After Apple iPhone developers have already had a couple of volleys with hackers who want to run 3rd party applications on the new phone Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, has today let the hacking community know that they can stop, or at least slow down for a few minutes. Jobs has announced that Apple is going to open up both the iPhone and the iPod Touch for third party application development on the device in February of 2008.

Prior to this the only way to get any third party applications on the iPhone was through an “open” platform on the Safari web browser which runs on the device and was still fairly limiting. Jobs attributed the these development restrictions to security issues stating that open development increases risks of viruses. He also states that these security risks are also why it will take until February to release an SDK for developers.

“Some claim that viruses and malware are not a problem on mobile phones—this is simply not true,” writes Jobs. “There have been serious viruses on other mobile phones already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell network. As our phones become more powerful, these malicious programs will become more dangerous.”

Making this announcement four months early is a good move for Jobs. This lets people know before making their holiday shopping decisions that the iPhone will be able to do much more early next year without having to risk “bricking” it with a illegal hack. Soon after the SDK release in February it wouldn’t be surprising to see applications for the iPhone that support Skype VoIP calls, more games and additional communication tools for email and IM. The development kit will likely still come with its restrictions but it’s a step in the right direction and comes as welcome news to many application developers and both existing and potential iPhone owners.

Apple News Release