Steve Talks about iPhone Third Party Apps

Steve Jobs has finally lifted the veil on third party applications for the iPhone. The word is February.

Steve explains on the apple web site the challenge between making great applications and protecting the phone both in terms of security and user experience. I am posting the entire article below. I'm okay with this. Just please do more than make "Pac-Man" and give me something to make my iPhone even more useful.


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Third Party Applications on the iPhone
Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.

It will take until February to release an SDK because we’re trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once—provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc. This is no easy task. Some claim that viruses and malware are not a problem on mobile phones—this is simply not true. There have been serious viruses on other mobile phones already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell network. As our phones become more powerful, these malicious programs will become more dangerous. And since the iPhone is the most advanced phone ever, it will be a highly visible target.

Some companies are already taking action. Nokia, for example, is not allowing any applications to be loaded onto some of their newest phones unless they have a digital signature that can be traced back to a known developer. While this makes such a phone less than “totally open,” we believe it is a step in the right direction. We are working on an advanced system which will offer developers broad access to natively program the iPhone’s amazing software platform while at the same time protecting users from malicious programs.

We think a few months of patience now will be rewarded by many years of great third party applications running on safe and reliable iPhones.

Steve

P.S.: The SDK will also allow developers to create applications for iPod touch.

iPhone Third Party Applications Speculation

I've been thinking about this whole iPhone third party application situation. Specifically, what is up Apple's sleeve? Well I certainly don't have any inside scoop on all of this but I do have an opinion.

* I think Apple is quietly putting together a software developer kit that is either already in the hands of a few choice developers with really strong non-disclosure agreement or about to be released to them.

* When it does release, I don't think the SDK will ever be generally available. I think it will be a relatively short list of select developers and grow over time ... s l o w l y.

* Apple will screen and approve everything before it is released to us plebeians. It is all about preserving the user experience. Apple will also make a few bucks off it since the stuff will only be available through iTunes.

* There isn't going to be a whole lot of innovation but everything that does release will be very slick.

* There will be more games than actual productivity type applications. This will crimp my zen.

There you have it. The MacSparky crystal ball. Now when I'm proven wrong, everyone can laugh.

The "Controversial" 1.1.1 iPhone Upgrade - Cry Me a River

Over the weekend I was talking with a tech-savvy friend who knew of my Apple fixation and he asked me, "Boy, you must really be torqued over the iPhone fiasco."

Really. He said that. Now it is a "Fiasco."

This comment got me wondering how exactly we have come to this point. The iPhone launch was a smashing success. Apple wanted the phone locked but apparently didn't do a very good job of locking it with the initial release. They fixed that a few months later and told everyone words to the effect, "If you have tampered with it, we may (I interpreted that word to mean "will") brick your phone so don't do it." We had a few days to consider this statement and then 1.1.1 released. At that point Apple puts a specific dialogue on your screen.

So after getting this second warning people who had hacked their phones for use by other carriers ended up with disabled phones. The word of art for this is "brick" used both as a noun and a verb. (i.e. those mean corporate types bricked my phone. My phone is a brick.) I don't want to understate the popular use of the term "brick" because I think for a lot of folks that seems to be half the fun. Anyway .. I digress.

Since the unlockers ignored the warning and their phones are disabled there is this perceived outrage over the terrible things Apple has done. Lawsuits are being filed, articles are written about Apple's PR nightmare, and tech friends are asking me about the "fiasco." I actually have two points about this hubbub. First, I don't lay blame at Apple's feet and second, I don't think this is as big of a deal as most people are making of it.

Why should Apple have to spend time and resources making product upgrades for what was sold as a closed system device compatible with hacks and unlocks? They told the hacking gang that they shouldn't upgrade and they could have all kept their phones at 1.02 forever without having any troubles. I, frankly, would prefer that Apple spent their time making the system work better for the 90 percent of the owners that don't want to hack their phones.

