It looks like the iPhone is going to be a closed system (thanks for the link David!). If this is true then it will mean that companies like Skyscape, Epocrates, etc will have to come up with an alternative to their current system of installable apps on Smartphones and PDAs if they want to develop for iPhone users.
One method of solving this problem would be to deliver the applications through the Safari browser on the phone. From the demonstration videos on www.apple.com the browser offers some unique ways of viewing web pages via the ‘multi-touch’ interface. This allows you to zoom in and around a page using two finger to stretch, zoom and scroll. Almost reminds me of Tom Cruise’s hand waving interface in Minority Report.
Whether browser delivery will be off-line or live will probably depend on things like wi-fi availabilty or how cheap the data calls are going to be.
Although the iPhone apears to be a closed system, the onboard Safari browser is very full featured. I saw a great demonstration of it at the Unbound Medicine site http://www.unboundmedicine.com/iphone . You can search Medline and find information on drugs and diseases. Not bad considering its a browser solution.
Hi. I’ve loved my iPhone since day one. However, I still carry my Palm OS based PDA to work for ePocrates. I’ve tried ePocrates Online and Unbound Medicine’s UCentral clinical suite and have found both to be frustratingly slow via EDGE or even WiFi when compared to Palm. Because of this I’ve created a petition to encourage Apple to support 3rd party medical software that will run directly on the iPhone. Please follow the link below if you would like to sign it and leave a comment for Apple/ePocrates:
http://www.geeknuz.com/nuz/2007/07/add-your-name-1.html