Question: – 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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Answer: In an uncharacteristic about-face, Apple Inc. loosened its control over software development for its iPhones and iPads as the company feels heat from a U.S. antitrust investigation and rising competition from mobile devices powered by Google Inc.'s Android software. 
  
 Apple said Thursday that it was relaxing restrictions on developers of applications for its iPhones and iPads. WSJ's Jen Valentino-DeVries and Lauren Goode discuss with Simon Constable what this means not only for app developers but how it impacts Apple's mobile iAd platform. 
  
 The move gives software developers more freedom to decide how to build their applications, or "apps." It will relax restrictions Apple introduced in the spring that had effectively blocked use of programming technology from Adobe Systems Inc. and potentially impeded Google's AdMob ad network from serving ads to Apple apps. 
  
 The concession comes after the Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry around June to determine whether Apple had violated antitrust laws with the earlier policy. It isn't clear if Apple's move Thursday was in response to the FTC's investigation, but it will likely be carefully scrutinized by the regulatory agency, said people familiar with the situation. 
  
 An Apple spokeswoman didn't respond to requests for comment about the FTC probe. The FTC declined to comment. 
  
 The change comes in the wake of a vicious public relations battle between Apple and Adobe, creator of a widely used technology called Flash that manages video and animations on many websites. Apple's revised policy will now allow apps to be written using a Flash-based tool, and also removes restrictions on what other programming languages developers may use. 
  
 But the revised policy still won't allow iPhone and iPad users to access Flash-based content on the Web. Those websites rely on running Adobe software code that doesn't reside on a user's device, which Apple's revised guidelines still prohibit. Still, Adobe investors embraced the news, driving shares up 12% to $32.86. 
  
 "We are encouraged to see Apple lifting its restrictions on its licensing terms, giving developers the freedom to choose what tools they use to develop applications for Apple devices," Adobe said in a statement. 
  
 Google also welcomed the change. "Unlike the previous version, these new terms ensure that Apple's developers have the choice of a variety of advertising solutions (including Google and AdMob's) to earn money and fund their apps," Omar Hamoui, Google's vice president of product management, said in a statement. 
  
 For consumers, the implications may be less evident. Apple still plans to review every app submitted to its App Store, and Flash-based video still won't be viewable on its mobile devices. And some prior restrictions, such as the one that affected AdMob ads, weren't being enforced by Apple. 
  
 Yet the change means more apps—which range from videogames to news feeds to financial tools—may be available sooner on multiple devices. It may also bring in new developers to the iPhone and iPad, who have been reluctant to comply with Apple's restrictive policies in the past. 
  
 "They're opening up the platform to a much broader community of development," said Krishna Subramanian, co-founder of mobile ad company Mobclix Inc., which works closely with iPhone app developers. Mr. Subramanian added that it could particularly energize the mobile advertising market because ad developers are most familiar with Adobe's Flash programming software. 
  
 Apple on Thursday also published its app-review guidelines for the first time, addressing a longstanding complaint by developers about the lack of clarity in the process. The guidelines suggest, for example, that an app could be rejected if it isn't useful or doesn't provide lasting entertainment or other value. 
  
 The language in the guidelines seems to emulate the direct style of Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive. "We have over 250,000 apps in the App Store. We don't need any more Fart apps," the document reads. 
  
 Another section says apps that look like they were "cobbled together in a few days" could be rejected. "We have lots of serious developers who don't want their quality Apps to be surrounded by amateur hour," it says. 
  
 Enlarge Image Close Associated Press Apple Computer Chief Executive Steve Jobs. 
  
 Some analysts said the changes show how threatened Apple is by the increasing momentum of Google's Android Market. App development for Android could heat up with the introduction in coming months of several Android tablet computers that will rival the iPad. 
  
 "They're trying to make sure they stay the most interesting and most important development platform," said Jeffrey Hammond, an analyst with technology firm Forrester Research. 
  
 Apple's App Store is still the biggest app marketplace with over 250,000 applications, but Google's Android Market—which doesn't vet apps—has increased its number to more than 80,000 from 30,000 just six months ago. 
  
 Smartphones that run on Google's Android operating system also are expected to outsell iPhones this year. IDC, another tech research firm, estimates that by 2014, Android devices will hold world-wide market share of 25% while the iPhone's share will drop to 11% from 15% this year. 
  
 A number of software developers still see Apple's App Store as the most important market and many are devoting the majority of their resources toward it, but they also have been unhappy with the company's seemingly arbitrary rejection of apps. 
  
 Joe Hewitt, a Facebook Inc. software engineer, caused a stir last November when he announced he would stop developing for the iPhone because of Apple's review process. He said in an email that Apple's policy change is "a wonderful improvement" that shows Apple has improved the tone of its relationship with app developers. 
  
 Mr. Hewitt, who developed Facebook's iPhone app, said he was working on other projects but would probably develop for Apple's App Store again "when I do have time someday." 
  
 Forrester's Mr. Hammond said some developers also are starting to develop apps for the Android Market first, so they can start making money immediately while they wait for the App Store version of the app to go through Apple's approval process. 
  
 "Customers are saying, 'You know what, I don't have to do the iPhone. I have a lot of other viable choices,'" said Dave Wolf, vice president of strategy at Cynergy Systems Inc., a Washington, D.C., software design firm that builds software using Flash and other programming languages. "I think Apple saw that writing on the wall." 
  
