Apple Blocks iPhone 3rd Party Developers with Firmware Update 1.1.1

Apple’s most recent update to the iPhone’s base software, version 1.1.1, adds the same anti-hacking protections they applied to the iPod Touch. This means that at least for the near term, anyone who upgrades their iPhone to version 1.1.1 will be unable to run any of the third-party software the budding but enthusiastic iPhone developer community has created.

Since my previous post on the missing iPhone SDK, I’ve spent some time exploring the undocumented APIs on the iPhone and have written a few mini applications just for the fun of delving into relatively uncharted territory^†. Others have done much more than explore, and have released some pretty cool stuff. Granted, none of the released apps serve any mission critical function, but they’re all important precursors to what has the potential to become a thriving software ecosystem.

But today, Apple made it clear that these efforts are not welcome. Sure, they want to keep people from unlocking their phones to work on other carriers’ networks, as they’re rumored to be getting a 10% cut on the service revenues generated by iPhone customers. Denying all filesystem access, as they’ve done, reduces the attack surface available to groups seeking to remove the carrier lock. But knowing - as Apple certainly does - that in doing so they’re also preventing software developers from continuing to write their iPhone wares, Apple is directly contradicting recent, published comments from senior execs (Phil Schiller, SVP marketing included) proclaiming what I’ll call official ambivalence toward the developer community.

There’s more to the story. A recent Apple job post suggests that they might still be holding onto the Web as a development platform notion for all but Apple’s closest partners.

Updates on attempts from the community to break the latest protections can be found on Engadget, Gizmodo, Nate True’s blog, and the iPhone IRC channels on irc.osx86.hu.

[tags]iphone,apple,mobile,developer[/tags]

Category: Mobile || Tags: apple, developer, iphone, Mobile, sdk ||