iPhone OS 3.0 May Allow Users To Share Apps
Apple's new iPhone 3.0 software includes features that, if activated by Apple, may let users share software with one another, according to a person familiar with the technology.
The report goes on to speculate that Apple may also allow users to profit off of recommending apps:
Eventually, iPhone users may even get a commission when they've induced someone else to make a purchase, says Richard Doherty, director at consultant Envisioneering Group. Apple spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock wouldn't discuss features that might be available in the future, saying only, "We've made no announcements at this time."
Just to be clear, you won't be able to physically share apps, but you may be allowed to recommend them to friends or family. So let's say you are playing a totally awesome game on your iPhone within close proximity of one of your friends and you want to play that game against them over Bluetooth (which will be allowed in iPhone OS 3.0). With this new app sharing feature, if your friend doesn't own the game, you can simply send them a link to it and have them download it immediately without having to search for it. Plus, you may even get a kickback!
This feature would definitely help sell more applications, but what about app peddlers? It will be like virtual street corners, everywhere you turn people will be pushing their "recommended" apps on you. Alright, so that probably won't happen, but still, it doesn't make up for Apple taking away our ability to re-download apps directly from our iPhones. As you can tell, we are still kind of upset about that.