Will top iPhone web apps benefit from the SDK?

March 5th, 2008, 3:37 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Sonya Smith

The lack of third-party access to the Apple iPhone has been a thorn in the side of developers since early 2007. Still, the most popular web applications on Apple’s site are unlikely to benefit users by running on the phone rather than the web.

The top five web apps on Apple’s site are:

iDoodle - a drawing application.
VariStrobe - app that turns the phone screen into a fake strobe light.
Gumball Bingo - like the name suggests, bingo for the iPhone.
iPhone Wallpapers - a site with wallpapers for the iPhone.
MacLight - site that turns the iPhone into a fake flashlight, strobe light or campfire (shown at right).

At first glance, the list above shows that the majority of current iPhone users are not looking for a task manager, scientific calculator or other business-oriented apps. Instead, the most popular applications help people: waste time, customize the phone or show off how a $399 device can substitute for a $5 flashlight.

At second glance, the applications above are not likely to benefit too much from third-party applications. True, all would then be made accessible where Internet access is not available (but then again, how often is that these days?). Aside from that, the iPhone Wallpapers might benefit if the SDK allows it to download and use the wallpapers.

And, at the third and final glance, we wonder if the list of top native apps will differ much from the list of web apps. It’s possible that consumers want to use the phone for more than wasting time or showing off, but until native apps are up-and-running we won’t know.

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