iPhone to support 3rd-party programs

Cupertino, Calif. -- The iPhone soon will support third-party native programs, U.S. consumer electronics giant Apple announced Wednesday.

The announcement of letting software makers create programs for installation on its iPhone marks a change of direction for Apple, The Financial Times reported. The Cupertino, Calif., company had favored closed systems in which it control the type of features loaded onto its products.

Observers say the announcement likely will spark a flood of software development as programmers build applications that take advantage of the iPhone’s touch-screen interface and its triple-threat capability of making calls, browsing the Internet, and storing photos and music.

In a statement on Apple’s Web site, co-founder and chief executive Steve Jobs said the planned to provide a development toolkit to outside programmers by February.

“We are excited about creating a vibrant third-party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users,” Jobs said.

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