Who says Apple doesn’t know how to lighten up? It seems like Cupertino is trying to make a few moves that will reduce some of the ongoing complaints regarding their rigid control over every aspect of the iPhone. Last week Wired.com noted that Apple had loosened restrictions on a private API that allowed video capture. As Wired notes today-

As a result, Apple approved Ustream, a live video streaming app that’s free in the App Store. The extra bonus? In addition to streaming-video capability, the app has a video recorder, too — and that also works with older iPhones.

They go on to note that a new app called Camcorder is already available and lets older iPhones (the original and the 3G) shoot video just like their big brother the iPhone 3GS. (Okay, not just like, since they don’t offer the same camera hardware but still, they can record video and that is a good thing!)

The big deal here isn’t so much the video recording, although that WILL be welcome news to everyone who decided not to upgrade to the 3GS, but that Apple made a significant change that lets developers do more than ever before. Does this mean the start of a new trend? Who knows. This is, after all, Apple. But we can sure hope that this opens the door to more flexibility in the coming months.

You can get the Camcorder app HERE. You can get the Ustream app HERE.

via Wired.com