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Apple to open up iPhone

18 October 2007 12:57 by Dave "Davedough" Horvath | 10 comments

It seems like Apple may be showing its belly in submission to the cat and mouse type games its been playing with hackers over the third-party application development for the iPhone. Since its release, Apple has attempted to Block any Homebrew applications on its device by regularly sending updates set to cut off access to its core. They had even gone as far as to release an update that stated if the phone was found with any homebrew applications on it, the user would permanently "brick" their iPhone by grabbing the latest update. This of course infuriated iPhone users and led to several lawsuits.

Now, Apple has seen the light and is welcoming third-party application developers to produce working applications that will make the iPhone a better device to own. They stated that in February, they will release the Software Developers Kit (SDK) to the masses and allow them to code applications for the device. The company has stressed however that although they will unlock the device to allow other applications, they are not changing their policies against unlocking the iPhone for use with other carriers besides AT&T.

Chief executive of Mexens Technologies, Cyril Houri who developed a navigation system for the iPhone called Navizon stated that Apple realized that "it�s time to stop this silly race to lock the iPhone because it�s a lost battle."

In a letter, Steve Jobs stated that although he feels within a few years, this move will prove to give the iPhone a wide range of beneficial programs, he's urging people not to discount the fact that mobile phones are not immune to viruses and other forms of malware.

Source:
NY Times

Permalink to this article

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iPhone criticized by security community (23 October 2007)

Greenpeace wants iPhones to have warning labels (16 October 2007)

Latest iPhone firmware is unlocked (11 October 2007)

Another iPhone lawsuit for Apple (8 October 2007)

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Rogers to bring iPhone to Canada? (5 October 2007)

Verizon boasts of an "iPhone killer" (3 October 2007)

Hackers attempt to reverse iPhone update effects (3 October 2007)

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Discuss this article!
TheExcel (Newbie) 18 October 2007 14:02
That's a nice gesture, but why wasn't this released from the get-go? [ + quote]
jetyi83 (Member) 18 October 2007 14:30
The reason apple makes decisions like this is to disguise how greedy they really are. They are just doing this to win back some credibility from the bricking. [ + quote]
ps2racer (Member) 18 October 2007 14:47
They just realized they were fighting a losing battle. [ + quote]
ikari (Newbie) 18 October 2007 16:04
IIRC they signed a Contract with AT&T allowing them to be the first to have it. Maybe that portion of the contract is over and now Apple can relase it to everyone. [ + quote]
cee43ja1 (AfterDawn Addict) 18 October 2007 22:25
now, sony, nintendo, and microsoft should follow apple. it's gonna be back and forth. [ + quote]
WierdName (Senior Member) 19 October 2007 0:28
Wow, Apple realized they were just screwing themselves over by locking out third party apps. Well at least they saw their error and fixed it so development can get going. EDIT- Although, I would like to know what they are going to do, or not do, about the iBricks. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 19 October 2007 0:29
ZzeusS (Junior Member) 19 October 2007 12:41
I saw the original Jobs iPhone announcement when he was on stage. I seem to remember him specifically saying something about it being open and being able to use third party apps. Am I remembering this wrong? He went out of his way to mention it. [ + quote]
LaBaMaN (Newbie) 19 October 2007 14:48
i believe they've just realized that they will never have full control over their products... [ + quote]
johnnydo (Newbie) 19 October 2007 16:11
the person writing this article knows little about the iPhone. there has been ONE update. This update did not brick iPhones with third party apps only unlocked phones. the third party developers did a great job at writing apps and forced Apple hand to open the iPhone earlier than they wanted to. [ + quote]
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 23 October 2007 17:36
Well this is nice to hear however i hope this is going to also bring forth the fact that they need to open this device to other phone companies not just exclusive rights with a few around the world. [ + quote]