March 7th, 2008 | 
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Apple wants the iPhone to become a business email gadget – and a portable video game machine that might also help users manage their health records.
To help fuel that transformation, the company is teaming with a prominent venture capital firm to offer $US100 million to lure developers to the iPhone to create the next generation of applications.
Cupertino-based Apple unveiled new software on Thursday that reflects its intensifying effort to court business customers and placate third-party developers who want to build iPhone applications but have been locked out. A beta version of the free software update went out Thursday; the full version will be available in June.
With the announcements, Apple is foraying beyond the consumer mobile phone market while simultaneously supporting innovations for the phone that could spur sales. But not all developers will be happy with Apple’s approach, since the company will retain tight control over what programs go on the iPhone…
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