The iPhone’s Web Effect

The Apple iPhone is coming. A lot of people want one. I want one. (Donations are welcome.)

Whether the iPhone proves to be an revolutionary product or so-so smart phone can’t be known until it’s released June 29. But last Monday, Apple (in the person of Steve Jobs) made an announcement about the iPhone that I think will revolutionize the industry. Instead of allowing 3rd-party applications to be installed on the iPhone (like you would with a normal computer) developers are being told to develop sophisticated Web 2.0 applications instead.

Here’s why I think this is important. One of the challenges ahead of us as a ministry is creating and delivering content and tools for cell phones. A major complication in this effort is the technology itself: different cell service providers have different standards. And there are at least three or four different major phone operating systems. This means that if we create an advanced application for one technology combination it might not (and very likely won’t) work on others.

Web 2.0-type applications are nearly universal. You can use them on virtually any internet connected computer with a modern web browser. In this context, I’m defining a Web 2.0 application as one that using AJAX and similar technologies.

Gmail, Google’s innovative Web 2.0 email application, works the same whether you are on a Mac, Windows PC, or Linux and are web browsing with either Internet Explorer, FireFox, or Safari. And technologies are emerging that will allow you to use Web 2.0 applications without a constant internet connection — you just connect and sync up later.

Yet my current Windows-based smart phone doesn’t run a Web 2.0 application very well — the built in web browser does not support the necessary technology (e.g. JavaScript). And I haven’t found any sites that offer such a service either. I can use Gmail on my phone, but it’s certainly a lot different than using it on my laptop.

Apple is a great trend setter. The iPod is the gold standard for how a digital music player should work. The iPhone could very well do the same for smart phone — in fact, I think it already is. The iPhone is going to be the first smart phone to have a full-featured web browser. That’s why it will be able to support advanced Web 2.0 applications whereas other smart phone’s can’t… at least, not yet.

How long will it take for other smart phones to come standard with a full-featured web browser? Others will certainly follow Apple’s lead.

If the iPhone model of using Web 2.0 applications catches on, a whole new world of possibilities will open up. As things stand now, providing compelling ministry content and resources for phones is complex and difficult — both for us and the consumer. But the picture changes dramatically if we can do this with Web 2.0 applications running on a smart phone. Building one versus many versions of a tool saves time and money.

A lot of people are disappointed with Apple’s refusal to open up the iPhone to 3rd-party applications. Yet in choosing the Web 2.0 application route Apple may have inadvertently (but maybe intentionally?) created a whole new paradigm for smart phone applications.