The Blog

iPhone criticism re: 3rd party apps

Posted on 28. Jan, 2007 by Philip in Apple, Hardware, Software

After having been amazed and excited by Steve Jobs demonstration of the Apple iPhone, some industry analysts have been critical of the the lack of support for 3rd party application developers. I for one would be more than happy with the applications that it ships with now and I am sure Apple has some great ideas for future development. I would expect those responsible for that at Apple are fairly talented.

One heavyweight in the Apple tech comment arena, Leo Laporte (TWIT, MacBreak Weekly ) had me flummoxed with his downgrading of the iPhone. Although Leo has my complete attention and respect as a tech journalist (love the voice too), I have been thinking that he has been in some way influenced by some associates/sponsors who are in the main 3rd Party developers.

I am not suggesting this is a conflict driven decision as I suspect Leo is above that, however I would like to point out the sponsorship possibilities in the 3rd party hardware market, an area Apple has left wide open.

Perhaps it is me but I think this iPhone has to make it’s mark as a good cellphone first. The more advanced user who owns a Treo type device may be left wanting more, but the vast majority of ordinary cellphone users who now own an iPod will be delighted with the iPhone.

As for us in Australia, there is no hope of seeing an iPhone for 12 months, and even then in a market dominated by “unlocked” cellphones it ain’t going to be cheap. I suspect well in excess of $1000 AU plus a fairly high monthly contract fee. I would buy one for sure…..
if I could hide it from Mrs Big Trousers.