain Bebops]

Niche Market Apps

I've developed apps for both the Palm and Windows Mobile platform. Both companies made it easy and free or almost free to get the SDKs. Undoubtedly I am going to get requests from customers who have purchased iPhones for versions of my software that will run on it. But it is for a niche market and it doesn't make sense to invest a lot of money in development for little return. But I've got a bad feeling that Apple has their heads up their butts and doesn't understand the third party app market very well at all.

[technewsjunkie]

blah, blah blah, I hate apple, blah..

You are smarter than Apple, and Steve Jobs.

How many Billions do you have with your wisdom?

[technewsjunkie]

"niche" market - or ground floor Opportunity$$$

The glass is half FULL.

[grtgrfx]

Apple and 3rd party developers...a long tradition

Don't know why you'd think Apple has their heads "up their butt"
about third-party software development...the platform wouldn't
even be around today without 3rd-parties like, oh, Adobe or
Microsoft developing for them. Or perhaps you've heard of a
little company called Bungie, who first developed shareware for
Macintosh back in the day...and now are millionaires from Halo?

Pretty soon the iPhone niche market will be the dominant
market, and you'll want to be first-position in the software niche
of your choice if you want to compete.

[singularitydesign]

Flash-enabled browser please!

Hopefully this will allow someone to create a proper, flash-enabled web browser. Then Apple's claims about the iPhone containing "the whole Internet, not a watered-down Internet" will finally be true!

[Jesse Chan]

Looking at the big picture

Apple is adding another platform to its mix of iTunes, Mac OS X, and Safari. Will it make them unstoppable? http://fishtrain.com/2007/10/17/the-platform-is-what-matters/

[lecorbu04]

maybe the iphone will video conference

check out the concept:

http://www.createthefuturecontest.com/pages/view/entriesdetail.html?entryID=365

[technewsjunkie]

I would love to see iPhone-iChat (videoconferencing)

mobil videoconferencing with the iPhone!

[Seaspray0]

Digital Signature is not exactly open

The Good: By requiring digital signatures, and by disabling unsigned apps, apple can control the quality of the apps.

The Bad: Software companies who develop software typically digitally sign their software, individual developers tend to not digitally sign their software (cost of the certificates, hassle, etc).

The past: Some, but not many apps were available for the iphone. Many of the apps were written by hobby or individual deveopers and not by software corporations.

I applaud apple's distribution of a SDK and allowance of 3rd party apps. What concerns me is the requirement for digital signatures of the software. While good for security reasons, it can still cause problems for those who develop apps to distribute to others freely over the internet. If apple requires digital signatures, then do not expect to see a large quantity of apps written by individual developers or hobby developers, and from the limited past so far that may mean a good chunk of goodies. The question will remain, will it be better to require the digital signatures, or will it be better to make it a truely "open" software development platform?

[ralfthedog]

Automated testing?

"...are required to have a digital signature that verifies the application has passed certain tests, and that makes sense given the growing concerns about smartphone security."

Apple could set up an automated testing system that checks for memory leeks as well as buffer overflow prevention, and memory space violations....

Write your application. Go to the Apple website. Boom, you have a certified iPhone application. If a bad application gets through screening, they can revoke the cert at any time.

[J.G.]

I prefer security and expertise

So, with a program that approves the better submissions. Truth
of the matter? Most amateur or independent programmers write
throwaway applications. We iPhone owners will appreciate not
being exposed to endless to useless and flawed apps.

[i-downloads]

3rd Party iPhone Apps

Well it seems that apple will support 3rd party apps this is great even better than jail break but before I rejoice I wait and see how it goes with apple For now I use my iphone and ipod for more music and movie downloads at http://www.ipodtunesdownloads.com