Yesterday Apple Vice President for iPod Product Marketing Greg Joswiak said that Apple is taking a “neutral stance” on third-party native application development for the iPhone. Apple has now backtracked somewhat on that statement, saying “software updates will most likely break” native applications in the future.
Third-party native application development for the iPhone has been a hot topic since the device’s introduction in January; Apple announced that the iPhone would use third-party web-based applications at its WWDC conference in June. Developer reaction to that announcement was decidedly mixed, and in the months following the iPhone’s release, a dedicated group of developers have produced a myriad of native applications, from IM clients to game emulators, for the device.
.
