Apple hires unofficial iPhone SDK author

I was intrigued by news from the Mac forums that Apple has quietly hired Lucas Newman, the author of the popular unofficial iPhone software development kit from Delicious Monster.

Newman is perhaps best known in iPhone circles as the author of Lights Off, the first dedicated iPhone game and, say the forums, his programming prowess on the iPhone is legendary.

Many reports suggest this great news for the iPhone and its future, but a little voice in my head tells me that his programming talents could well be put to good use within Apple, to develop the platform further as a closed environment.

His effective removal from the the `free world' of the iPhone means there is one less serious person to develop applications and other systems software for the Apple handheld.

Of course, we may yet see the fruits of Newman's labours from Apple in the New Year.

It may just be me being cynical about Apple's closed - and revenue maximising - master plan for the iPhone...