Apple Loosens Up on Apps

Apple has done a U-turn and scrapped restrictions introduced earlier this year on what tools developers can use to build applications for the iPhone and iPad. Developers will now be allowed to use tools based on Adobe's Flash, and restrictions on other programming languages have been lifted, the Wall Street Journal reports. Shares in Adobe jumped after the news, though iPhone and iPad users still won't be able to access Flash-based content on the Internet.

Apple also addressed concerns that the application approval process is too secretive by releasing, for the first time, a list of guidelines developers should follow to avoid rejection. Analysts say the company's new-found openness appears to be a move to avoid giving an edge to the competition. "Apple is concerned enough about the shifting tide toward Android that it feels it has to loosen restrictions to keep developers on its side,” an analyst at Forrester Research tells the New York Times.
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