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iPhone's Development Limitations Could Hurt It In the Long Run

Posted by Soulskill on from the my-way-or-the-iway dept.

ZDOne writes "Apple might have finally come around to allowing third party developers to create applications for the iPhone, but only up to a point. ZDNet UK claims Apple is leaving itself vulnerable to the competition and to a loss of lustre by blocking background tasks on the device. The author notes, 'Perhaps it doesn't trust application designers or users very much. Perhaps it wants the best software for itself, where it can limit what it can do in order not to upset its telco friends. Whatever the reason, it reflects badly on Apple. The iPhone is not an iPod; it's a smartphone connecting to a universe of fast-changing data on behalf of innovation-hungry users. The sooner it stops pretending to be a 1981 IBM PC, the better it will be for everyone.'"

4 of 452 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Even funnier by muffen · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you outlaw _________, only the criminals will have _________.
    This is a tough one, but I'm guessing

    A) Apple
    B) iPhones
  2. Re:Mod me redundant by Daimanta · · Score: 4, Funny

    Look over there! It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's a reality distortion field!

    --
    Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
  3. How many third party background apps? by spazmonkey · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'd say 128mb would still run, for the average user, about about 16 spyware apps, 3 trojans, 2 worms, 4 backdoors, 5 adware apps, at least one SMS spambot, oh, and don't forget the LOLcat screensaver.

  4. Re:One one limitation, easily overcome by neuroklinik · · Score: 3, Funny

    Can't argue with the iPod Touch having "style" or "class", but... who cares? Who cares? That would be people with "style" and "class".