This is no better than the Web 2.0 "SDK." This is the worst of both worlds. We'll have to pay for apps that only Apple "approves" of. Boring.

Give me us a SDK, and watch the amazing, STABLE, and wonderful apps that can be developed. h***, just look at what has been released so far- and that's without an official SDK.

Apple, stop being stubborn, and do the right thing: open the iPhone and release an SDK.

Well ,the iPhone is their product and they have every right to be stubborn and no , they will not do the right thing for the sake of doing it , they will do it if the price is right , the situation warrants it and they want developers who are willing to stand up and take responsibility if their products screws up the iPhone experience because when it's all said and done , Apple and not the developers get the bad press when things go wrong .

You got that right. They want to do what they want to do. Forget about long-term plans on developing a unique platform. They can't wait a lousy six months to get a decent SDK in place. Let's have a free for all. They whine and gripe and b****, when all they would have had to do was go out and buy a BlackBerry or Nokia. But no, they know in advance what they're not supposed to do and then cry foul if their device gets bricked. Tough noogies, I say.

A true custom ringtone app will still be something Apple will not allow, one that lets you take your audio files and put them on the phone.

It's also just one more way to get more ppl to buy a copy of Leopard. I'll wait a few weeks to see if it affects the speed of using apps on machines similar to mine, but I plan on getting it now.

I guess it's just one way to make sure ppl upgrade their OS if they want the best and greatest form the hardware they have.

I wonder if anyone keeps stats on this kind of thing...

If Apple would have shipped the iPhone open for 3'rd party application from day #1 they would have made it easy for lousy "developers" to make crappy applications. Many of them might have crashed the phone/its system which would have given the iPhone a very bad (and false) reputation that would take decades to wash out, if ever. Now everyone know the phone is rigid and works well so naturally: the days are closer when Apple will to open it. Personally, I don't think the launch of 10.5 but rather to iPhone OSX 2.0 next year when everyone who wants an iPhone would have got a chance to get one. In most part of the world the iPhone is still something people read about and a false reputation would destroy a lot for Apple. A very professional entry if you ask me.

It's amazing to me to see the Apple apologists just bend over at every turn, looking behind coyly at Mr. Jobs as if to say, "May I have another?"

Why would you endorse a closed-model system that you have to pay for? OS X is not closed -- and most of the best software is developed by 3rd parties. 3rd party shareware, no less.

Those who don't fight for their rights don't deserve any, and when you're getting raped by Apple for something that actually matters to you (and everyone has a breaking point), your cries will fall on deaf ears.

The iPhone has the potential to be amazing. Apple simply has to honor hardware warranty that's it. The OS software (clean and pristine) they never really give a warranty for anyway. I returned my iPhone because it didn't receive calls in a 5 band area! It also didn't send on voicemail. It also had other problems. I powered off and on, used the trick with pressing top sleep button and home button to hard reset once every 4. What bugs me about the Apple freaks is how nasty you guys get when people make a complaint. You are the same people who leapt on a poster complaining about no ring-tones. “Jobs has saved us from vile ringtone madness. Jobs give us our daily ringtone!” you all bleated and I paraphrase. The so called hackers gave value to the iPhone. To have Apple squeeze endless profit out of a substandard iPhone is revolting.

At least the hackers really love Apple. Why hate people who are like you?

I guess you all hate the French for having laws that demand companies like Apple cannot lock the iPhone? There are times when I use my Dell and I feel free of the madding crowd.

I myself like a more closed system. STABILITY. Why release a SDK for a device that runs as ROOT?

XP anyone? And how many crappy apps, malware, spyware, crapware, have been released by "Basement Coders" for the XP platform How well did this make the OS?

XP is a nightmare because they let anyone with time on their hands to take advantage of security risks and poor coding to develop for them.

Why not allow that smae theory on House building and car manufacturing? Hey why have standards? Let anyone build a house or a car and not have nay SAFETY STANDARDS or guidlines to go by! Yeah! Freedom to customize on every product!

c*** tastic.

In the end, hackers UNLOCKED phones to BYPASS their agreement they VOLUNTARILY agreed to to try to save a few bucks. Letting anyone develop on a newly developed device is stupidty. Anyone remember the days of OS8 + and extensions and control panels. Sure there was a ton of c*** out their you could install to have pretty desktops and customization. There was also big instability and nightmares troubleshooting THIRD PARTY software because lets face it. Not all coders are good coders. Some use hacks or c*** code to save time.

Unlocking the iPhone to anyone would lead to a mass movement of script kiddies and crapware which in the end would devalue the product and devalue the reputation it has.

Wait until they have the ability to run the OSX iPhone version as an account instead of root and let them figure a way to plug any security holes that could arise and you will see further opening of the platform to REPUTABLE DEVELOPERS.

Let the script kiddies hack their XP machines and XBoxes and leave stability to Apple.

Sheesh.

I've said all along that Apple should have veto power over what apps go on the iPhone and which don't. My sentiments have nothing to do with the suggestion that Apple should maintain a closed system and everything to do with iPhone stability.

Stability? How does having Apple control what gets on enforce stability? Do you really think they're doing this for stability? Are they going to test all software they 'approve' to make sure it works completely safe and secure, and completely trouble-free from all other software they approve?

No. The main reason to do this is all about one thing. Money. Money from developers to allow them to program the software. Money from customers to get the software on the phone. Its a sweet deal for apple. Not sure how great it is for other people.

How many stories have we heard of third party apps on other smart phones causing the phones to crash?

Umm, none. But a bigger question. How many of these stories have then made people go "Man, that smartphone sucks!" and cause people not to buy it. Maybe you haven't noticed, but people have bought computers for years, and have dealt with bad software. Yet they're still capable of knowing that it could be the software, not the OS, that's the problem.

And if apple is expecting any serious business usage from the iPhone, they can't expect to close off the development. If a company can create an internal program to use on their smart phone, but require Apple's permission to do it on an iPhone, do you really think they'll go for that?

This on top of the lack of certificate support, which is also something that needs to get addressed.