My second point relates to the perceived outrage over this event. There are some very vocal bloggers documenting this event as the turning point for Apple when they have abandoned the Mac Faithful. I don't really see it that way. I think Apple has always been a bit ruthless to their customers. One of the reasons it took me so long to buy a Mac was because when I initially became interested in them you had to buy the whole system (hardware, printers, floppy drives *no hard drives then*, and software) from Apple and it was really expensive. That was their business plan. It still is on some levels. With the iPhone, you are buying the product they want you to have in your hand. If you want something hackable, there are many smart phones out there that you can get. I had a few of them. On my Treo, I ran about 20 third party applications and yet it still wasn't as functional (or nearly as stable) as my iPhone. I'm comfortable keeping my smartphone experience in Apple's hands. If I wasn't, I wouldn't have bought the phone. I think a lot of people agree with me.

As for the extent of this "fiasco", I think it really boils down to a group of perturbed geeks. For example, I was talking to my brother-in-law this weekend. The iPhone is his only Apple product and he loves it. He checks his fantasy football scores on it while sitting on the couch and couldn't be happier. He told how he updated his iPhone. I asked him if he heard about the problems with the update and he replied, "what problem?" I think for most of the iPhone users out there, this is a complete non-issue.

I really don't have an axe to grind against the hacking community. I put installer.app on my phone but found nothing of much interest so I removed it. I really don't need a dorky game on my iPhone where I zap Microsoft Zunes. I sure hope that Apple eventually does open the phone up to some limited third party development but not at the cost of stability. I just think the attitude that because you've hacked your phone, you are entitled to some special consideration is ridiculous.

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More on the 1Passwd - iPhone Sync

I corresponded a little more the 1Passwd folks concerning security of the 1Passwd bookmarklet after it synchronizes to your iPhone. He explained they use 448 Bit blowfish encryption. There is more. Here is an excerpt from Dave Teare's explanation.

"Re: your questions about security and hackability, all your confidential information is encrypted. On your Mac, it is stored in Apple's Keychain, which uses Triple-DES encryption to secure your confidential data. On the iPhone, we did not have access to the keychain, so we used Blowfish to encrypt your data using 448 bits, and we do other cool things like using Cipher-Block-Chaining and randomized Salt to keep your data extra secure. We use OpenSSL to perform the Blowfish algorithm. OpenSSL is open source and is installed on hundreds of millions of machines worldwide."

I've been playing more with the 1Passwd data file on my iPhone and had no problems at all. The developers explain it in more detail at their blog.

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1Passwd Gets Secure Data on iPhone with No Hack

I've been corresponding with some of the folks over at AgileWebSolutions and I am really excited about the public beta of their latest version of 1Passwd (version 2.5) They've added a function that allows you to create a password protected bookmarklet that contains all of your secure 1Passwd data. It then syncs into mobile safari as a bookmark. When you click it you get a screen that looks something like this.

Once you put your password in you get access to all of your 1Passwd data in your pocket.

This is huge for me. On my Treo I used a program called SplashID to keep important data in my pocket. 1Passwd figured a way to do this on the iPhone.

There are some limitations. It doesn't take the data and "go and fill". For instance if you click on a password in the bookmarklet, it doesn't open the web site and fill it in for you. Also you can not edit the data on the phone. The developers are working on the "go and fill" feature. The text also isn't always formatted perfectly and sometimes it runs lines together.

Regardless, this is extremely useful. I have all my insurance/medical/financial data available to me and still securely locked down. It doesn't rely on any hacks and, since it is Safari, you can even flip your phone on its side to make the data larger.

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iPhone 1.1.1 - No Problem

Well gang, I installed iPhone version 1.1.1 today with no problems. I had installed Nullriver's installer.app on my iPhone a few weeks ago and then removed it. It was really easy to set up but there were no compelling applications to make me want to keep it. All the talk about "bricking" hacked phones did not concern me since I never "unlocked" it outside of AT&T.

Version 1.1.1 is a nice incremental upgrade. They played with the calculator icon and added a double tap to the home button which quickly gets you to your phone favorites list. If you are playing the iPod the double tap gets you to the iPod controls which is also nice. It also adds a purchase from iTunes button that can only get me into trouble.

