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Apple Eases Up on Third-Party iPhone Development Tools

By: , IntoMobile
Thursday, September 9th, 2010 at 7:36 AM

Apple issued a statement this morning about their well-established stance on using third-party development tools for iPhone apps. Adobe’s Creative Suite 5 was hurt most from the decision to ban developers from using such software, as it had tools for converting Flash creations into iPhone applications, but it looks like Apple will be reversing their decision, at least “as long as the resulting apps do not download any code.”

Apple is also making their review process more transparent, publishing their own review guidelines so developers know what qualifications they need to meet in order to get into the iTunes App Store. This a nice move considering Apple’s review process has a stigma of being draconian and arbitrary.

It’s interesting to see Apple loosening the reigns on iOS just a little bit, when they’ve typically held tight and absolute control of the platform. Maybe Apple’s worried that Android is starting to catch up and want to keep developers on their side.

[via Apple]

About The Author

Simon Sage

Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.