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May 31, 2007

iphone

Not so cloudy skies for third party applications

Posted May. 31, ’07, 7:04 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | iPhone

iPhone Yesterday was an exciting day and filled with lots of new information from the Mac deity, Steve Jobs. His interview contained one kernel of information that’s sent the Mac and gadget community into a frenzy. As recorded by Macworld:

“I think sometime later this year we will find a way to let third parties write apps and still preserve security. But until we can find that way, we can’t compromise the security of the phone. Nobody’s perfect, but we sure don’t want our phone to crash. We would like to solve this problem, if you could be just a little more patient with us, I think everyone can get what they want,” he said.

Pat has already taken a rather negative stance. He’s convinced that the future is bleak for third party iPhone software development. On the other hand, sites like Engadget are interpreting this as a committal to third party development. While I normally like to sit on the far fringes of issues, this time, I think the middle is right where you ought to be if you’re a betting man.

First, let’s deconstruct a bit. Steve specifically mentions a timeline. I think that says a lot. To my mind, it says that he’s seriously considering allowing third party development. Offering up such a timeline always leads to media outlets carefully following him asking the inevitable “So, how about that third party iPhone development?” If he was only trying to appease people that ask the question, he wouldn’t have given any kind of timeline. He would make a vague reference to the future.

The bigger question here is what constitutes third party applications. It’s clear that Apple now has an obligation to Cingular AT&T to help preserve its bottom line. That includes keeping things like Skype away from their unlimited data plan (which could result in large amounts of lost revenue in upgraded plans and minute overages). What would exacerbate the situation is if AT&T offered a lower priced unlimited data plan. I’m not saying whether that could possibly happen, but it would make sense in terms of really showing off what the iPhone can do.

At this point, it may seem clear that Apple would preclude all third party development, but there’s one more option that Apple’s already shown us. Remember those iPod games that are made by third party developers? Imagine, if you will, that Apple starts a program for third party developers to write for the iPhone under the condition that Apple has to approve those applications and gets to distribute them (get ready for another iTunes source).

Maybe I’m blowing a lot of smoke like big fancy analysts do, but to my mind, the road right down the middle seems like the most likely. Apple can offer functionality that would otherwise be too costly for them to include by default, preserve AT&T’s network integrity, and give many of us what we seek. It’ll make things tougher for independent developers, but that’s probably going to be the price paid for pairing with a cellular carrier.


2 Comments

Geniver said:

"Give me a third option".

Maybe ATT has taken a page from Apple's play book. Apple's policy with respect to the iPod is, "You bought it; we don't care what you do with it". ATT plans to sell the iPhone with an "unlimited" plan. That means they can say, "You bought our unlimited plan; we don't care how you use it".

May 31, 2007 12:16 PM
Kelmon said:

The distribution of applications via iTunes Store in the same vein as the distribution of iPod games seems the most reasonable solution. Not only does this give you access to these applications via the same application that you use to manage you phone with anyway but it also gives Apple the opportunity to perform their own testing of the software submitted before letting it loose on the public.

May 31, 2007 11:19 PM

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