iPhone: third party software iFrenzy!

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Tuesday, 12 June 2007 02:02

Your IT - Mobility

Developers can create Web 2.0 apps for the iPhone, preserving the iPhone’s security and reliability, allaying fears the iPhone would be a closed environment.

If you’ve been wanting to create apps for the upcoming iPhone, or download apps that people have written, you’ll get your wish – but will developers be 100% happy?
Some were expecting to be able to create full applications for the iPhone, but for now, Apple is keeping that privilege to itself, extending only to developers the ability to create Web 2.0 apps.

That said, Apple says Web 2.0 apps will ‘look and behave’ just like built-in iPhone apps, and will ‘seamlessly access’ other iPhones services such as sending email, making a phone call, displaying locations in Google Maps and more. Secure access to online banking or other ecommerce sites like Amazon is also promised.

During the WWDC keynote, Jobs said that “Developers and users alike are going to be very surprised and pleased at how great these applications look and work on iPhone. Our innovative approach, using Web 2.0-based standards, lets developers create amazing new applications while keeping the iPhone secure and reliable.”

Whether the iPhone will work with Adobe’s new AIR runtime, allowing online Web 2.0 apps to run in an offline environment, or with Google’s Gears or Microsoft’s Silverlight is still unknown at this stage.

No word yet either on the number of iPhone apps you’ll be able to run at the same time, or how the iPhone OS X will handle badly behaving apps, but given that developers have only just received the news that third party apps are allowed, all of this is yet to be disclosed by Apple and uncovered by developers.

Jobs also noted that there are only 18 days to go until the iPhone goes on sale, June 29, with one new detail – those waiting in line for days on end won’t get satisfaction at 12.01am on June 29 – you’ll have to wait until 6pm before the first units are sold.

But given AT&T and Apple Store staff have already received guidance on how to look after customers that choose to queue up, there can be no doubt that the lines for the iPhone will be starting soon, as the iFrenzy over the iPhone accelerates to ludicrous speed and beyond!