Apple Opens Up iPhone To Third-Party Browsers

sedition writes "MacRumors is featuring a story on Apple's discreet decision to open the iPhone to 3rd-party browsers, by allowing them to appear on AppStore. While the big players are still at bay, several choices are offered, allowing you, e.g. to browse anonymously or in fullscreen. Prices vary."

Comments

Re:No Flash

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

Imagine if anyone could do dummy iPhone apps using Flash, put them anywhere on the web, with absolutely no control from Apple. There'd be popups asking you to enter your credit card every 10 seconds, ads left and right, etc. Users would eventually be fed up and find the iPhone ugly. I guess Apple cares too much to let that happen.

Does that happen with your non-portable computer (Desktop) running OS X & Safari?

Does it happen with your more portable computer (laptop) Mac running OS X & Safari?

So WTF do you think it will happen with your extremely portable computer (iPhone) running OS X & Safari?

Don't visit malicious websites.

If Apple sees any threat from Flash, it is people being able to develop & distribute Apps out of Apple's control.

Away with the App store please

[tsa]

This is exactly why I hate the App store. Apple has far too much control over its iPhone, stifling competition and hindering progress The iPhone is just a little computer that you can make phonecalls with. If Apple started to sell Macs on which you could only install new software using iTunes and the App store nobody would buy them. Then why is it OK for the iPhone to have this construction? I bet if the App store didn't exist we would at least have a beta version of FF for the iPhone now.

Re:Away with the App store please

[jo_ham]

That phone platform exists - it's called Android.

If you don't agree with Apple's business model for the iPhone, you are free to not purchase one, or use the apps on the app store.

This is slightly different to the usual "well if Microsoft did this, everyone would moan!" and you're right - they have tried, and very few people bought smartphones (compared to the prevalence of the iPhone).

If you don;t like it, don't buy one. Don;t buy one, knowing full well ahead of time the way Apple handles software on the iPhone and then complain bitterly after the fact that it's not they way you *think* they should do things.

If you want to do it yourself, you can jailbreak your phone and carry on as normal.

The iPhone is a specialised device, with a specific distribution model for its features and applications. It is not a computer (in the sense of a tiny PC - I know that it literally is a small OS X box), it is a phone, with pds-style functions. Apple can choose to lock it down as much as they like - either people will buy it or they won't. So far, it is selling almost faster than they can make it, so buying and installing apps via the store obviously is not a hindrance to the people who are buying it.

Re:No Flash

[AKAImBatman]

If Apple sees any threat from Flash, it is people being able to develop & distribute Apps out of Apple's control.

Getting warmer. If Apple sees any threat from Flash, it's in providing a distribution system for multimedia that is out of Apple's control. Remember, Apple still makes a lot of money off the iTunes Music and TV stores. They don't want to have competition from the likes of Hulu.com or NetRadio.com. Especially if users get the bright idea of streaming this data over a cell network. (ugh)

The technology that worries Apple for apps is Java. Though I have to concede that J2ME apps tend to be craptastic. They're simply underpowered for a device as sophisticated as the iPhone.

Only Webkit-based browsers

[caspy7]

Let me clarify this before the hundreds of comments talking about Opera and Firefox "Coming to the iPhone!".
All of the browsers listed are based on Webkit, the rendering engine for Safari (in fact, I think they're all simply embedding Webkit).
It is highly unlikely that Apple will allow a browser based on other technologies any time soon.

Sorry to smash your hopes and dreams.