Apple is Opening iPhone to Third-Party Apps

Apple has scheduled an event to present the Software Development Kit (SDK) that can open up its iPhone to third-party native applications. It also will present new iPhone features for the enterprise.
Press invitations went out this week for the iPhone Software Roapmap on Thursday, March 6, at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters. The original launch date for the SDK had been in February.

A Blackberry Competitor?
The SDK will allow thirty-party developers to create applications for the iPhone. Up until now, outside developers' offerings have had to run within the Safari browser on the iPhone, not on the iPhone itself as native application.
This invitation promises some exciting new enterprise features. Apple may be is positioning the iPhone as a competitor to the BlackBerry, which would require Apple to address a variety of compatibility, application and security issues.
There are also other non technical issues. For instance, can a developer post the application on their Web site, or does it have to go through iTunes? There are also questions about how users will load third-party apps onto iPhones, whether Apple gets a cut of apps revenue, and whether certain kinds of apps are off-limits because Apple reserves them for itself.
Until we know the answers to these and other questions, it isn't possible to estimate the impact that the much-awaited SDK might have on opening up the iPhone.

New Business Models?
Apple may also be open to new carrier arrangements. COO Tim Cook has been quoted in news media as telling investors that "we're not married to any business models."
Two things possible eitehr this mean that Apple is reconsidering its exclusive-in-the-U.S. relationship with AT&T or he may be referring to Apple's strategy in other countries considering AT&T relationship as an unqualified success.
Makes sense, you would have thought the iPhone would have more traction by now in Asia and in more European markets,it is possible Apple is re-evaluating its business models for those areas. There's a big gap between the number of iPhones that Apple has said it has sold and the number that AT&T said it has on its network,which indicates that there are a lot of unlocked iPhones around, many of those appear to have gone overseas.

Mac Air Vs Lenovo's ThinkPad X300

Lenovo on Tuesday launched the ultrathin, ultralight ThinkPad X300 notebook , which immediately invited comparisons to Apple's MacBook Air. The laptop is three-fourths of an inch at its thinnest and weighs as low as 2.9 pounds. It includes solid-state drive storage, a 13.3-inch LED backlit WXGA+ high-resolution display, and low-voltage processors.

A 'Great Step'
It has the features the Air has been criticized for lacking, notably a battery removable by the user, USB ports in excess of the Air's single port, and no internal optical drive. The Air does offer wireless access to an external drive.
The X300 is a great step in the progression of the ThinkPad line. X300 is what a lot of road warriors are looking for and the option of either Windows XP or Vista is a big plus because many enterprises are reluctant to move to the newer Vista operating system.
The biggest hurdle for businesses is the price, which starts at $2,799. Many business users do not have input into which model is purchased for them, and IT departments may be put off by the cost. But X300 could be of interest to consumers and the MacBook Air is primarily a consumer-oriented product.

Airplane Materials
With the X300, road warriors will have plenty of options. The laptop includes stereo speakers, a digital microphone, and an integrated camera. For the itinerant salesperson, the new notebook boasts a roll cage to protect it from falls and drops.
Lenovo also noted that X300 is made of advanced carbon and glass fiber, the same materials used to build airplanes and Formula One race cars to help reinforce their structure without adding additional weight. And staying on track could be easier for travelers since the X300 comes with built-in GPS functionality for navigating with mapping programs.
Connectivity options include a model designed for WiMAX when available, as well as ultra-wideband/wireless USB, WWAN, WLAN, and Gigabit Ethernet.
Lenovo has set a high bar for the first public test. The X300 is scheduled to support members of the Beijing 2008 Olympics Torch Relay as they begin a daunting, 137,000-kilometer, five-continent marathon in March. The torch team will rely on ThinkPad and IdeaPad devices to back up about 22,000 torchbearers in more than 130 cities worldwide.

What's in Store for the iPhone's Future?

Apple's heavily promoted iPhone ended 2007 as what one analyst calls the fastest-growing consumer electronics product ever. And research analysts expect sales to top Apple's projections for 2008.
But don't look for a new model early this year Apple historically makes new-product announcements at the Macworld conference, scheduled this year for Jan. 14. Many fans are looking for Apple CEO Steve Jobs to introduce a possibly smaller iPhone. We believe upgrades will be offered for the existing iPhone, including access to a faster Internet network and an improved battery.

Apple declined to comment.

While the iPhone received rave reviews for its style and functionality, critics complained about the speed of Apple partner AT&T's data network. AT&T has said it would bring faster service to the iPhone in 2008. Additionally, Apple has said it would open the iPhone to outside software developers in February, which could turn the iPhone into a more versatile device. You'll see Apple working with financial institutions to turn the iPhone into something like an electronic credit card When Jobs announced the iPhone a year ago at Macworld, he predicted Apple would sell 10 million by the end of 2008. Apple's official tally, through Sept.30, is 1.4 million iPhones sold in the USA. Apple launched the iPhone on June 29. By Sept. 10, it had sold its first million.

Apple's market share in cell phones already exceeds that of smartphones that work with Microsoft 's Windows Mobile operating system -- just under a million users. But those phones have yet to catch up to phones that work with Palm's system, like the popular Treo. Palm has a base of more than 2 million users of the Treo phone, but they've been at it for over eight years.