Mobile application development tools vendor Rhomobile plans to unveil on Wednesday an extension to its software-as-a-service platform that will enable developers to build applications for Apple's iPhone via a Windows PC.
The RhoHub cloud platform now lets developers on both Macs and Windows boxes build native applications for iPhone, RIM BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Google Android phones, Rhomobile said. Previously, iPhone development was restricted to Apple's Mac.
[ Third-party iPhone app development has been Wild West scenario, but Apple recently removed some restrictions on rival developer tools. | Keep up with app dev issues and trends with InfoWorld's Fatal Exception blog and Developer World newsletter. ]
iPhone developers can write applications in HTML, JavaScript, and Ruby instead of Objective-C, according to Rhomobile. Applications also can be built for Apple's iPad and iPod systems.
"Our goal is to allow developers to leverage their existing skills to create powerful native apps that work across all major smartphones," said Rhomobile CEO Adam Blum, in a statement released by the company. "With RhoHub 2.0 we introduced the ability to use your preferred local editor while performing hosted builds. Now developers can use either a Mac or Windows-based PC to create apps for the iPhone, giving developers unrivaled flexibility."
RhoHub is based on the company's Rhodes platform and integrates with Rhomobile's RHoSync standalone sync server for enterprise data. IPhone developers can leverage the RhoHub RhoSync server to test and deploy sync-enabled Rhodes applications.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comments Tuesday on Rhomobile's announcement.
This article, "Rhomobile brings iPhone app dev to Windows PCs," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in business technology news and get a digest of the key stories each day in the InfoWorld Daily newsletter.
Read more about developer world in InfoWorld's Developer World Channel.