iPhone apps through the iTunes Store

Like many people, I suspect that when Apple introduces the iPhone SDK and unveils their plans for how the third-party iPhone application ecosystem is going to work, they are going to use the iTunes Store as the conduit for purchasing and installing third-party apps on the iPhone.

The downside to this approach is that it would create an aura of exclusivity around iPhone app distribution, limiting it only to companies that Apple chooses to deal with.

The upside would be dramatic simplification of the application installation and support process. Presumably, updates to applications you own on your iPhone will be automatically installed via iTunes as part of subsequent syncs, with little (or no) end-user involvement in the process.

Power users and small-time developers will likely complain about this approach, as it constricts power users' ability to have complete and transparent control over the software on their devices, and small-time developers won't be able to tap into the process at all.

But from the bigger picture, with the iPhone as an appliance and a new platform that is trying to solve some of the bigger challenges computing platforms have faced in the past (and installation/support for third-party apps has always been a challenge), I think this will be a big step forward.