No iPhone SDK? No Problem. Just Think Different.

Many people are upset. Yesterday, the world (or Apple fandom, to be more precise) presumed it would see Apple CEO Steve Jobs shed light on an SDK (software development kit) for the iPhone. He did not. What he revealed instead – followed by a short and relatively unimpressive demonstration by Vice President for iPhone Software Scott Forstall - was the company’s desire to promote development of AJAX-rich Web 2.0 applications for use with the iPhone. Such applications would of course be accessed through the allegedly full-featured Safari browser molded to fit the iPhone’s pocket-sized screen.

The negative reaction from those with eyes on the opening keynote at this year’s WWDC (developers, analysts, investors, consumers) was palpable. Immediately following the close of Mr Jobs’ presentation, AAPL-labeled stocks fell (or is “plunged” more fitting?) several dollars almost suddenly. $4.30, according to a report in the New York Times. At 10:00 AM today, the company’s shares sat just under $120.

But perhaps the move to forego an SDK release shouldn’t disappoint us. Perhaps it is a smart one. Perhaps it will prove to be the overarching reason for the iPhone’s eventual success. If it should be successful, anyway.

We’re still very much at a point in time when localized software trumps remote software (all those Web apps we know and love). The localized variety offers better performance. MS Office is there whether we’re online or off. It’s unfeasible to expect Adobe to port its media creation and editing suite to an arrangement that’s Web-hosted in its entirety. And as far as I’m aware, no one (in the consumer sphere) can stream DVD-quality or high-def video over the Net.

In short, there are quite a number of tasks that Web technologies coupled with remote connections simply cannot manage.

But the requests to do desktop-centric things with handheld gizmos are few. People want to do easy, or “lite” things with the gadgets they carry in their pockets. Email. Chat (voice, IM). Read news briefs. Play Tetris, Pacman, Chess. Listen to music. Share snapshots. Maybe watch a short video clip friends or family recorded on vacation – while they are/were on vacation.

That is why it’s actually quite a good idea for Apple to emphasize remote software development for the iPhone. Yes, of course it’s only likely that the company’s been forced to go this route because of major concerns raised for iPhone security if localized third-party applications are thrown into the mix. But Apple may in fact be inadvertently mapping a better future for the product by promoting the “remote”.

My reasoning is this. The inclusion of 4GB and 8GB flash memory in the two respective iPhone models to be released later this month certainly makes potential owners of the iPhone happy in knowing that there lies the possibility of stuffing not only media into the device, but nifty applications as well. Unfortunately, all of these various space takers will eventually fight one another for vacant bits. It’s bound to happen. If Apple restricts third-party app development to Web-only applications, however, space is more or less taken only by the iPhone’s OS, proprietary applications, and any media one may wish to keep handy (as well as the browser’s cache, cookies, history, etc.).

Also, though Apple is no less “current” than the rest of the major software firms out there today, it still hasn’t shown significant devotion to developers out in the world of Web 2.0. The fact that Apple, the most recognizable face of cool in the tech industry today, has now officially requested that Web 2.0 developers play a major role in software creation and adaptation for the iPhone undoubtedly gives a big boost to the Web app industry as a whole. And that’s definitely a good thing.

We certainly should not expect the entire ADC (Apple Developer Connection) base to have an immediate change of heart for the better after hearing Mr Jobs himself explain the lack of an iPhone SDK for external use (Apple’s own developers obviously have one to utilize themselves. I assume some at AT&T have such a package as well.) I’ve no doubt however that, slowly but surely, many thousands (perhaps tens or even hundreds of thousands when iPhones begin to populate the globe en masse) will see the benefits of taking Web 2.0 to go. At that point, Apple will get the standing ovation it didn’t receive at yesterday’s WWDC keynote. What do you think?