Photo Source: GIZMODO UK

…and the winner is… the carrier, yes, the network provider… or maybe not?

I was going to wait until the release of the iPhone, and wait and see, but I just can’t hold this after reading today’s newspaper… but before I continue, I will tell you that the looser though, is 3rd-party innovation…


“Third-party software developers and others had worried that they would not be able to write applications such as games for the iPhone. Apple and partner AT&T Inc. had worried that opening up the iPhone to outside developers could compromise its security and reliability”

By basing 3rd-party developers on Web standards, and including Safari on the iPhone “we’ve come up with a very sweet solution”, said Jobs to an audience of about 5,000 at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

I couldn’t believe what I was reading…no access to native functions? That is NOT sweet enough… not for the mobile user experience!

But in this case, it is not the carrier, who already knows how to protect the network from evil code (via trusted/signed applications), it is Apple itself who doesn’t want to give access to the handset…

…such a pretty device, such a great and innovative approach to the user experience — but a close one it is. The Apple iPhone, the not so open mobile handset. As David Beers says, So that’s what he meant by “opening” the iPhone?

It is clear that Apple is pushing Safari big time… they are even releasing Safari for Windows… this is an interesting strategy, to grab a larger share of the browser market, even across PC platforms, all for the benefit of the iPhone — Apple/Jobs totally understands the future of computing, and that the mobile handset is at the center of it. This is a leap for Jobs, who is thinking beyond the Mac OS, to benefit the product that will very likely drive a large portion of Apple’s future/innovation.

I still have hopes though… that in addition to pure browser-based applications, that Apple do have an SDK, they must, native or Java-based, for 3rd-party developers (together with developer support).

But what would be really awesome is to see Apple innovate on the mobile browser-side of things… not only by creating a consistent-correct-true-standards-based browser, but also one that allows for secure (trusted/signed applications) access to the native functions (messaging, contacts, camera, location, and the rest of the iPhone features), as well as disconnected behavior… I will say it again, maximizing the mobile experience is about taking full advantage of the mobile context, and that requires access to native functionality somehow…

Developers will ask for more… In the meantime, the winner is Apple, and the power for creating the best and richest applications for the iPhone belongs to Apple, and to Apple alone…

ceo