Over the last year this blog has argued the case for Apple’s mobile device strategy, I think this post sums it up nicely.

However, while I and every other tech journalist and blogger have been concentrating on the hardware, Apple has been secretly (duh!) plotting its most audacious product to-date.

NB: This is simply speculation, if anyone at Apple is reading this please don’t blacklist me I have Apps to sell.

Remember what everyone said about the iPod? Overpriced, under powered. Remember what everyone said about the iPhone? Overpriced, underpowered, crappy network. What will they say about the Tablet/Slate? Overpriced! underpowered! Can you seen the pattern?

But what made people buy these slow and expensive gadgets — especially when there were obviously superior competitors? iTunes. You heard me, iTunes, I’m no fan — believe me. Even on the Mac is a painful, bloated experience and I’ve heard on Windows is enough to dive you insane. But the infrastructure is what matters.

The humble iPod (later the iPod Classic) had one competitive advantage; a simple, (relatively) cheap and legal way to buy music. The iPhone now has 100,000+ Apps many free (FREE!) and many pointless. But it has an eco-system, and Apple own the infrastructure.

How will this help the iDevice/SteveSlate/WebBook? Applications. Not Apps. Not Widgets. Applications, fully functioning multi-featured Applications. Like Tweetie for Mac or any of the excellent games form Ambrosia.

Apple is going to do for regular software what it’s done for mobile Apps. The same walled garden, with the same terrible approval process and the same $99/year fee.

And as a software developer, I can’t wait. Being listed on the iTunes App Store for Mac will be a sign of quality and a guarantee to users of no viruses or Trojans.

Developers will be able to sell more applications and make more money. Users will have access to 1000s of Apps all with a ‘guarantee’ of quality and all in one place, rated and reviewed. Apple will be happy because it will totally own the device.

The process for developers will be easy, download a provisioning profile form ADC, recompile your application, submit to Apple (wait 4 weeks) and bingo, your application is in front of 20 million people.

So, while we have all been arguing about hardware specs, Apple have been building data centres and working on iTunes X (10).

This will change the way software is sold (certainly on the Mac) and hand Apple a massive piece of the pie. Microsoft have been trying to do this for years, but Apple have almost stumbled upon it. But I can’t help wondering if Steve had this in-mind back in 2001?

Recently Phil Schiller has defended the current App Store:

“We’ve built a store for the most part that people can trust,” he says. “You and your family and friends can download applications from the store, and for the most part they do what you’d expect, and they get onto your phone, and you get billed appropriately, and it all just works.”

I think this adds weight to my argument, Apple want to build a closed, secure eco-system.