Apple: Only Safari on iPhone

[earthpigg]

link here (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/10/30/opera-browser-now-allowed-in-iphone-app-store/), i found it on digg, here (http://digg.com/linux_unix/Ubuntu_8_10_Intrepid_Ibex_has_been_released)is where you can go and digg it too (http://digg.com/linux_unix/Ubuntu_8_10_Intrepid_Ibex_has_been_released)if you want. my opinion will be expressed in subsequent post.

Opera Browser Not Allowed in iPhone App Store

The NY Times profiles Opera Software, the company that distributes the Opera browser for multiple platforms. According to the article, however, Apple is not allowing an iPhone version of the browser into the App Store:


Mr. von Tetzchner said that Opera’s engineers have developed a version of Opera Mini that can run on an Apple iPhone, but Apple won’t let the company release it because it competes with Apple’s own Safari browser.

Gruber speculates that it could have to do with the Javascript interpreter or, more clearly, that Apple has been restricting apps that compete directly with some of their built in iPhone apps such as Safari.

Apple has been criticized for its decision to restrict certain applications from the App Store, and this suggests users shouldn't expect any other web browser alternatives (such as Firefox) to appear in the App Store at any point in the near future.

[artir]

They also declined to accept Fennec alpha 1.

[earthpigg]

so, my opinion:

this is unethical, for the same reason it would be unethical if MS went out of their way to make it extremely difficult to run or install Firefox or Safari on a Windows machine. for the same reason it would be unethical if Ubuntu made it impossible to add new entries in your repository list.

the iPhone app store is the primary means of installing software. thus, it is the equivelant of Ubuntu's repository list.

i consider a smartphone just as much a 'personal computer' as a netbook. i sincerely hope courts in the EU and US end up agreeing with me.

[cardinals_fan]

Nothing new here. Apple has no incentive to provide its users with choices. Why should they care about people's individual needs?

[KiwiNZ]

Safari works well in Iphone . I dont see the need for another browser. Web pages are so small in the Iphone screen anyway . I only use it once in a blue moon.

I think its a storm in a tea cup

[maagimies]

Supporting Apple is just as bad if not worse than supporting Microsoft.

[cardinals_fan]

Safari works well in Iphone . I dont see the need for another browser. Web pages are so small in the Iphone screen anyway . I only use it once in a blue moon.

I think its a storm in a tea cup
But if Safari works so well, why won't Apple let it compete with other browsers?

[KiwiNZ]

Opera has stagnated , maybe the browser was not up to scratch and didnt meet Apples quality bench marks.

[cardinals_fan]

Opera has stagnated , maybe the browser was not up to scratch and didnt meat Apples quality bench marks.
Any evidence to back that up?

(not trying to be argumentative, but that's a very strong position and I wonder if you have any impartial base for it)

EDIT: Also, why is it Apple's job to see if it lives up to "quality bench marks"? If it's a bad app, people will vote it down and it will be forgotten. It's an obvious conflict of interest for Apple to screen apps competing with their own for "quality".

[Polygon]

Opera has stagnated , maybe the browser was not up to scratch and didnt meat Apples quality bench marks.

which is exactly why apple has continued to reject applications that compete with the 4 main apps of the iphone (mail, safari, and two others)

i can gaurentee you that apple does not check every applicaton to see if it lives up to their benchmarks. cause if they did, opera would be allowed in, as they have a long history of having browsers on small devices (nintendo ds, cell phones, nintendo wii, just to name a few)

[KiwiNZ]

which is exactly why apple has continued to reject applications that compete with the 4 main apps of the iphone (mail, safari, and two others)

i can gaurentee you that apple does not check every applicaton to see if it lives up to their benchmarks. cause if they did, opera would be allowed in, as they have a long history of having browsers on small devices (nintendo ds, cell phones, nintendo wii, just to name a few)

How can you guarantee this ?

[geoken]

Safari works well in Iphone . I dont see the need for another browser.

I do.

I was at a hotel with my wife this past weekend and her iPhone was the only means we had to access the internet.

Trying to find a restaurant without flash was a pain since most restaurants have flash sites.

[KiwiNZ]

Any evidence to back that up?

(not trying to be argumentative, but that's a very strong position and I wonder if you have any impartial base for it)

EDIT: Also, why is it Apple's job to see if it lives up to "quality bench marks"? If it's a bad app, people will vote it down and it will be forgotten. It's an obvious conflict of interest for Apple to screen apps competing with their own for "quality".

I said "maybe" it was a supposition. There has been no statement from Apple . So we really dont have a balanced view yet.

