Apple finally lets iPhone developers talk to each other

iPhone developers are abuzz today with the latest note from Apple (below) effectively dropping the NDA (non-disclosure agreement) on released iPhone software.



For those who haven't been following the saga, a quick recap:

Apple required all iPhone software developers to sign an NDA that barred them from discussing anything related to developing software for the iPhone. Developers wrongly assumed this all-encompassing NDA would be dropped after the App Store went live. The NDA also restricted content producers from publishing technical books related to iPhone software development.

From Apple's perspective, the NDA was in place so that innovations and inventions around the iPhone OS would be protected, or, as someone inside Apple stated, "we put it in place as one more way to help protect the iPhone from being ripped off by others." Blogger John Gruber claims that "someone" might even be the voice of Steve Jobs.

While Apple continues to largely ignore media scrutiny, this latest move comes at a time when the company is coming under increasing pressure from iPhone developers longing to share their work and insights with others in the community. The NDA, which has been lifted for published applications, was detrimental to establishing a large and healthy development community.

One may never know whether this move by Apple was planned or a reaction to community noise. Either way, the development community has scored a win today - and can now shift their attention to the last remaining controversy; Apple's policy on what applications it approves for the App Store and how it communicates this to the development community.

Whether you believe that Apple should restrict some applications from being in the App Store or not, it's clear that developers are still baffled by the guidelines on what will or won't be accepted by Apple. The company has a responsibility to make development guidelines clear before developers invest time and money on writing code.

This last remaining contention is an easy one for Apple to clear up, and I believe they will likely do in the short term.

It's important to occasionally step back and take note of Apple's remarkable achievements building out the iPhone platform. It's been under two years since the iPhone launched, and the App Store is less than 90 days old. In that time, the only company that has produced anything like the App store is Google with its Android platform. Unfortunately, Android is already coming under criticism by large development houses like EA who say they won't create software for the Android until a payment mechanism exists to sell software.