Web 2.0: iPhone Web Apps

One of the biggest complaints about the soon to be released Apple iPhone - is the lack of a SDK or Software Developers Kit. An SDK would provide software developers with the tools to create applications for the iPhone. Steve Jobs has been very careful to keep the iPhone a closed system - citing concerns about 3rd party applications causing iPhone instability and network issues.

At the World Wide Developers Conference, last week in San Francisco, Jobs announced a new and risky strategy that would keep the system closed, yet allow developers to create iPhone applications. Because the iPhone has a full-fledged version of the Safari web browser, Jobs and Apple are promoting the use of web-based apps - Web 2.0 - on the iPhone. If this works, it will become a brilliant strategy that empowers average Web 2.0 citizens to become Apple developers. If it fails - Apple may need to think about opening up the iPhone and releasing a true SDK.

With two weeks left until the iPhone launch - here are some tantalizing web-based apps already created for the iPhone - in less than a week! To try them out yourself, visit the links after the video.

David Cann's Digg and iPhoneChat
The OneTrip shopping list app
An app for finding the Cheapest Gas in your zipcode

All best viewed with the Safari browser available for Windows XP, Vista and Mac OS X