分析：苹果放宽授权条款限制为哪般

Opinion: Apple feels smartphone sands shifting

by Dylan McGrath

Wild guess: Steve Jobs and company did not relax the restrictions on the tools developers use to create applications for its iPhones and iPads out of some newfound empathy or compassion for the likes of Adobe, Google and others.

Apple said in a statement issued Thursday (Sept. 9) that it was relaxing the restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code. "This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need," the statement read.

At a glance the move might seem a victory for Adobe, which in April gave up on trying to develop its Flash software for the iPhone and iPad, after Apple tightened developer restrictions seemingly specifically to prevent developers from using Flash.

Don't let the smooth taste fool you. Apple's winning products have endured the company to its fans and, based on that, its image-makers have successfully painted the company as an altruistic entity that has no goal other than the betterment of humanity. But Apple has been as cutthroat as any company when it comes to pushing markets toward proprietary standards and playing hardball to freeze competitors out.

Lack of support for the popular Adobe Flash has been a frequent complaint about the iPhone since the product was introduced. Critics say Apple has resisted supporting Flash because it wants to control the software that runs on its product and Flash—as a development platform—represents a danger to that control. Apple maintains that it is a security issue.

The Wall Street Journal's coverage of Apple's loosening of the restrictions suggests the move may have been in response to an investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which has been reportedly looking into whether Apple's former policy was at odds with antitrust rules. That may well have been a factor.

But another, more likely scenario emphasized by the New York Times' coverage of the story is that Apple loosened the restrictions because the company feels its stranglehold on the smartphone market slipping away. That story featured a quote from Forrester Research analyst Jeffrey S. Hammond saying that Apple is concerned about the shifting of the tide toward the Google-backed Android mobile phone operating system and wants to keep developers on its side.

Since its initial release, the iPhone has been the "it" smartphone, and a certain segment of the smartphone-toting public feels that they simply have to own one. But that is changing. With the rise of Android, its accompanying ecosystem of applications and the release of several compelling handsets running the OS, there will come a time in the not-so-distant future when many of these iPhone devotees will be perfectly content with, say, Motorola's Droid—especially since it supports Flash and costs less. A similar scenario will probably play out in the tablet market once a slew of Android-based tablets are released to compete with the iPad.

And, by the way, don't assume that Adobe will go rushing back to work to get Flash supported by the iPhone. First off, the relaxed rules still won't allow iPhone users to access Flash-based websites. And Adobe was pretty peeved at Apple when it abandoned the effort to get the iPhone to support Flash (recall the PR war between the two companies that followed). Adobe could very well stick to its guns regardless of the rule change, forcing Apple to pay a price for its arrogance.

Adobe's not talking. The company declined an interview request, saying through a spokesperson that it's not giving interviews on this topic at this time. Adobe released a simple statement, saying: “We are encouraged to see Apple lifting its restrictions on its licensing terms, giving developers the freedom to choose what tools they use to develop applications for Apple devices.”

Adobe also posted a blog on its website on the development, saying it has heard from the developer community that apps created using the Packager feature in Flash Professional are already being approved for Apple's App Store and that Adobe would resume development of this feature for future releases of Flash Professional.

But the blog post also states, somewhat bitterly, that Apple’s restriction on Flash content running in the browser on iOS devices remains in place. Adobe said it would continue to work to bring full web browsing with Flash Player 10.1 and standalone applications to a broad range of devices, specifying Google, HTC, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Palm/HP, RIM and Samsung.

Notice anyone missing?