 The publication of the app review guidelines could also help get new apps into the marketplace sooner and minimize some of the clutter.The FTC is investigating complaints that Apple had unfairly blocked developers from using Adobe's tools, as well as whether Apple's restrictions on applications sending data to third parties unfairly disadvantaged AdMob and benefited Apple's own mobile ad network, according to people familiar with the matter. 
  
 Meantime, the Justice Department is looking at Apple's iTunes music store and new Bookstore to see if agreements Apple has reached with music and book publishers improperly limit competition, said people familiar with the matter. 
  
 Apple has attracted increasing scrutiny from antitrust enforcers in the U.S. and Europe as it expanded from its minority position in personal computers to a major force in markets for smartphones, music, movies, TV and publishing. 
  
 In the U.S. it controls around 70% of online music sales and has more of the overall music market than Wal-Mart Stores Inc., according to market research firm NPD Group. It recently surpassed Microsoft Corp. in market value. 
  
 —Cari Tuna contributed to this article. 
  
 Write to Yukari Iwatani Kane at yukari.iwatani@wsj.com and Thomas Catan at thomas.catan@wsj.com ||||| Advertisement Continue reading the main story 
  
 Apple, which keeps a tight lid on its products and inner workings, is loosening up a little. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 The company said on Thursday that it would relax its rules on how software developers can build applications for its iPhone and iPad. And for the first time it published detailed guidelines explaining how it decides what programs can and cannot be sold through its App Store. 
  
 Apple has long faced criticism from developers who say its application review process is opaque and that it makes seemingly arbitrary decisions about what is acceptable for its customers. 
  
 This year, some were incensed when the company purged some sexually suggestive applications it deemed to be inappropriate — like a jigsaw puzzle featuring scantily dressed women — while a Sports Illustrated application with bikini-clad models remained. 
  
 Analysts said the moves on Thursday were a sign that Apple was growing increasingly aware of competition in the smartphone market, and was trying to be friendlier to the developers whose applications have helped drive the success of its products. 
  
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 In particular, Android, the mobile operating system by Google, has steadily increased market share in the United States and abroad. Shipments of smartphones using Android grew by 886 percent during the second quarter from a year earlier, according to the research firm Canalys. And a wave of Android tablet computers that will compete with the iPad are on the way. 
  
 “Apple is concerned enough about the shifting tide towards Android that it feels it has to loosen restrictions to keep developers on its side,” said Jeffrey S. Hammond, an analyst at Forrester Research. 
  
 Although Mr. Hammond said that Apple’s App Store was outpacing opponents in both the number of applications available for download and the amount of revenue generated for developers, he said Apple’s announcement was a “pre-emptive strike.” 
  
 “Google has done a better job at leveling the playing field for independent developers, and that matters,” he said. “I don’t think Apple can tolerate that, especially with the dozen or more pads that we’re going to see hit the market in eight to nine weeks.” 
  
 In the newly released guidelines, which are written in an unusually conversational style, Apple acknowledges that its App Store policies could give the impression that the company is made up of “control freaks,” but adds that “maybe it’s because we’re so committed to our users and making sure they have a quality experience with our products.” 
  
 Although the guidelines list many things that will lead to an app’s rejection, like the inclusion of pornography or violent images, or mimicking features that are already on the iPhone, they still leave much to interpretation. For example, Apple says that “apps that are not very useful or do not provide any lasting entertainment value may be rejected.” 
  
 Even so, software developers, many of whom have expressed frustration about the app review process, said the company’s newfound candor came as a relief. 
  
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 “This is gold. This is great,” said Dom Sagolla, chief executive of Dollar App, a mobile development company based in the Bay Area. “It feels like we’re finally getting a clue about what Apple wants.” 
  
 “This is a document I’ve been wanting to see for two years,” said Raven Zachary, president of Small Society, a software development firm. “It’s going to foster the creation of better apps because we know going in what to do and what to avoid.” 
  
 Apple also said it would begin to allow developers to use third-party tools to create applications for its iOS mobile operating system, which is used on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It had banned such tools in April. 
  
 The change means developers can more easily convert applications written for other types of mobile phones, including those that use Adobe’s Flash technology, which Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, has repeatedly said he will not support. The news bumped shares of Adobe up more than 12 percent to close at $32.86. Apple shares were little changed. 
  
 Apple’s new rules also specify that developers can put advertisements in their applications that come from outside companies. Its earlier rules had raised some questions about whether developers would be limited to using Apple’s iAd service, locking out companies like AdMob, which is owned by Google. 
  
 Omar Hamoui, the former chief executive of AdMob who is now the vice president for product management at Google, said in a blog post that the changes were “great news for everyone in the mobile community.” 
  
 “Apple’s new terms will keep in-app advertising on the iPhone open to many different mobile ad competitors and enable advertising solutions that operate across a wide range of platforms,” he added. 
  
 Good will aside, analysts said Apple may also be trying to keep federal regulators at bay. The ban on third-party tools and the uncertainty about outside ads had prompted the Federal Trade Commission to begin asking questions about Apple’s approach to competition. 
  
 “At some point, Apple asked themselves whether this is doing us more harm than good, between unhappy developers and the F.T.C. sniffing around,” Mr. Hammond said. “For once, Apple is being a little bit defensive in their strategy as opposed to being offensive. It just shows how the race is starting to tighten in this market.” |||||