Third-party apps, we hardly knew ye
The iPhone 1.1.1 software update has proved a divisive issue in the Mac community. There are those who love the new iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store and all the attendant features of the update; and those who have been frustrated with the bricking of phones for what they see as interfering with their personal rights.
But what of those of us in the middle? Who are happy to have the new features and fixes, but still wish they could hold onto some of the things that made the previous version so great: namely, the ability to run third-party applications. Over at Macworld, I’ve written a—I’m hesitant to call it an obituary, so let’s go with a celebration of the third-party app community that may vanish with the new 1.1.1 update.
I’m hoping they’ll be back, but if the lack of development on the iPod touch is any indication, there may be some serious hurdles to overcome before hacking is once again possible on the platform.
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Comments (7)
Let's just hope Apple was paying attention for future updates. I can't see how they'd have a problem with people wanting to personalize their phone...
Posted by Chef | September 28, 2007 3:36 PM
I ran the update, and while I miss having those 3rd party apps, my only complaint really about the iPhone is the ringer volume. Since the udpate fixed that as well as added some other nice things, I'm sure glad I upgraded!
Posted by Gerald | September 28, 2007 4:39 PM
I'm on 1.0.2 and have third party apps and not unlocked, I'm not updating my iphone. itunes or buying any more Apple products until Apple gets its head out of its ass. I'm a premium customer who spends lots of money to be an early adopter. When Apple shows me some respect as a customer I will start buying their products again. Currently own mac-mini,mac pro, pacbook, video ipod and iphone.
I fully expect a 16gig iphone next year and I would have bought it.
Posted by LGgeek | September 29, 2007 7:01 PM
I'm guessing there's not a lot of work being done for the touch, because uh....why work on something that doesn't have a large market? More people have iPhones...the touch, in my opinion is a waste. Maybe if it had more storage, it would be worth the dive in.....
Posted by Just J | September 29, 2007 9:45 PM
I am glad I did not update. I love the third party applications and the ability to customize my phone.
No update is worth it. This phone is amazing.
Posted by Hollywood | September 29, 2007 10:49 PM
As with the rest of you, I lost all the third-party apps; one, the voice recorder, was originally scheduled to be a feature of iphone.
Apple is jealously protecting the AT&T agreement. Frankly, Steve Jobs should stick with inventing, business has never been his strong suit.
Locking out thrid parties sounds a lot like an ancient Apple history lesson in how to create a market for another company (Microsoft).
More to the point, AT&T treats Jobs' customers as follows:
Safari Browser unacceptable to newly re-designed AT&T/Yahoo web homes; AT&T music downloads only play on PCs, same with most video content. AT&T not only doesn't protect its partner Apple, it promotes, via its ISP service, Apples competitors.
Give the thrid parties the DSK. What we desire is the beauty and functionality of iPhone. If there are good third party software packages, all the better. Personally, I don't need second mother who lives in Cupertino.
Posted by Bob M | October 1, 2007 10:34 AM
There is actually work being done now on 1.1.1 and the touch to unbrick and roll back the baseband firmware to unbrick all the phones that were bricked from custom software
http://www.iphonedevnetwork.com
Posted by Jonathan | October 3, 2007 12:14 PM