Apple to Open iPhone to Developers via Web

WWDC 2007 - Responding to feedback from developers, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said Monday that the company would open up the iPhone platform for third party application. The initial concern with such a capability was security, but Jobs says Apple came up with "a very sweet solution."

Because the iPhone (due at 6pm on June 29) includes Safari's full WebKit engine, Apple says developers will be able to write Web 2.0/AJAX applications for the device. The applications can integrate with iPhone services, which means they can make calls, send e-mail and integrate with Google Maps. Because they share Safari's security features, the applications are safe and require no separate SDK. "With all the Web services built in, you can build fantastic applications for iPhone," remarked Apple vice president Scott Forstall.