donderdag, februari 11, 2010

Would a more open Apple breach security?


I wonder what the REAL reasons are Apple is keeping such strict levels of control over devices in their eco-system. There are lots of examples of questionable decisions/policies, among which is the blocked Google Voice app for the iPhone.

A recent example from my own experience: i ran into Tungle, and that seems like a great way of synching / sharing your calendar, schedule meetings with a group etc. And they just announced a widget you can put on your website allowing people to propose meetings to you through your website.

So i wanted to use this on my iPhone. I schedule all meetings on my iPhone. I sync with Mobile Me. I don't sync with a desktop. So what i want, is synching my iPhone calendar with Tungle. But i can't. I emailed Tungle, and within an hour (amazing response time guys!) i got this reply:

"Unfortunately Apple has locked down access to the calendar from 3rd party applications. They won't let us sync with it, so yeah - you'd need to sync up with your Macbook iCal and then you can see that calendar from your iPhone Tungle app".

And of course i'm not the first. I assume there are security reasons to control what app is trying to interface with what software. Or maybe to forbid Flash on your iPhone. But i'm really getting fed up with these lock downs of my iPhone Apple, limiting the functionality. Especially when there is no public logical explanation for that policy. And i think i'm not the only one. People having bought Apple shares better be monitoring the stock price, as i wouldn't be surprised if that's going to drop when Apple keeps enforcing this policy the way they do. And honestly: i would regret it, as i love both my MacBook and iPhone 3GS.

Update 12 feb 2010: sure, another limitation (you're not allowed to use an abroad iTunes Store ... you have to leave your iTunes purchases in the country you made the purchase in?).

Update okt 2011: i guess going with Google Calendar instead of the Apple iCal calendars is a good solution. And i found this solution on how to make Google Calendar show your contacts birthday in your calendar.

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