iPhone (and iPod Touch) owners, it’s time to get really happy! Apple has announced that they have plans to officially support 3rd party applications for the 2 incredibly popular products. Steve Jobs said that a full software development kit will be available to designers in February. This support will allow programmers to create apps that will run on the devices without fear of voiding warranties or harming the machines.

In the announcement Steve had some harsh words for the competition, specifically Nokia…the company that earlier ran anti Apple and iPhone ads:

“Some companies are already taking action. Nokia, for example, is not allowing any applications to be loaded onto some of their newest phones unless they have a digital signature that can be traced back to a known developer. While this makes such a phone less than “totally open,” we believe it is a step in the right direction. We are working on an advanced system which will offer developers broad access to natively program the iPhone’s amazing software platform while at the same time protecting users from malicious programs.”

The development of the tool kit will take a little time because Apple wants to do all they can to prevent viruses from infecting the iPhone’s system. I’m sure that this is going to lead to some very useful apps, and it makes the Touch a must buy for me!