They put in a setting to turn off edge while roaming so we don't have to hear about any more morons going to Europe and running up thousand dollar phone bills. Interestingly this setting is defaulted to turn it off which makes a lot of sense to me. The people who run up these bills would not be smart enough to turn it off themselves so Apple did it for them.

While these tweaks and improvements are nice, I really wish they would get around to syncing the Notes application. I'm speculating (wishing?) that this will happen with the Leopard release. Time will tell.

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The Ringtone Game Continues

Apple: Release iTunes 7.4. Apple ringtones only!
Mac Community: iToner, easy hacks, renaming hack. Neener neener.
Apple: Release iTunes 7.4.1 Apple ringtones only!
Mac Community: iToner (revised), multiple hacks, MakeiPhoneRingtone. Neener neener.
Apples: Release iTunes 7.4.2 Apple Ringtones only!

Anybody see a trend here?

I'm going to wait on the iTunes upgrade until they figure out how to load ringtones again. I really like waking up to Over the Moon and the version for sale on iTunes doesn't support it. Keep up the good work Rogue Amoeba!

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The Difference between the iPhone and iPod touch

As a follow up to my iPod touch review, there are a few additional features missing from the iPod touch OS in comparison to the iPhone. These are: No Edge Network (obviously); No "Notes" application (this may be a bigger deal once Apple allows us to sync this); No bluetooth; Scratch-able rear surface; No external volume buttons or speakers, and no camera.

A lot of people are complaining the screen isn't as good. I don't have a particularly good eye for these things but I put them next to each other and the iPhone did look slightly more vivid.

Anyway, there is a great article giving these differences much more detail than I did at iProng.

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Free iPhone Ringtones

Rogue Amoeba has updated its free ringtone maker. I have never really been all that interested in ringtones. How many people really want to hear Madonna from someone else's cell phone while they are waiting to pay for their Big Mac? Moreover, it is ridiculous how much the carriers charge for this stuff. I did, however, play with the Rogue Amoeba program and it is really easy to use. I imported some of my own music. Over the Moon works great for a morning alarm. (Ringtones double as alarm sounds) I'm thinking I'll probably put a few of the Soundtrack sound effects into it too. I know one person who would be perfect for screaming monkeys .. but I won't say anymore on that subject.

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iPhone Friendly MacSparky

One of the upgrades I made to the website with the new server was a very cool plug-in called iwphone. This allows readers on iPhones to see a customized presentation for the iPhone screen. It detects when an iPhone plugs into MacSparky and loads a different iPhone optimized theme just for them. I was amazed at how easily it installed and worked. This thing is going to take off for all us Wordpress folks.

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MacSparky, wordpress, iwphone, iphone

iPhone Third Party Apps and Unlocking Indifference

I read a little today about the current status of the iPhone hackers. Not the unlocking group. The ones that are making third party applications. It seems they are really making progress at making this doable even for us non unix-jockeys. They are past jailbreak now and have an application that just requires a few clickies to put third party apps on the phone and it goes and sniffs applications out for you. It sounds so easy I'm *thinking* about giving it a try. The problem is that I'm not reading about any third party apps that really motivate me to figure it all out. If they could get a mobile OmniOutliner, OmniFocus, and/or Yojimbo... now that would be a different story entirely.

Regardless, I could really care less about the whole "unlock" hubbub. I don't need another phone company in my life. Phone companies generally act like mobsters. They take your money with little explanation and once in awhile (for good measure) they try to break your kneecaps. I understand about international users and some of the other reasons the unlocking helps a lot of folks out. To that extent I think it is great. I also think Apple really is not going to get its nose too far out of shape if people start buying their $600 phones to unlock somwhere else. AT&T, howver, will have kittens. Regardless, the unlock is pointless in my world. I need another phone account with someone else like a hole in the head.

iPhone Web Apps I Actually Use

Having just taken a small vacation and coming up two months of iPhone ownership, I thought I'd take a look at the web apps I routinely use on my iPhone. There are a lot of very nice iPhone web apps out there programmed by very bright and imaginative people. I've probably got about 50 of them linked on my "iPhone Applications" favorites bar but I've been making a conscious effort to track those applications that I actually use and thought I'd report on them here.

