Apple announced that in February it will make a developer’s kit available to independent software makers. This will make it easier for developers not associated with Apple or AT&T to create games, navigation systems, screen-shot capture programs and other tools for the iPhone.
A few weeks ago, the iPhone was updated over-the-air and independently developed software was erased in the process. Apple claimed that this was inadvertent and that the update had not intentionally erased anything. Many did not believe the company. MobileCrunch reported last week that a Lawyer Su(ed) Apple Over iPhone Restrictions like the ones that February’s developer’s kit is meant alleviate. It is difficult to say whether the lifting of restrictions on independent developers is due to lawsuits, or if it is something that Apple has been working on ever since its customers started complaining.
Apple still refuses to lift its carrier restrictions, so iPhone customers in the United States are required to carry AT&T. But the lifting of restrictions on independent software developers should make the iPhone user a little happier. Unaffiliated developers can now compete in the open with official Apple developers. By competing in an open market, iPhone software developers will create better and cheaper products for consumers to choose.
