In an update posted to Apple’s web site today, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has confirmed that the company does plan on releasing a Software Development Kit for the iPhone and iPod touch, and that it will be “in developers’ hands in February.” Jobs goes on to explain the delayed release of the SDK, saying: “It will take until February to release an SDK because we’re trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once—provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc….
We think a few months of patience now will be rewarded by many years of great third party applications running on safe and reliable iPhones.” Currently, the only way to run third-party native applications on the iPhone and iPod touch is through the unauthorized jailbreaking of the devices.
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