There are reports and lots of speculation this week about Apple prepping to sell ‘approved’ 3rd party applications via the iTunes store at some stage over the next few months.
9to5Mac says HERE that there is "much more going on" than just Web 2.0 SDK stuff, that Apple is working furiously with a handful of partners, and will seek to emulate the Sidekick’s application development and distribution platform:
In the Tmobile model, developers (who can prove they are developers by submitting a working application) get a key that opens their Sidekicks for further testing. Once they feel they have a stable working application, they submit it to the Danger/Tmobile team for compatibility testing. If Tmobile/Danger feel the application is stable, won’t interfere with other applications and would be of interest to their customers, they make it available for download and install through an integrated payment system. The cost of application is added to the customer’s monthly bill. The Danger team actively works with the developers to insure compatibility and stability in applications through SidekickOS updates.
The general consensus is that Apple would sell via their iTunes store (although probably not Over The Air) rather than having purchases added to a user’s monthly cellular phone bill.
I would welcome this sort of move – or any move really – by Apple to foster third party apps development. My only worry about this method would be if Apple decides to put up financial barriers to entry that keep out individual / smaller developers. I think quality control and testing standards can and should be very stringent, but there should be room for the ‘little guys’ to get their apps into this chain as well. I’d want to see Sketches make it into the iTunes store just as much as any Electronic Arts game title (more in fact).
There are lots of valid criticisms of Windows Mobile – but one thing that is fantastic about it is the enormous range of programs available for it (Microsoft’s CEO recently estimated there are 18,000 of them). They range from the sublime to the ridiculous, and that’s how it should be. I want to decide what’s sublime and what’s ridiculous on my device, not have Apple let me know which are the only 16 apps I really need to use.
What do you think of buying your 3rd party apps via iTunes? Is that how you think things are going to go? And would you be happy buying apps that way?
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