Despite its reputation for keeping a wide array of its projects in-house, Apple is apparently working with other companies to test and develop the long-awaited software development kit for the iPhone and iPod touch devices.

The software development kit, which will allow for the creation of third-party applications, will reportedly ship alongside version 1.1.4 of the upcoming iPhone/iPod touch firmware.

According to Macenstein, Tiny Code, which has functioned as an iPhone jailbreak software developer since the handset's release, has turned gamekeeper. Per a post that was briefly available on the Tiny Code web site (which now routes over to Apple's iPhone developer web site when accessed), the company has been working on both future firmware releases as well as the software development kit with Apple.

The site briefly ran the following message:

“Tiny Code no longer produces fixes or applications for firmware 1.1.3. We can’t say much, but we are working with Apple and with their SDK [software development kit] for the next firmware release and SDK applications and we shouldn’t be missed for long. We will no longer update our Installer.app repo[sitory] for legality reasons and you should see us soon on iTunes," the website claimed.

The post was also tagged up by the following statement:

"TinyCode.com was ordered to be removed from operation by Apple, because by releasing firmware versions and stating I had possession of the firmware and SDK was apparently a violation of the Non-Disclosure Agreement I agreed to when I accepted a copy of the SDK and firmware," the developer explained in a post on the MacRumors website.

These posts imply that Tiny Code came under legal pressure for its development of the Installer.app application repository, but will be involved in selling applications through Apple's iTunes Store.

As always, let us know what you make of this over in the comments and forums.