NewsGator Mobile

Not long after I switched, I went ahead and purchased a license for NetNewsWire which is an excellent news reading program loaded with features and constantly being refined by an active, committed Mac developer. It came with a free subscription to the NewsGator service which is an online reader component. It syncs with NetNewsWire and their iPhone app is really clean and easy to use. I toyed a bit with Google Reader which is free (that is always a good thing) but found the NewsGator/NetNewsWire combo easier for me to use.

Anyway I can check my subscriptions anytime on the iPhone and read through, trash, or clip for later viewing on my Mac very easily from anywhere (including the Edge network). This is my most frequently clicked iPhone web application.

Tadalist.com

I've previously blogged about how I use this simple online to-do application from 37Signals with its accompanying browser application for grown up computers to drive shopping lists and other to-do items between my iPhone and OmniFocus. It is free and Edge friendly. My good friend, Darren over at MacWingnut.com prefers todoist.com which is, frankly, much sexier in a geeky sort of way with gmail integration, quicksilver support and other things that sound fun but I like the simplicity of Tada. This is partly because I view it only as a stepping stone to getting tasks in my actual task vault, OmniFocus, wherein Darren (I believe) uses Todoist for the whole nine yards.

I am also trying 37Signals' accompanying product BackPackit for a month to see if it is worth the trouble. This is sort a Kluge to get around the fact that Apple does not sync the Notes on my iPhone or give me a way to secure them. Ugh. I'll report more on BackPackit at later date when I've had more time to work with it.

Traffic

A necessity for living in Southern California. This is a great supplement to the little red lines I keep seeing in Google Maps.

Applists.com

This is a collection of all the various iPhone web applications that appears to be updated more than most and gives you a simple place to look for what is new.

There are others. Many, many others. But as pretty and neat as they look, I really don't load them very often.

I am hoping Apple opens the iPhone up. If I could get an iPhone version of OmniOutliner, OmniFocus, and Yojimbo, I would be one very happy camper.

The iPhone IMAP Shuffle

Time to share one of my dirty little secrets. Until a few days ago, I had no clue how IMAP really worked. I know that we had a very bad experience with some IMAP thingy at the office a few years ago and one of my techs at the time told me to use POP and forget about it. So I did.

Well fast forward a few years and now I'm finding myself reading the same email 3 times: Once on my iPhone, once on my Mac, and once on my office windows box. It is starting to drive me batty. It is bad enough when spam sneaks through my filters once but to get it three times is maddening.

So I've been emailing off and on a bit with Dave Hamilton who does the excellent Mac Geek Gab podcast about my iPhone and he asked me how it handles IMAP. This got me thinking about why I wasn't using IMAP and I realized that I had no idea what it really was but maybe it would solve this problem. Of course it did. For those of us non-techy monkey types, IMAP simply keeps your mail somewhere on the net and allows you to manage it from any mail client. So I can delete the spam viagra add once and never see it again. I also can sort emails into my various archives and attack those items in my "to respond" folder from anywhere courtesy of my iPhone.

There are some great web resources for figuring this all out. One that was helpful to me was this Screencast at AllForces.

Now there are a few things I have yet to sort out. My office email is based on a specific law office management program and I don't think the IMAP pill can solve that problem. Also, the MacSparky email address is not on a IMAP server so I'm going to have to figure out the cheapest/easiest way to move it onto one. Finally, there is a another acronym in these email programs that escapes me and I need to figure out. Specifically, what the heck is SSL? I guess that is a question for another day.

iPhone Phun

I know I'm posting too much on the iPhone as of late but today I can't help myself. I had another very early day and found myself on the top floor of Los Angeles Superior Court building at 7:30 a.m. with no wifi connection and time to kill. Using my new phone I was able to check mail, review an attached contract, arrange my calendar for the next few days, and follow up with a few web threads I am participating in. Now granted all but that last task was possible on my Treo, they weren't easy. With the iPhone, they are.

