iPhone and iPod touch Software Development Tools Finally Coming Next Week

Last fall, Steve Jobs committed to releasing in February the tools that developers will need to create of native programs for the iPhone and iPod touch. Today, Apple admitted it's going to miss this self-imposed deadline, but not by much.

The company has scheduled an event on Thursday, March 6, where attendees will "learn about the iPhone software road map, including the iPhone SDK and some exciting new enterprise features."

At this point, most people aren't assuming that a flood of new native applications for Apple's smartphone and handheld will hit the market next week. Instead, it's likely that developers will be given a beta version of the Software Development Kit (SDK), and Apple will give details on an upcoming system to allow users to install any new applications on their devices.

Apple iPod touch

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Enterprise Features?

It's not clear yet what the reference to "exciting new enterprise features" means, but it might be the long-awaited announcement that the iPhone and iPod touch will be getting built-in support for Microsoft Outlook and Exchange, email servers and applications widely used in the large companies. 

Strong evidence has emerged in the past that Apple is working to add this feature, which would make these devices much more accepted by, and useful to, many business users.

No More Jailbreaking

Since the debut of the iPhone and iPod touch, Apple has tried to block users for installing native third-party applications.

This has put it into conflict with many of its customers. Those who aren't satisfied with the limitations have been working hard to find ways to install and run the software they want on these devices.

Since the release of the iPhone there has been back-and-forth skirmishing, with groups of developers coming up with ways to install native applications and then Apple releasing a system update that closed the holes the developers were using.

Apple's upcoming system could end this war, if the system for installing software isn't too restrictive.  There has been some speculation that Apple could insist on approving all applications, and require that they be sold only through the iTunes Store. However, no one will know until March 6.

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