You'd almost have to be living under a rock to have missed the news that Apple will be opening up their iPhone to third party developers. My first reaction to the news was that they were throwing in the towel, giving up, acknowledging there was no way to keep the hackers from prying their way in and providing the average consumer a way to get herself sideways with Apple just because she wanted a cool screen saver program.

But I think it goes deeper than that. I think Apple has made a fundamental choice about whether it wants to be in the software business or the hardware business. I think Apple decided that being in the software business, while potentially very profitable, brought too much risk to their image and standing as the world's best gadget maker.

I think that Apple decided not to do battle against people who sought to unlock their iPhones in order to use them on other phone networks or to load and run third party software. They decided, in effect, not to battle their own customers, not to punish them for wanting more from their iPhones.

Now Apple is sending the message they'll open the phone for software developers, turning the iPhone into a development platform. The move is sure to bring an enriched library of software choices for consumers. It will get Apple out of the never ending cycle of negative publicity for trying to keep the iPhone a closed platform, and relieve them of the costs of countering that negative publicity. It will also let Apple focus on what Apple does best, creating those amazing cool and high-priced, high-margin gadgets we all lust for.

So what does this have to do with investing? Only that the news reminded me about the article I wrote back in April about whether it was time to buy Apple stock.

The chart says it clearly. Apple's stock has done well. It continues to do well. With Apple's decision to focus on what they are absolutely the best in the world at, making insanely great hardware, their competitors had better watch out. They've just simultaneously won over the development community, bolstered loyalty for past and future customers, and removed an enormous threat to their brand and image.