Hitherto demonstrated native iPhone applications will provide functional augmentation to the the device and branch into areas untapped by Apple’s included software: gaming, instant messaging, image manipulation, and more. So far, however, we haven’t seen any planned applications that directly compete with or replicate the functionality of Apple’s bundled applications. Since the iPhone is now a true software platform with a rapidly growing installed base, hungry third-party developers are bound to seek pieces of Apple’s turf in spite of potentially mitigating verbiage in the iPhone SDK agreement. The first software category in which developers are likely to make a move: Web browsers. Firms like Mozilla and Opera aim to sink their hooks in any and all popular platforms, not excepting the iPhone.

Third-party browsers could bring a wealth of feature distinction to the iPhone. Mozilla’s recently debuted Firefox 3.0 differs significantly in form and function from Apple’s Safari for Mac OS X and Windows. A different rendering engine and fresh take on a browser’s touchscreen-optimized interface might be preferable to to some iPhone users. A third-party browser could — were it not for one nagging section of Apple’s SDK agreement — also incorporate one of the most requested features currently non-existent on the iPhone: an accessible third-party plug-in architecture that would allow the inclusion of Adobe Flash, RealPlayer and more.

The section of Apple’s iPhone SDK agreement that seemingly negates the possibility of a third-party Web browser with plug-in support:

“No interpreted code may be downloaded and used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple’s Published APIs and built-in interpreter(s) […] An Application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means, including without limitation through the use of a plug-in architecture, calling other frameworks, other APIs or otherwise.”

There exists considerable debate over what the aforementioned statement actually means, but one interpretation is that the agreement would not only prevent third-party applications’ usage plug-in implementations, but also disallow the use of HTML/JavaScript renderers that are not WebKit-based. That would make Firefox’s Gecko-based rendering engine a no-go.

Whether or not that interpretation is correct, it’s the basis of Mozilla’s current development tack. We spoke with company representatives who said that, based on their understanding, the iPhone SDK agreement excludes Firefox from running on the device. Hence, there are no immediate plans to bring the popular browser to the platform.

Regardless, Mozilla has posted a concept video (embedded below), which shows a Firefox mobile concept that would appear to work well on the iPhone. Some interesting touchscreen-optimized features are shown, including pull-to-reveal navigation controls, and the ability to see all open tabs simultaneously — a feature absent from MobileSafari. Features from Firefox 3.0, like the “Awesome Bar,” are also incorporated. The video’s narrator, Mozilla Labs’ head of user experience, Aza Raskin, notes that the concept is for touch interfaces, “not MultiTouch.”

Source: IPhone Atlas

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