I also have been playing with several of the iPhone sites that act as a navigator for iPhone online applications. The three that I'm currently toying with are Gridgets, Leaflits, and AppLists. Currently Applists is my favorite but I'll post more detailed thoughts after I've spent some more time with them and AFTER I've gotten back to Mac posting for awhile.

iPhone and Web Bookmarklets

Well I learned something new today. These funny little bookmarks that run like mini applications on your Mac and iPhone. LifeClever wrote up a really nice collection of them right here.

Using these "bookmarklets" you can cut out several steps from your typical web search. I particularly like the thesaurus, google images, and wikipedia bookmarklets.

When you really want to geek out, try YubNub which allows you to access a variety of search engines. I tried to figure out how to link the bookmarklets but must admit that I'm clueless so follow the above link over to LifeClever and drag them up to your bookmarks. I made a separate folder of iPhone applications and several of these found their way in but I also find them very useful when at my Mac.

MacSparky’s Favorite iPhone Applications

I have been collecting an eclectic mix of web based applications on my shiny new iPhone and I thought I'd share a few here:

GasApp

I realize the terms "cheap" and "gas" have become mutually exclusive. Regardless, GasApp is great. Works fine on an edge network and finds you the least expensive gas in town. The google map integration is a nice touch.

One Trip

This was my first iPhone app and still one of my favorites. An excellent shopping list web app. It looks very nice but still manageable on the Edge in the vegetable section of my supermarket

iPhone Digg

I never really "got it" with Digg but sitting on the couch thumbing through it on my iPhone is a whole new story.

iActu

This is a great newspaper mashup organized like a newsstand. Not all that Edge friendly but still very nice over tea.

AccuWeather

The weather widget is perfectly fine for most of my needs. But if I really want to geek out on weather, I go here.

Telekinesis

This looks to be the most interesting of the bunch. I can't really recommend it since I haven't had a chance to try it yet but it is supposed to be able to allow you to remotely access and control your Mac from your iPhone. This should allow you to do things like remotely control iTunes, run applescripts, or access your iSight camera. I'm a little concerned about the security of it all but I'm going to be looking into it soon.

There are so many new ones being posted every day I am sure this list will get revised over time. As an aside, I organize these by a seperate tab "iPhone" applications. Please drop me an email or comment as to your favorite iPhone applications.

MacSparky’s iPhone Review

If you would like to hear my dulcet tones, this review was broadcast on Surfbits Macreview Cast #115.

This week I'm going to talk about a newly released product that you might have heard about, the iPhone.

Those of you that have visited my blog have read about me explaining how I had no plans to buy an iPhone and was going to try and stick it out with my Treo. Well between that outstanding video on Apple's website and all the excitement I got sucked in.

So I braved the crowds and actually made a few friends on iDay and got myself a shiny new iPhone. I have now been using it for almost a week. Since just about every web site on the Internet has reviewed this gadget I thought I would just talk a bit about how I use my iPhone.

Setting up the iPhone was a breeze. I plugged it into iTunes, electronically pledged my business to AT&T for two years and picked what data I wanted synced over. It took about 10 minutes. Once it was done I unplugged the iPhone and started using it. There was no manual configuration at all, it was already done. My three email accounts, photo albums, calendar and video were all set up. As of the time of this writing I still haven't bothered with the manual.

The user interface of this phone is nothing less than stunning. If you haven't already, watch the 20 minute video at Apple's website. It has to be seen to be believed.

I know a lot of people have been saying the iPhone is not a "business" phone but I'm not really sure that is true. I have been using my new phone to keep in touch with clients and my office via email like never before. Email is just easier with the iPhone. I particularly like the built in word/excel/pdf attachment viewer.

Also, for the first time in my career I can go to legal websites without a laptop. For example I was standing in the hallway talking to an attorney who said a certain statute supported his argument. I pulled out my iPhone, fired up Safari and found the statute right there which, coincidentally did NOT support his claim.

I've never had a GPS device and google map integration doesn't track where I am, but it certainly is nice getting directions to some of the far off places I drive too, even if I have to click it at each turn. Living in Southern California, the live traffic is great.

