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iPhone THE MISSING MANUAL - Cdn.oreilly.com

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12<br />

Add-Ons: Accessories<br />

and Web Apps<br />

When Steve Jobs announced, shortly before the <strong>iPhone</strong> went<br />

on sale, that programmers wouldn’t be able to write new<br />

programs for it, there was much muttering. “it’s a <strong>com</strong>puter,<br />

for the love of Mike,” went the refrain. “it runs Mac oS X! Let us write new<br />

programs!”<br />

apple says it’s only trying to preserve the stability of the phone and of the<br />

aT&T network. But the <strong>com</strong>pany decided to allow programmers one little<br />

bit of freedom: They could write special Web-based programs tailored for<br />

the <strong>iPhone</strong>.<br />

These programs will never show up as icons on your Home screen, and you<br />

can get to them only when you’re online, but still, the creativity and usefulness<br />

out there is amazing. Hundreds of Web-based programs—most of<br />

them free—let you pull down movie listings, the nearest place to get cheap<br />

gas, the latest headlines, and so on. You can even connect to rudimentary<br />

instant-messenger programs to enhance your <strong>iPhone</strong> experience.<br />

Those are just the software add-ons. There’s also a world of accessories for<br />

the outside of the <strong>iPhone</strong>: cases, headsets, chargers, and other goodies.<br />

This chapter gives you a sampling of both kinds of add-ons and suggests<br />

where you can go to find out what’s new in <strong>iPhone</strong> Web apps and gear.<br />

Web Applications<br />

Thanks to the efforts of creative programmers who got started even before<br />

the phone hit the stores, the <strong>iPhone</strong> has the potential to run thousands of<br />

programs in its wee Web browser.<br />

add-ons: accessories and Web apps 231

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