An iPhone App Wish List

These developers will need to submit their new programs to Apple for approval, which means no pornography, spyware or software that would unlock the iPhone and let it work on wireless cellular systems other than those favored by Apple.

However, that still leaves a lot of creative opportunity to unlock the iPhone's potential to become an ingenious portable computer.

At Home on the iPhone

Software makers can set prices for their inventions -- including offering them for free -- and distribute them to iPhones through Apple's iTunes store or Apple's AppStore on the Web. Apple gets a 30 percent cut from any program sold.

The iPhone already comes with a handful of programs, including an address book and calendar , and the device already lets people use programs on the Internet through its Safari Web browser.

But these Web-based applications have weaknesses, including that they are usually slower than programs installed directly on the device, and they can only be accessed when users are online.

The new development tools are the same used by Apple's engineers and will let programmers create software that iPhone owners can install directly on their devices, taking advantage of the operating system and allowing them to be used when not connected to the Internet.

Gimme These Five

Some sample programs were shown when the software development kit was announced this month, including Sega's plans for an iPhone version of "Super Monkey Ball," sales software from Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) and some medical software from Epocrates. Those are just the beginning, however, and I have a short wish list of iPhone programs I'd like to see as soon as possible:

1. A voice-over Internet protocol program -- VoIP for short -- will be a killer application for the iPhone. Such software would allow iPhone owners to make calls over a WiFi Internet connection instead of eating up their cellular minutes. Apple has said it will allow VoIP software as long as it works only over WiFi and doesn't use the iPhone's cellular antenna -- a policy to appease its wireless carriers.
2. A high-quality e-book reader, with adjustable text size among other customizable functions, and preferably seamless tie-ins to major online booksellers as well as unfettered access to free reading.
3. Tetris. Simple, satisfying and addictive. Tetris is easily one of the best mobile games of all time, it's a hit on standard cell phone platforms, and a high-end model with beautiful graphics and lots of options belongs on the iPhone.
4. Trillian, a program for Windows PCs, lets users access all their instant messaging accounts on AIM, ICQ and Windows Messenger from a single interface and optionally logs all conversations. Cerulean Studios, the company that makes it, has a new version in the works called "Trillian Astra" that works on the iPhone through the Safari Web browser. The program is still in early testing, and it's unclear how the new software development kit will affect Astra's design.
5. A digital audio recording program. With a built-in mic, ample storage space and an external speaker for playing back sound, the iPhone would come in very handy for recording interviews. Lots of cell phones have built-in voice memo features, and the iPhone would easily outclass them all with more features and a superior interface for organizing and browsing recordings.