Cupertino, Calif. - Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in an open letter on the company's website on Wednesday that the company will in February offer tools to developers looking to create third-party applications for the iPhone. "Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone," Jobs wrote. "We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users."

Jobs said the delay in releasing the SDK comes from the company's desire to balance providing an open platform for developers while protecting iPhone users from viruses, malware and privacy attacks.

He added that the SDK will also allow for development of third-party applications for the recently released iPod touch, which also features the Safari browser and Wi-Fi capability.

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