Apple: iPhone SDK officially available in February
apple.com
apple.com
http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/16/nokias-s60-touch-interfac... http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/6089_S60_Touch_Inte...
Related?
(Don't know if S60 means anything to people in the US, but it is the major smartphone platform in Europe and Asia)
It will be nice to get an Apple supported solution.
But as several reports have indicated, Apple may use iTunes to maintain control over app approval, distribution, and purchases. I really hope this doesn't end up being the case.
My sense is that apple is much more concerned with keeping the iPhones 100% trouble-free for the 99% of people who don't want to do anything more than make calls and check e-mail than with providing development freedom for the 1% of people who are excited to start hacking their phone. (Or even just to start adding new widgets).
It's disappointing for those of us who like fun, but probably a good business decision. Suits have a lot more money to spend on phones than kids and hackers, and reliability is very important to them.
With the Sidekick service you first have to prove that you are a developer, and they give you a key which unlocks the phone for development access. When you have developed a stable app, you submit it to through an approval process and then the application is made available on the Sidekick/T-Mobile app site.
If this is the case with Apple, then they could control app approval, distribution, and even pricing through iTunes. It will likely be tightly controlled.