Looking at the 2007 WWDC press release, it looks like Web apps was they way Apple seriously wanted to go: "Developers can create Web 2.0 applications which look

Looking at the 2007 WWDC press release, it looks like Web apps was they way Apple seriously wanted to go: "Developers can create Web 2.0 applications which look and behave just like the applications built into iPhone, and which can seamlessly access iPhone’s services, including making a phone call, sending an email and displaying a location in Google Maps." If nothing else, it gave them a much larger potential developer base than relying on native development alone and by sticking to standards it insures that the iPhone would always have a place in the table.