I thought the NY Times article was poor , it was unbalanced, not good journalism

[geoken]

How can you guarantee this ?

because he's downloaded more than 20 apps and realized how blatantly buggy a sizable portion of them are (or at least that's how I would guarantee that).

[Half-Left]

Safari works well in Iphone . I dont see the need for another browser. Web pages are so small in the Iphone screen anyway . I only use it once in a blue moon.

I think its a storm in a tea cup

Yer, IE works well on Windows, who'd ever want another browser?(the fact thats it's a mobile platform doesn't make a difference)

Lets face it, Apple only want their apps on their phone and their own pick on the apple store, horrible, horrible locked in platform the iphone, much like their other hardware.

[aysiu]

While I think many iPhone users won't care what browser they use, that doesn't mean Apple needs to deny access to Opera for those who are seeking an alternative unless they're afraid that alternative is better Safari.

Let's say 95% of iPhone users are happy with Safari and 5% of iPhone users would like to try another browser like Opera.

Current scenario
95% of iPhone users are still happy, as Safari is on the iPhone and they don't have a problem with it.

5% of iPhone users are still unhappy, as they're stuck with Safari and would rather use Opera.

So 95% of users are happy with their browser.

A better scenario
95% of iPhone users are still happy, as Safari is on the iPhone and they don't have a problem with it.

5% of iPhone users join the other 95% in being happy, as they can use Opera instead of Safari.

So 100% of users are happy with their browser of choice.

The scenario Apple is scared of, perhaps?
5% of iPhone users use Opera instead of Safari and think it's so much better that they convince half of the other 95% to use Opera instead of Safari.

So 100% of users are happy with their browser of choice, but 53% are using Opera.

KiwiNZ, I don't think you have a leg to stand on here. If Opera is in the app store, no one is forcing iPhone users to install that app. You're simply making the app available to those who want it. The market will decide whether or not Opera is "stagnant."

Much as I disdain both Opera and Safari, I have seen new feature after new feature and blazing speed in Opera continually, and Safari to me has seemed stagnant (what new features have there been lately?). Opera now has tab previews, speed dial, widgets, themes, search key letters. What does Safari have?

I understand why Apple doesn't want Opera in its app store, but let's not pretend it's about quality control. Have you seen the stupid light saber app? There are plenty of dumb apps in the app store. It's about control, not quality control. They want to control what browser you use, and with good reason. If people had the opportunity to switch from Safari to another browser, many would.

This has to do with fear of loss of control, not loss of quality.

[KiwiNZ]

My personal view is the Iphone is a waste of time. The one I am using was given to my wife , she hated it and went back to a normal cellphone.

I don't like it either ,I only use it as an Ipod as my old ipod mini is past its use by date. I am going to get a new Nano sometime soon. Then the Iphone will get relegated to the bottom drawer.

I don't understand why people would want a brink for a phone again , and want to use it to surf the web when you need a magnifying glass to see the silly thing.

[aysiu]

My personal view is the Iphone is a waste of time. The one I am using was given to my wife , she hated it and went back to a normal cellphone.

I don't like it either ,I only use it as an Ipod as my old ipod mini is past its use by date. I am going to get a new Nano sometime soon. Then the Iphone will get relegated to the bottom drawer.

I don't understand why people would want a brink for a phone again , and want to use it to surf the web when you need a magnifying glass to see the silly thing.
My wife loves her iPhone (and doesn't mind Safari, incidentally).

I don't think she could go back to a normal cell phone again.

Yes, of course, she mainly uses it as a phone, but it is also her iPod (so instead of carrying around two portable devices, she carries only one). The nice thing about it is that she can check her email on the go, do Facebook updates as things are happening, and can look up movie showtimes and restaurant reviews on the bus or on the street.

And when we rent a car and are in an unfamiliar area, the Google Maps / GPS feature comes in extremely handy.

It all depends on your lifestyle and computing needs. The iPhone isn't for everyone, but then what electronic device is?

[PartisanEntity]

So? Most of the cool apps that get rejected from the App Store end up on Cydia, that's when I install them. Patience :)

[hanzomon4]

Apple.... You smart idiots.....

[Polygon]

How can you guarantee this ?

because some of the iphone apps are so random, and useless, its obvious that apple doesn't check to see if its 'useful' and 'meets their standard'. There was an article about random iphone apps being denied, while completely useless ones, like one that turned the iphone screen into a beer glass, and when you tip it, it acted like you were drinking it, and that was it. Hm.....a functional browser...or a beer glass. Yeah..

