In a week since iPhone 3G and App Store launched we have seen the good, bad, and ugly of iPhone apps for sale or free of charge. One question comes to mind: where’s the heck is the Open Source? The guys over at Toxic Software are doing their part via Touch Code but who else?

No doubt the iPhone platform has huge potential, but think how much greater it would be if there was a thriving Open Source community. Open Source would provide a proving ground for aspiring iPhone developers who are struggling to get up to speed with the quirks of Xcode and Cocoa.

My company is willing to do whatever it takes to support Open Source on iPhone. We’ll pay for technology, provide web hosting, sponsor projects, and contribute our own code when possible. I call on other iPhone shops to do the same. It is in all of our best interest as Open Source can go a long way in producing a healthy pipeline of great developers that can be our future employees.

Updates: A comment referred to the NDA Apple has with developers that may currently preclude Open Source iPhone applications. The point of the article is more of a long-term view. Let’s make sure we focus not just on the App Store Economy, but other means of making this platform take off as well.