I honestly think Apple had no idea what they were dealing with when they entered the cell phone market. It seems like the hacking movement forced the truth down Apple's throat that they can't overlook the strong demands of the market. In a way, I think the hackers showed Apple that thirty party developers were making the iPhone way better than Apple could ever do on its own. Apple was naive to think they could go it alone with their closed architecture. iPods: yes; computers and PDA's: NO WAY!
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Steve Jobs Announces 3rd Party SDK for iPhone for February 2008
- Thread starter bretm
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This is awesome news, but can somebody explain to me why Steve is so hung up on security? The iPhone runs OS X, and OS X has never had a problem with malware or viruses. Why is he so worried now? Is there something inherently insecure about cellphone networks?
There will be a place for both. Just like many people use both native and web-based applications from their desktops and laptops, they will do the same with the iPhone and iPod Touch.
My thought is that they hadn't finished OSX for iPhone by the time they launched. Rather than allow 3rd party apps that could could be broken with updates, or reveal the flaws, they kept things closed until they made the OS stable.
*in his best Ren voice*
"Oooooh joy!"
FWIW, It was actually Stimpy who used to say that.
I don't know... T-Mobile has "the first phone that works on WiFi" .. So i can see At&T wanting to have VoIP on the iphone ... to offset TMO
No, there is something inherently insecure about OS's in general. The iPhone is one of the most popular cellphones and definitely prone to attacks once the SDK is opened up.
My guess is that they'll add application authentication like in OS X. Maybe a password dialog pops up to install?
Ayup - and the one with a memory card slot.That would be the 3G iPhone.
You know, I really disagree with all the folks saying that "this was in the works all the time." I don't believe it's true - if anyone remembers Steve's announcement of the Safari/WebApps, it was pretty clear that they were convinced that this was going to be the one and only way that there would be any form of 3rd party development for the iPhone.
Apple sincerely believed it was selling iPods to the mobile phone market, and that's not a competitive framework for the iPhone. The lack of an actual SDK to me reflects more of Apple's naive perceptions of the mobile phone market and the role it (read: Steve) wanted the iPhone to play. Sexy doesn't sell a smartphone, the ability to be productive and expandable does.
That said, I'm very pleased with this announcement and can't wait to see what Apple does with the next generation iPhone (3G is a probable bet, but now that they've put their Beta product into the wild with the first gen iPhone, there will undoubtedly be other improvements). It wouldn't surprise me at all to see it announced at MWSF and shipping early in 2008.
No...
'Defender' - Breaking down the doors of a nascent, powerful OS is likely unnecessary. Apple's not stupid. Let them get the building stable before you go adding your own extra floors.
And backdoor jailbreaks to install software from god-knows where, vs a controlled, stable and supported environment with safeguards.
Tough choice there.
Obviously.
Agreed.
Apple has some of the most brilliant people in the world working for them and to say it took "hackers" to show them the benefit of 3rd party apps is laughable.
The SDK and the iPhone OS was just not ready (and will not be ready till Feb.) for 3rd party support.
I think anyone should be able to get a certificate, but they will have to identify themselves to do so. In this way if malware is released with a certificate, they will be able to pinpoint the responsible party.
Who needs handwriting recognition when you have a much more accurate virtual keyboard (I dunno about you but I type much faster than I write)... and now with the SDK... it's a matter of time before Speech to Text dictation is incorporated (at least for iPhone, possibly future models of iPod touch, or their next gen UMPCs, tablets, and/or PDA's that Apple appears to be developing).
Of course Apple is inspired by hackers, even Woz was a hacker...
Do you think Boot Camp would have come (at least at that time) were it not for OnMac?
This is awesome as this is one of the things that I've been waiting for to buy an iPhone.
Now where's my 100gb of flash memory?
That and drawing letters on the screen.
Now where's my 100gb of flash memory?
That and drawing letters on the screen.
The ramifications of this are incredible! Imagine logging into iTunes and browsing 'approved' applications. Apple could ensure that they didn't cause unusual battery drain or install redundant code!
Apple has dangled a new prize in front of us month after month; keep it up!
Apple has dangled a new prize in front of us month after month; keep it up!
I think everyones getting a bit excited prematurely, remember that when Ol' Stevey starts selling the programmes and apps through iTunes store, we'll all be moaning about how expensive they are!
Yeah. Does anyone remember how many apps broke when OS X was upgraded from 10.1 to 10.2, or 10.2 to 10.3 ? They need some time to stabilize the API.
In my back pocket...I'm busy waiting for a 32GB touch...Now where's my 100gb of flash memory?
I think the plan was always widgets and DashCode at release of the iPhone, which run in a sandbox, and a 'true' SDK in 2008 with more restrictions, such as signed certificates. But when Leopard got delayed, so did DashCode, so they went with WebApps as a stopgap. I still think we will see DashCode widgets for the phone when Leopard arrives.
So sorry, my beloved Blackberry, looks like that evil iPhone that invaded your territory will eventually fly solo on my geek belt.
Now to sit back and wait for:
- Word/Excel editor
- "Today"-style appointment/calls/mail integrator
- File manager
- IM client(s)
- Useful e-mail client
- Freecell game
- Solitaire game
- Crossword puzzle program (for .puz files)
- Global "finder" -- like Spotlight
- eWallet
- Financial portfolio tracker
- Financial/Scientific calculator
Now to sit back and wait for:
- Word/Excel editor
- "Today"-style appointment/calls/mail integrator
- File manager
- IM client(s)
- Useful e-mail client
- Freecell game
- Solitaire game
- Crossword puzzle program (for .puz files)
- Global "finder" -- like Spotlight
- eWallet
- Financial portfolio tracker
- Financial/Scientific calculator