Apple Tablet Could Hurt iPhone Developers

BURLINGAME, CALIF. -- Talk to iPhone application developers and they'll quickly sing Apple's praises. Apple's development tools are first-rate. Its App Store makes it quick and easy to get your applications to users. And, best of all, developers get a big, fast-growing target market for their wares.

That target market, however, may be about to get a little less uniform. Apple ( AAPL - news - people ) Insider reported Friday that Apple is building an Apple tablet computer for launch early next year. That report is consistent with Apple's moves to buy, and build, a team of mobile chipset developers, starting with Apple's purchase of PA Semi last year (see "Apple Buys Chip Developer").

The problem? If Apple rolls out a tablet computer, it could make building applications for its portable devices more complex. That's because developers--who have built more than 65,000 applications for the iPhone and iPod touch--say one of the big advantages to developing apps for these devices is consistency.

There's an upside to an Apple tablet for developers, too, of course. At this point, it may even outweigh any drawbacks. Apple has long warned developers to account for the fact that, over time, the screen size and resolution theyre working with could change. A tablet computer would let those developers put their games, social-networking tools and news-browsing applications on a bigger screen. That could mean iPhone users will spend more time with their applications when not on the go, among other advantages.

Nevertheless, it could fragment an ecosystem Apple has worked very hard to build. While other phone manufacturers have a much bigger "installed base" than Apple has, those numbers don't always pencil out for developers.

That's because phone carriers impose their own standards for the kind of applications that can work on their networks. It's a complication Apple sidestepped by working with developers directly, and then distributing developers' work directly to users.

Another issue: While software such as Symbian and Sun's Java technology are far more common in the real world than the software powering the iPhone, the software is used to power a wild array of devices.

Sun's Java software, for example, can be found on everything from cheap flip phones to Research In Motion ( RIMM - news - people )'s BlackBerry. Having common software powering all those phones certainly makes moving an application from one handset to another easier, but the fact the software can power devices with different form factors and different processors does slow developers down.

Such issues may also explain why so many reports of wild new iPhone-like devices have been off-base. The iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3G S and iPod touch all share the same-size screen, the same touch-based interface and the same slab-like look. So while the iPhone is selling fast, Apple doesn't seem to see a downside to taking it slow.

Apple's App Store Cellar Dwellers

summary: The company may roll out a tablet computer. This could have a downside for app developers.

HubPages Launches Yahoo Answers Rival

HubPages, the online publishing community, has added a Q&A feature to its site today, entitled HubPages Requests.

Modeled after Yahoo Answers, HubPages Requests lets users create an entire page around the answer they provide, offering their two cents in the form of an article or blog entry. These answers can be enhanced with the inclusion of images and videos, and operate in the same manner as any other entry that a user creates, meaning their answer pages will earn advertising revenue as well. Users can leave requests too, and browsing options let you search for more answers based on popularity, or those that have been recommended for you, among other factors.

I like that the Requests feature has been fully integrated into the HubPages service, fitting it seamlessly with the look and functionality of the site. The biggest downside to having Requests format set up in this manner is the loss of conversation that can occur amongst users around one question. It would be nice to search specifically for Requests, though, instead of performing a general site search where HubPages entries are included in the results as well.

In related news, there's speculation that Google Answers may return.

summary:
HubPages, the online publishing community, has added a Q&A feature to its site today, entitled HubPages Requests. Modeled after Yahoo Answers, HubPages Requests lets users creat...