Apple nixes OpenClip copy-&-paste attempt for iPhone

 We’re saddened to report an Apple move has stymied attempts to create a copy-&-paste solution for the iPhone. 

We recently introduced the developers at OpenClip who are attempting to create a way to copy-&-paste text between applications on an iPhone. They had a simple plan – Open Clip would essentially save copy you select within an area of the iPhone’s memory which can then be accessed by other apps. And the roll call of developers then planning to use and support the solution includes: Dial Zero, Twittelator, WordPress, Cocktail, Ultralingua and more. And we looked forward to being able to blog a little better using the device.

But things have changed. Apple’s iPhone Software 2.1 prevents OpenClip’s solution copying and pasting between applications, though it will still be possible to store data inside the application, meaning that copy and paste within the app will still work fine. 

The move’s explained on the developer’s blog, where it says, "However, even though apple is killing the concept behind the current OpenClip, that doesn’t mean we can’t change the concept. A shared clipboard could be stored in an Address Book card or even on a remote server. Those solutions aren’t as good as the OpenClip implementation, but they aren’t bad. "

The developer intends creating such a solution, in hope it’s enough to convince Apple that introducing support for copy-&-paste on an iPhone is something people want.

OpenClip doesn’t believe Apple’s 2.1 move is an attempt to specifically prevent the application, saying, "I don’t really believe this to be the case. Even though I debuted to concept before the newest beta was release, I’m sure Apple had been planning to kill this kind of thing for a while."