[Geowanking] the iPhone discussion

[Andy Armstrong]

On 10 Jan 2007, at 19:46, steven citron-pousty wrote:
> My feeling is that it is boutique for now, much the way the iPod was.
> But they have built a great platform for certain kinds of
> applications.
> 1. It is OSX - so if you write widgets for OSX you can write them  
> for the phone

 From http://lyxus.net/flo

     Everything we’re seeing today suggests that the iPhone will be a
     closed platform, unable to install new applications. I’ve heard  
rumors
     that it will be upwards of 18 months before developers are  
allowed to
     make applications for the iPhone, and that may send a susurrus  
through
     the developer community as the ideas for mobile applications are  
back-
     burnered. This may send a wave of frustration through many  
potential
     customers as they see the iPhone as a dead-end.

     This is probably not as bad as many people thing it will be.

     For one, you have a fully capable web browser. It’s Safari,  
after all,
     built to be fully operable much like the Safari you’d normally  
use to
     upload photos to Flickr, or work with BaseCamp & Backpack, or  
operate
     any of a nearly infinite number of CMS systems and other blog-like
     interfaces. Filemaker Pro is extensible via the web, and you can  
make
     that a secure interaction in Safari. Since it’s got the web, you’re
     not tied into Google Maps, Yahoo Maps or any other Lazy-Sunday- 
mentioned
     mapping client will be fully operable on the new iPhone.

     So, in that there aren’t, or won’t initially be, standalone
     applications for the iPhone, yes, many developers are currently  
feeling
     disappointed. But think of it this way: if you can encapsulate that
     application in HTML or AJAX or any number of other web  
technologies,
     your users will be able to use it on the iPhone. Not shabby.


-- 
Andy Armstrong, hexten.net