Apple Opens iPhone to Other Browsers

Wired.com reports: Apple appears to have reversed its policy of rejecting apps that compete with the company's own iPhone web browser, Mobile Safari. A slew of alternative browsers have suddenly popped up in the App Store offering iPhone fans some new ways to browse the web.

So far Apple has made no official announcement regarding its change of heart and it remains to be seen whether this reversal will apply to other apps that compete with Apple's stock offerings. For instance, MailWrangler and Podcaster were both denied spots in the App Store for duplicating the functionality of Apple apps. As of this writing, both are still unavailable.

While the change may be limited to web browsers for now, it's nice to see Apple allowing Safari alternatives. Unfortunately, you probably won't see Mobile Firefox or Opera Mobile in the App Store any time soon.

The newly-approved web browser alternatives were arbitrarily denied a spot in the App Store. That is, none of the apps violated Apples SDK restriction. All of the newly approved apps are, like Mobile Safari, based on WebKit (which also powers Mobile Safari) and use all the same underlying technologies as Safari.

However, true alternatives to Mobile Safari -- like Mobile Firefox or Opera Mobile -- use different low-level code and rendering engines, meaning they would still violate Apple's developer restrictions, preventing them from earning a spot in the App Store.

Still, some of the Safari alternatives that have made the cut look interesting. The new applications include (all links are iTunes links):

• Edge Browser -- a free, chromeless browser that eliminates the address bar to offer more screen real estate to the actual webpage.
• WebMate -- an almost tabbed browsing experience on the iPhone. WebMate can open new pages in the background, rather than automatically switching to them like Mobile Safari does. WebMate costs 99 cents.
• Incognito -- an anonymous browser that covers your tracks and erases your session when you close the app (a.k.a. porn browser for the iPhone). Incognito sells for $1.99.
• Shaking Web -- uses an algorithm to compensate for bumpy commutes, claims to make webpages easier to read on the bus or subway. Shaking Web is $1.99.

WebMate looks to be the most useful of the bunch, particularly for those of us accustomed to opening dozens of background tabs in our desktop browsers.

The one interesting possibility in the apparent policy change is the possibility for other WebKit browsers, like Google Chrome, to make an iPhone-specific port. If Google were to simply replace certain homegrown elements of Chrome with Safari's equivalent (like, for example, the Javascript rendering engine) it could, theoretically anyway, find a home in the App Store.

But given the complexity of retooling the code behind Chrome (which so far doesn't even exist on the Mac platform, let alone in mobile-optimized form) and the limited market gain that such an app might make, we wouldn't hold our breath.

[via MacRumors]

Also on Wired.com:
Another Competing iPhone App Zapped By Apple
Webmonkey Maps iPhone App Developers Frustration
Android's Market Mimics iPhone s App Store

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