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Last week, at the D: All Things Digital conference, Steve Jobs relented a bit on Apple's initial reluctance to allow third-parties to develop software for the iPhone.

Apple may have already set this motion. Citing a person briefed on Apple's plans, The New York Times is reporting Apple plans to introduce a software development kit (SDK) that would allow developers to convert 'small' Macintosh apps for use with the iPhone at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference, which takes place in San Francisco next week, on June 11th.

The iPhone runs on a modified and scaled-down version of Mac OS X. So in theory, it should be relatively easy for developers to port their applications to the iPod/smartphone combo.

Apple will surely make all third-party software meet some sort of certification process, as its original reasons for giving them the cold shoulder included security, protecting users from malware, and performance, making sure loading software on the iPhone written by others doesn't muck things up.

The iPhone is due to ship on June 29th. It'll cost $499 for the 4GB model and $599 for the 8GB edition, both with a two-year contract from AT&T (Cingular), which has exclusive rights to the iPhone in the U.S. for the next 5 years.

Apple's goal is to take 1 percent of the mobile phone market, about 10 million units, in 2008 with the iPhone. It may be gearing up to outstrip even that number.

According to Digitimes, Apple is rumored to have recruited a second manufacturer to build iPhones. Foxconn is producing the first version of the iPhone (those designated for the U.S.), while Quanta Computer, which builds iPods, has been chosen to make additional units, which may include a second-generation model.

Perhaps this is the version of the iPhone for Europe? Maybe it’ll include some of the features, such as 3G and a removable battery, Apple has been called out on for not including in the first-generation iPhone model.