Apple allows new browsers on the iPhone
For those that have been wondering when we would see new browsers on the iPhone, stop asking; the time is now. But are these really new browsers?
The standard iPhone browser is a good utility. Although it is not anything special when considered in laptop or desktop terms, it does a good job on the iPhone. It is when you start comparing the standard iPhone browser to the larger full-featured browsers on full-sized Macs that you begin to want more from the iPhone Web experience. Then you start wishing to the additional features of the full Safari package or for the easy customization of Firefox.
Suddenly, this week, Apple seems to have relented on the policy of not allowing applications into the app store if they have basically the same function set as existing apps, especially Apple apps. In what could be seen as a complete about face, Apple has allowed entry to four new browsers so far this week,: Edge Browser (free), Incognito ($1.99), Shaking Web ($1.99) and WebMate: Tabbed Browser ($0.99).
That is the upside. The downside is that these new browsers are all built on the Safari Webkit engine, so the browsers are not so different after all. One of the new browsers (Incognito) does not maintain a Web history. Another (Edge) fills up the entire iPhone screen. A third (Shaking Web) offers some sort of anti-shake technology. The fourth (Tabbed Browser) at least offers us tabs.
But none of these new browsers will be breaking a lot of new ground, based as they are in the same Safari Webkit that is used for the standard iPhone browser. Certainly none of them will even begin to offer the sort of functionality we have come to expect from full-size browsers. And, pointedly, none of them stray very far from the Apple tree. If what users wanted was Firefox for the iPhone, and a lot of them did, this latest move is not likely to make anyone happy.
It is difficult to tell if this is a fundamental change in app store policies or not. These four browsers seem to break the rule of equal functionality. But they do it without offering a great deal of extra functionality. And they certainly do it without offering any substantial competition to Apple’s own products. Had they allowed a Firefox browser into the app store, we would be looking at a whole new era in app store policy. As it is, we may just be seeing a very small change that will allow Apple to proudly point to how open and liberal they are being with iPhone apps without having to change much at all.
Related Posts:
