Wholesale Applications Community vs Apple: Standards, Guidelines and Wishful Thinking

The Wholesale Applications Community, as they’re calling it, thinks they’ll deal a blow to Apple. Here’s the thing: they’re not even competing. Apple will never allow third-party software outside of their control to run on an iPhone. They will always have control over how an application appears and functions on their device, with some functionality exclusive to that device. While I support the idea of community-based/open standards development, there is something strong to be said for Apple’s strict guidelines. It’s what makes the iPhone’s UI and its applications so striking. From a design and usability perspective, I seriously doubt that major success will result from this initiative.

UPDATE: In this article, CNN states that “Until now, Apple has had control of all apps that go on the iPhone.” Question: what on Earth makes them think that will change because of this alliance? Apple’s not going to bow to pressure from anyone to change anything about its platform or application structure.