It is also a joy finally being able to sync with iCal to my handheld device. Everytime I used to sync my Treo I would knock on wood, throw salt over my shoulder and a host of other rituals in effort to please the sync gods. Now I just plug in my iPhone and it is seamless.

Of course it also has a phone. I haven't noticed any real difference in switching from Verizon to AT&T. I think both have pretty good coverage here in Orange County. I really like the user interface and visual voicemail is great since I usually have quite a few messages. It is really much nicer than my old phone.

There are a few things about the iPhone that I would change to accomodate my work. First, I wish it would support my portable bluetooth keyboard. I'm actually okay with the on screen type pad but I have a portable bluetooth keyboard that is really convenient for banging out text while sitting on a plane and not worrying about the lady next to me spilling her juice and nuts all over my MacBook. While it works fine with the bluetooth hands free device in my car, it appears the iPhone does not support blootooth keyboards .. yet at least. Second, I would really like to have a program on the iPhone that holds secured data. I have some text files with sensitive information and I can't put them on my iPhone without some sort of security. This is a feature that goes way back on the Palm and should be on the iPhone. Finally, where is my task list? The calendar is fine but it should get my tasks out of iCal. I've solved this last problem by emailing myself pdf print outs from OmniFocus. Fortunately all of these problems are software based and, hopefully, temporary.

Play on the iPhone is a complete Joy. The screen is so vivid, my pictures look fantastic as well as my little vignette videos of my kids that I occasionally use to torture friends and colleagues. I watched the last Harry Potter movie on it and it was an enjoyable experience. I never really cared much for movies on my wife's video iPod. I never really paid much attention to YouTube but now that it is on my phone I must admit it is a guilty pleasure to sit around and watch some of those crazy videos ... has anyone watched Chad Vader?

There has been a lot of talk about the inferiority of the Edge network but fortunately I'm nearly always around an accessable WiFi spot. A few times I've done some browsing with WiFI turned off and it is doable but not nearly as fast as WiFi. I really don't have many complaints on that issue.

In summary the iPhone is not perfect but has been a huge upgrade for me. It really is the Macintosh experience on a phone and that, in itself, is a wonderful thing.

iPhone at Work

Well today was the first time I used my iPhone for work and a busy day it was. I had to wake up at 4:30 am and be in Court about 100 miles away from my home. The gogle map application got me there without benefit of a printed map (a first for me) and web browsing while waiting for the judge to show up was too fun. There are a few warts but I am enjoying this phone. Ill be reviewing it this weekend on the MacReviewCast in detail.

One Crow, Slightly Burnt

Well after all my yacking about sticking with Treo I got sucked into the iDay hype and ended up buying an iPhone. I've spent a few hours with it now and love it. It doesn't do anything particularly new, it just does everything much prettier and easier. I'll probably do a more thorough review for Surfbits but for now I'm having too much fun.

My Treo iPhone

Well as the cool-aid logo implies, I do like my Apple gadgets. Unfortunately, the iPhone is not one of the gadgets I'll be able to use. My office is on Verizon and my office calendar system will only sync with Pocket PC or the Palm OS (for now at least). So it appears I am out of the running for that tempting iPhone.

But of course technolust can breed a bit of creativity. I did a search at PalmGear for OS X and found a few apps that make my Treo "almost" feel like an iPhone. There are a variety of launchers and other fancy pants add ons but the two that I ended up using are Font Smoother and Icons Plus. Using these two apps I have been able to set my Palm system font to the Mac Lucida Font (or something Very close) and I've replaced the blocky Palm icons with the OS X set. For instance, Snapper mail now has an Apple Mail icon.

Now granted these cheap parlor tricks don't give me the functionality or user experience of an iPhone, (Don't EVER try to surf the web on a Treo BTW) but still it makes me smile and when I show it to other geeks they freak out a bit which is entertainment in its own right.

By the way, does anyone else wish Apple will make an iPhone without the phone? Kind of a souped up iPod with all those nice tricks and perhaps a WiFi receiver to surf the web when in range? If they do, sign me up!