I hate opera, but this is just another reason to boycott apple (for me). They are just scared that another browser will be better then safari. Which is also why they try to install safari automatically when you update itunes/quicktime on windows computers. They don't seem to want to play nice.

[UbuWu]

Trying to find a restaurant without flash was a pain since most restaurants have flash sites.

Yes but on the other hand you don't have to do that at all when you have an iPhone. Install urbanspoon and try it! By far the best way I have ever seen to find a nice restaurant. It looks up your location, you can choose the kind of restaurant and the price and then it finds the perfect match for you. And no need at all to browse to buggy flash sites. Sadly I could only use it on holiday in the u.s. because it doesn't work in europe yet.

[MaxIBoy]

I guess Apple wants to encourage people to jailbreak their iPhones.

[Frak]

Apple reserves the right to deny any application they do not see fit for their phone. It is listed in the developer and end-user terms.

Now, I rarely use the browser, mostly due to its incredibly small size. Though, I can see where Apple would want to monopolize Safari on the iPhone: It takes less focus to support 1 browser than it does 2.

Lesson learned here folks:
If you wanted free reign of a device, it probably isn't wise to buy from one that openly tells you that they are going to restrict things.

[zmjjmz]

This isn't surprising, the EULA in the SDK announced long ago that browsers would not be allowed.
I hope Opera gets it out on Cydia.

[jackoverfull]

Opera probably broke some "rule" of the sdk development. There are many and many are restrictive.
Stupid or not, right or not, this is the state of the facts on the iphone/ipod touch.


I guess Apple wants to encourage people to jailbreak their iPhones.

I often had that impression…:)

Anyway, once jailbreaked an iphone/itouch can be a very useful device: a real handheld unix system with full wireless connectivity…

I like safary…but the current iphone version has serius limits that i'd like to avoid (max 10 or so pages open, no way to open a link in another page, no downloads -there is an unofficial download plugin, but it works very badly- refresh of pages unseen for a few minutes -wich makes hard to do things like posting in a forum- and more), so i hope that opera ends up in cydia.:)

ah, anyway…we already have links and lynx…:popcorn:

[Frak]

Opera probably broke some "rule" of the sdk development. There are many and many are restrictive.
Stupid or not, right or not, this is the state of the facts on the iphone/ipod touch.



I often had that impression…:)

Anyway, once jailbreaked an iphone/itouch can be a very useful device: a real handheld unix system with full wireless connectivity…

I like safary…but the current iphone version has serius limits that i'd like to avoid (max 10 or so pages open, no way to open a link in another page, no downloads -there is an unofficial download plugin, but it works very badly- refresh of pages unseen for a few minutes -wich makes hard to do things like posting in a forum- and more), so i hope that opera ends up in cydia.:)

ah, anyway…we already have links and lynx…:popcorn:
The 10 page max is due to hardware limit. There isn't enough RAM to do more than probably 15 or more tabs.

[jackoverfull]

The 10 page max is due to hardware limit. There isn't enough RAM to do more than probably 15 or more tabs.
do swap.

anyway…i think that 128 mb should be more than enough!

[Frak]

do swap.
Too slow, customer complaints "My iPhone/iPod Touch is being slow..."

[zmjjmz]

lynx is a PITA to use on the iPod Touch.
It requires too much keyboard input to work properly.

[jackoverfull]

lynx is a PITA to use on the iPod Touch.
It requires too much keyboard input to work properly.
but it works.


Too slow, customer complaints "My iPhone/iPod Touch is being slow..."

Well, swapping existed since 1992 or so on, it's slower than using the ram, but not too slow. And the iphone uses a solid state memory, not an hd…

Anyway, with 128 MB of ram i don't see the problem of 10-15 pages…

[Hire]

I'm happy with my Freerunner, I can install what I want :D

[jackoverfull]

I'm happy with my Freerunner, I can install what I want :D
I'm happy for you.:)

[jackoverfull]

it seems that it wasn't that straight:

http://www.macrumors.com/2008/11/02/opera-mini-not-rejected/

[geoken]

Yes but on the other hand you don't have to do that at all when you have an iPhone. Install urbanspoon and try it! By far the best way I have ever seen to find a nice restaurant. It looks up your location, you can choose the kind of restaurant and the price and then it finds the perfect match for you. And no need at all to browse to buggy flash sites. Sadly I could only use it on holiday in the u.s. because it doesn't work in europe yet.

I was able to find the restaurants without an issue on Toronto.com and Dine.to and Now (UrbanSpoon aggregates a lot of it's data from these sites), but I still needed to go to their site's because their hours of operation weren't listed and their menus were seasonal (aka. not listed).