Online rumors, and at least one BusinessWeek article, are indicating that Apple is planning to release a software development kit in early 2008.  The kit would allow third party developers to create applications and widgets for the company’s popular iPhone. 

This is already happening following the braking of the security on the iPhone by a group of hackers called the iPhone Development Team.  Most users, however, are reluctant to fiddle with their phones or use these new apps due to Apple’s threat of further software updates.  An official development kit would be a good compromise – Apple would retain some control over who gets the kit and which applications they endorse, while users would get the benefit of the creativity and enormous productive potential of third party developers.  Now if Apple would only allow users to cut free of the AT&T cannonball…