News of Apple’s RoadMap event on March 6th has not only given third-party developers something to look forward to, but reignited discussion of which category the iPhone itself fits into.  Obviously PHONE Magazine will be there next week, Live Blogging the event to bring you all of the details as Steve and his friends discuss the next phase of their already-iconic cellphone, but the longer-term question is whether official non-Apple software will be enough to convince analysts and IT professionals that the iPhone is a true smartphone. 

“It turns out that [the iPhone] will be closed to third party applications. Therefore we must conclude at this point that, based on our current definition, the iPhone is not a smartphone: it is a very high-end feature phone” Philip Solis, ABI Research 

Back in January last year, ABI Research’s Philip Solis denied that the iPhone could be properly discussed in the same breath as a Treo or a Windows Mobile handset; their definition of a smartphone was something open to third-party apps produced in a competitive environment.  Since then, the iPhone hacking community and their tireless efforts to keep the handset ‘Jailbroken’ has blurred this differentiation between Apple’s handset and rivals; similarly, sales of the iPhone have seemingly not been dulled by the extra, unofficial steps necessary to install software. 

Official, sanctioned software - with the support of Apple and the reassurance that the iPhone’s warranty will not be affected - would tick one of the final boxes left unsatisfied in reviewers’ minds.  The phrasing of the RoadMap invite, “learn about the iPhone software roadmap, including the iPhone SDK and some exciting new enterprise features”, suggests another of the stumbling blocks might be rectified: Exchange support for true push-email, finally bringing the iPhone into the business fold.

Of course, not everything is 100-percent rosy. Our sister-site SlashGear is reporting on rumors that Apple’s upcoming SDK announcement is not, in fact, to launch the iPhone’s software development kit, but in fact only a beta; suspicions are that Apple is yet to finish it, and as such will delay the full launch until the WWDC during the Summer.

Late or not, though, the SDK will eventually arrive and with it the next stage of the iPhone’s life.  Accused of being too tightly controlled by Apple - both the locked-down OS and the constant battle between firmware updates and Jailbreak methods - the success of the handset as a true smartphone will depend on how loosely they police third-party applications.  Back in November Apple confirmed that it would be implementing digital signatures in order to track software and confirm legitimacy.

“That way if there’s something wrong with an application, you have a way to track it back to where it came from.  So one of the things we want to do, again, is create a development environment that is going to maintain the security and reliability of the iPhone yet at the same time offer developers some really cool things that we can do” Greg Joswiak, iPod and iPhone marketing chief, Apple

Too loose, and they run the risk of the iPhone becoming tainted in the same way Windows Mobile is sometimes criticised: that less than perfect software spoils the carefully crafted experience and sours user impressions.  Too tight, and the iPhone may not be taken seriously as a true Enterprise-capable device.  But if there’s one thing Apple have shown us, it’s that, perhaps better than any other company, they’re eminently capable of treading - and, more importantly perhaps, willing to try to tread - the difficult centre balance.

We’re really interested to hear your opinions on the iPhone and the ongoing “is it a smartphone?” debate - let us know your thoughts in the comments.  And remember, join us on March 6th at 10am PST for our Live Blog of the Apple RoadMap event!