iPhone SDK (software development kit) announced

As noted in a previous thread, in which almost no one has commented,* Apple yesterday announced the availability in February 2008 of a software development kit for iPhone developers.

A note from Steve Jobs was posted to Apple's Hot News site, which reads:

Third Party Applications on the iPhone
Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.
It will take until February to release an SDK because we’re trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once—provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc. This is no easy task. Some claim that viruses and malware are not a problem on mobile phones—this is simply not true. 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. And since the iPhone is the most advanced phone ever, it will be a highly visible target.
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.
We think a few months of patience now will be rewarded by many years of great third party applications running on safe and reliable iPhones.
Steve

This means that registered developers will be able to—within guidelines established by Apple—create iPhone specific applications which can then be installed on individual iPhone and iPod touch devices. This development addresses the long held desire by users that their favorite business tools, such as Microsoft Office an Epocrates for medical professionals—not currently available for installation—may ultimately be ported to the iPhone.

Watch for announcements of iPhone and iPod touch support from major developers and from small application niche-specific developers in the coming months!

*The fact that there has been so little discussion of this announcement greatly surprises me, as a huge number of pre-release iPhone forum messages concerned the lack of support for third-party applications, and many users still post queries about when or if such options will be made available.

Edited to include this note: This matter, along with an unrelated but interesting twist to the reported availability of an iPhone in France is also now being discussed here.

Edited once again to note that an additional related thread has popped up.