“Steve Jobs and two of his top lieutenants spent just over an hour last week outlining their plans to allow software makers to create programs custom-built to run on the iPhone, Apple’s innovative mobile handset, [and the iPod touch]” The Financial Times reports. “The move could mark the beginning of a new phase in the development of mobile software, as programmers build programs that are not limited by the physical constraints – such as fixed buttons and small screens – that plague many other mobile handsets.”
“The iPhone’s break-through touch screen means that Apple’s mobile handset is a virtual blank slate, and the ability to write mobile software free from the usual constraints is likely to have software geeks salivating,” FT reports. “‘You’ve got the ultimate in flexibility in user interface,’ says Van Baker, an analyst at Gartner.”
FT reports, “John Doerr, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, underscored the excitement around the iPhone’s potential to emerge as a powerful new software platform on Thursday… Mr Doerr announced a new $100m venture capital fund dedicated to backing companies that are building software for use on the iPhone.”
FT reports, “Mr Doerr said Apple’s software plans could lead the iPhone to emerge as the ‘third great platform’ for software makers after the personal computer and the worldwide web. ‘In your pocket, you have something that’s broadband and connected all the time. It knows who you are and where you are. That’s a big deal. It’s bigger than the personal computer,’ he told the cheering crowd.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: KPCB’s iFund info is here.