iPhone to get third party apps
By Ryan Block 
posted May 30th 2007 7:41PM
posted May 30th 2007 7:41PM
Just in case you missed Walt Mossberg's sitdown with Steve Jobs earlier today, but in the open Q&A his Jobsness was asked point blank about the openness of the iPhone, and whether users can expect their $600 cellphone to be able to add on third party apps. His reply?"This is an important tradeoff between security and openness. We want both. ... we'll find a way to let 3rd parties write apps and still preserve security on the iPhone. But until we find that way we can't compromise the security of the phone. ... I've used 3rd party apps... the more you add, the more your phone crashes. No one's perfect, and we'd sure like our phone not to crash once a day. If you can just be a little more patient with us I think everyone can get what they want."
You heard it folks, Apple's working on allowing third party devs into the hallowed ground of the iPhone. One big issue (kind of) down, now we've just got to work on getting that thing a real keyboard and some 3G.
I'm more shocked to learn the Jobs has used another cell phone before.
Maybe it will be Palm Folio compatible!
Ryan,
From now on you are not allowed to whine about the lack of innovation in the wireless industry. Apple is trying to do something new and you complain that it doesn't have a keyboard?! Give it a chance and don't be so closed-minded. That, or stick with a Cingular 8525.
I'm still drooling over this thing....makes me want to pay the $180 to get out of my Verizon contract.
Um, it is just me or did that sound like treading water?
Third party apps are bad, they'll break your phone and beat up your cat. If we allow third party apps on the iPhone the terrorists win. You don't want third party apps. These aren't the 'droids you're looking for.
If they make Symantec PCAnywhere Remote and Remote Desktop Connection for the iPhone, I'll definitely get the HSDPA with Video Calling version.
i still dont want it....yet
I have had tons of Windows Mobile & Symbian phones and currently have a Treo 750. All of my phones have tons of 3rd party apps and very rarely freeze and need to be soft reset.
I think this was just a way to dodge the question. I think their might be 3rd party apps, but they probably will need to be licensed by Apple or some other catch. And who knows when they will be released, it could be in 2 years.
Ill stick with my WM5 & WM6 phones and UMTS/HSDPA high speed 3G.
Granted, I know next to nothing about the inner workings of cell phones and networks, but what kind of security problems do 3rd party apps create? Is this a problem with other smartphones? At first I thought this was referring to virus protection, but Jobs makes it sound like its related to the stability of the OS. Could someone explain why this is an issue that they are so concerned about?
If you've ever used a treo, you know what kind of stability problems third party apps can cause (many). Stock advice on the treo discussion boards is "do a hard reset and start over" when your treo becomes unstable. Kudos to Apple for putting a framework in place to make the iPhone stable and usable. All these phones are cool on the way home from the store. It's the rare one that you aren't ready to be done with after two weeks.
release the dam thing already!
Third party apps will likely be web-based apps with something like Google Gears built in to make them go offline (since EDGE is so sucky and even 3G without fast upload is high in latency -- maybe Apple is waiting to do 3G when there is both HSDPA and HSUPA). At some APIs for GPS and Camera, and Safari is the platform. Or it could be flash. ??
uh, so that's a no. move!
I own an 8525/hermes and i dont use the 3G as much as i did when i first got it. Im at work 9hrs of the day and were not allowed to use cellphones at work unless were troubleshooting on a similar phone. I'm still looking forward to the iPhone 1st gen w/ no 3G as I use most features when i'm out of work @home which I have wifi. As a partime DJ i'm just getting this phone to make/rcv calls and use it as an iPod on the road. I'm just hoping that the browser is able to play flash. With an 8GB harddrive for media videos/music i doubt i will need the 3G to keep me entertained while at work.