THIS WEEK'S PALMADDICT GIVEAWAY - WIN OUR HTC ADVANTAGE
[From Neil Tomlinson] The iPhone is truly an awesome device, there really is no point in trying to deny that. But as good as the iPhone is, I could never see it truly being a competitor to either Palm OS or Windows Mobile devices, because unlike those devices the iPhone has been severely limited due to the fact that it's a closed platform, meaning running applications that didn't come installed on the device was quite a task and one that required the user to hack their phone.
In a way this closed platform has been extremely beneficial to the user as it meant the iPhone is an enormously stable device, rarely requiring the user to reset the device due to the phone locking up. As nice as stability is, there is a flip side to this route to stability, which has been having a device that could do only so much and no more. Unlike Windows Mobile and Palm OS devices, the iPhone is generally used only in the way Apple wanted users to, unless users were brave enough to try the aforementioned hacks.
Well all that is about to change, Apple now seems really ready to take on the Smartphone market as they have announced they are now developing a software development kit (SDK from here on out) for the iPhone, which will allow developers to officially make applications for the iPhone (and iPod Touch). By making this announcement Apple is now removing one of the two problems the iPhones has, which was likely the one problem that stopped a lot of Palm OS and Windows Mobile users from converting to the iPhone.
Though I just said things are about to change with the SDK coming out, that comment was a bit disingenuous as the SDK isn't due out until February 2008.
With this official SDK we're likely to see programs from all the major software makers coming to the iPhone and then is when sales of the iPhone are likely to truly reach the stratosphere (yeah like they weren't already impressive). More than being worried about the future of Windows Mobile and Palm OS, I just can't wait to see how Palm and Microsoft answer Apple's move.
