As Apple and AT&T continue to face legal actions over the iPhone, there are growing reports that the former is looking to open up its iconic platform somewhat in order to increase the applications base and fend off any fading of support for the phone as challengers from LG and others come to market.
Apple and its US carrier partner received two more lawsuits last week, one federal and one state, both accusing the companies of unfair business practices and violations of antitrust, telecoms and warranty laws. The suits allege that by not letting consumers modify their iPhones so that they work on other networks, the two companies have conspired to maintain a monopoly. They also claim that the companies are unlawfully limiting consumer choice by not allowing users to unlock their iPhones.
However, according to Apple follower 9to5Mac, the company is now working to allow developers limited access to the iPhone and iPod, although their applications would have to pass internal checks for security and compatibility ‘ always Apple’s argument for keeping a platform closed in its early stages ‘ and more interestingly, for marketability. This is a model adopted by T-Mobile with its successful Sidekick device, which is semi-open and is backed by a development and distribution system that differs from that of other T-Mobile phones, and keeps the Sidekick distinctive. In this model, developers prove their credentials by submitting working apps for testing, and are then given a key that opens up the Sidekick for further tweaking of the software. The app then has to be certified before it is made available, in T-Mobile’s case through its portal or over the air.
The main difference in a possible Apple shift ‘ apart from the obvious one that Apple remains hostile to Java, which Sidekick uses – would be that the company would want to bill through iTunes accounts, in order to keep the operators sidelined from its value chain as they are now, rather than through their mobile bill. Third party applications, once certified, could be sold as downloads from iTunes or over the air.
Apple’s official line remains that any third party activity will be confined to the limited EDGE Web 2.0 SDK but it has brought in some of the application development team from Sidekick’s creator Danger, to help with a new public SDK. This is likely, at first at least, to be given only to major and trusted developers. For instance, games major EA is said to be porting its iPod collection to iPhone.