Talking iPhone: Synchronizing third party applications

One of the problems that many iPhone (review) developers may run into is the lack of any sort of conduit between a third party application and your desktop. Unlike some smart phone platforms like Windows Mobile where developers can build synchronization with the desktop into their ActiveSync software it does not seem like this capability will be available via iTunes synchronization on the iPhone. This is a particular problem for developers that want to create software that naturally synchronizes with a desktop application like finance software or task management tools.

One possible solution to this problem is to enable wireless synchronization. One developer who has already developed such a solution is IGG Software with it's iBank finance software. What they have done is create a small application that lives on Mac user's iDisk, which is web based storage that comes with Apple's .Mac account. You can then access this application via Safari on the iPhone to view and add transactions to your account. This application can then be synchronized with iBank on your desktop. The Omni Group has indicated that they will use a similar solution when they port their OmniFocus task management software to the iPhone.

The bonus of such solutions are that each individual has their own secure conduit to synchronization between an iPhone based and desktop based application. The drawback is that not all users will have access to a .Mac account and iDisk where the critical piece of the puzzle needs to stored. Certainly this is going to be a problem for anyone on the Windows platform. The alternative might be to store it on your own site, or perhaps on Amazon's S3 storage, but this creates a technological barrier that will keep many who just want the thing to "work" from taking advantage of wireless synchronization capabilities.

The alternative is for the developer themselves to host and maintain wireless synchronization services that can then be accessed via the iPhone or your desktop software. The problem there is that this creates additional overhead for the developer as they will need to maintain the service. Of course it might also be an opportunity to derive additional revenue as they can charge customers a monthly fee to enable such synchronization. The easier solution might be for Apple to just open up the iTunes conduit for third party developers, but given Apple's tendency to keep their software (especially iTunes) tightly closed we don't consider this likely. Other possibilities include third party applications that will manage the synchronization without iTunes. There are already applications like MegaPhone that allow you to access content on your iPhone without iTunes.

The most likely scenario is that different applications will use different conduits to enable synchronization between an iPhone application and your computer. This may create confusion for users and could even lead to security risks as the iPhone gets opened up to various data conduits. Getting data from your smart phone to your computer and back is one of the most basic functions of smart devices, it's a shame that Apple hasn't made this easier for third party developers. We can only hope that our predictions turn out to be untrue and we see an Apple supported synchronization conduit before third party applications officially launch at the end of June.