Apple

Developers who want to add applications to the iPhone need a contract, and the first ones signed last year are about to expire.

(Credit: CNET)

Apple developers are having a tough time renewing their iPhone development licenses, according to reports.

AppleInsider reported last week that as the one-year contracts signed by iPhone developers begin to expire, developers are starting to wonder if they'll be able to continue their development after the end of March without an option to renew the contracts. The contracts are needed as part of the iPhone Developer Program in order to have iPhone applications listed in the App Store.

Ars Technica's Erica Sadun, a prolific iPhone developer, is having similar problems. She attempted to renew her contract on Friday only to be told that Apple had yet to implement a process for doing so.

One year after Apple first kicked off iPhone development, the astounding growth of the App Store continues: Apple now has more than 25,000 applications listed, adding nearly 10,000 since January. The company has had trouble keeping up with that growth over the year, but usually manages to iron out the kinks and keep its developers happy.

The end result of Apple's decision to drop an NDA for released iPhone software? Better software.

(Credit: Apple)

Software development is complicated enough, even when you can ask for help.

Apple's decision to let its nondisclosure agreement on released iPhone software expire had an effect just hours after it was formally announced: developers such as Craig Hockenberry started sharing ideas for iPhone code.

A heavily moderated mailing list for Cocoa developers (Apple's user interface technology) rejoiced at the prospect that they could discuss tips for iPhone development the way they discuss Mac development.

Before Wednesday morning, they simply couldn't do such a thing in public, for fear of getting booted out of the iPhone Developer Program. Of course, in this era of ubiquitous communications, it's pretty hard to keep people under wraps, if they have something they want to say, but Apple's decision to apply the iPhone SDK's NDA to released software forced developers to go underground simply to share tips and tricks they discovered when working on a freely available application.

That was a ridiculous state of affairs, and it did nothing to further the mutual goal of Apple and iPhone developers: the continual improvement of software on the iPhone in order to boost sales. It would sort of be like if CNET forbade me from explaining to readers and colleagues how I developed my thoughts during the writing process for an article that had already been published.

Apple's justification for applying the NDA to released software (it still applies to unreleased software under development) was that competitors might be able to glean insights into the iPhone from the technical details shared among developers.

The iPhone is without a doubt a hot topic among other mobile-software development companies, such as Microsoft, Symbian, Research In Motion, and Google. However, if those companies really wanted to figure out how the iPhone works, it's not much of a stretch to assume that they have ways of making that happen.

Instead of throwing off the competition, the NDA merely angered developers who wanted nothing more than to help make Apple's latest baby even better: they just needed a little help from their friends.

This move is a win-win-win, a rare time in which that cliche actually rings true. Apple will benefit from a vibrant developer community's excitement over developing for the iPhone. The developers will be able to make their applications better and more reliable, which will make them more popular and profitable. And iPhone users are the direct beneficiaries of developer innovation.

It's also a sign that Apple--whose relationship with developers has been somewhat more strained than that other major operating-system company--is listening to the outside world.

Apple's hallmark is control: this is a company that requires an escort for reporters who want to walk 100 yards down a cavernous hallway in the Moscone Center from the media room to the bathroom in plain sight of dozens of people. That control sometimes serves Apple well, in that it can dictate a specific user experience free from outside distractions that might cause problems.

But when you make the decision to take the training wheels off the iPhone, you have to let go a little. I'm in the camp that believes that Apple always intended to open up the iPhone to outside development--despite telling developers in June 2007 that Web apps are the coolest thing since widgets--but Apple clearly has had control issues, when it comes to how its technology is tinkered with by outside forces.

Apple is never going to be Google, or even Microsoft, when it comes to placating developers. But developers are drawn to the iPhone because of the product itself, rather than the promise of freedom to tinker or a tight integration with IT. All Apple has to do to keep them happy is to give up the tiniest bit of control.

That's what Apple did Wednesday. Now all the company needs to do is set clear guidelines for what constitutes a kosher iPhone application and what is too similar to Apple's own plans to be released.

Communication has not been Apple's strong suit this past summer. But with just four paragraphs, developers are now looking at the company in a new light. Imagine what a full-time iPhone developer evangelist could accomplish.

Developers are now free to discuss software that has been released for the iPhone, after Apple dropped a controversial NDA requirement.

(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)

Apple has decided to end the nondisclosure agreement attached to software that has already been released for the iPhone, in the latest sign that it is starting to take developer concerns to heart.

The company put up a notice on the main Apple developer Web page that, effective immediately, says developers are released from the NDA regarding iPhone software that has already been released. The NDA was one of the most frustrating aspects of iPhone development in its first three official months, forbidding developers from discussing their software and throwing into legal limbo the status of programs such as iPhone development classes. (As evidence of developers' frustration over the NDA, there's even a dedicated Web site whose boldly proclaimed F-bomb of a name leaves no room for doubt on their state of mind.)

Apple's explanation for dropping the NDA follows:

We put the NDA in place because the iPhone OS includes many Apple inventions and innovations that we would like to protect, so that others don't steal our work. It has happened before. While we have filed for hundreds of patents on iPhone technology, the NDA added yet another level of protection. We put it in place as one more way to help protect the iPhone from being ripped off by others.

However, the NDA has created too much of a burden on developers, authors and others interested in helping further the iPhone's success, so we are dropping it for released software. Developers will receive a new agreement without an NDA covering released software within a week or so. Please note that unreleased software and features will remain under NDA until they are released.

Apple has made subtle tweaks to the App Store this week in response to developer concerns, but this is by far the most sweeping change it has made to placate developers, who continue to flood the App Store with iPhone applications. The greatest source of frustration--the nebulous guidelines for what is permitted in the App Store, and what isn't--remains unaddressed as of this moment, but perhaps Apple's decision to drop the NDA means it has realized the extent of developer angst.

The launch of an open-source developer-friendly mobile operating system just last week probably didn't hurt.