After HighTechDad posted a post regarding the “Unlocking” and “JailBreaking” the same thing? Something struck me about this Cat and Mouse game with Hackers and big corporations…
The exact words from Apple PR are..

Apple strongly discourages users from installing unauthorized unlocking programs on their iPhones. Users who make unauthorized modifications to the software on their iPhone violate their iPhone software license agreement and void their warranty. The permanent inability to use an iPhone due to installing unlocking software is not covered under the iPhone’s warranty.

What exactly does this mean? HTD seems to believe the literal. That “unlocking” means to use the phone on another cellular provider, like Tmobile or overseas. Recall the partnership with AT&T that Apple has. They have a five year exclusive agreement in the States. That also means that the more iPhones sold, the more revenue both companies get.

• Apple gets revenue for the sale of the phone (We know about $50 profit for the 4gb flavor and $100 profit for the 8gb flavor) Source: Engagdet.com
• Consumers sign up for a 2 year contract with AT&T.That is revenue for AT&T. (There is also rumors that Apple gets kick-backs for each monthly subscription as well

In business talk, that is the ideal WIN-WIN situation. Both companies generating revenues for x amount of months thanks to an agreement.

More after the jump, but this is a huge post, and an interesting analogy between the iPhone and Sony PSP as well

Now, lets take a step back and look at a different electronic device that was literally saved from 3rd party apps. Enter the Sony Playstation Portable (also known as Sony PSP)

Back in March 2005, when it was first introduced, the device went for $250, with one demo game, a bonus SpiderMan 2 UMD an AC adapter, and a plethora of useless accessories including the remote, case, and headphones. Anyways, at the time, the portable gaming market was heating up since the introduction of the Nintendo DS in Octobert. Lets face it, the DS was still a hot item from the previous holiday season and cost only $149 when it was first introduced.  That left $100 difference for consumers to spend the rest of the money on new games.

• The DS was also backward compatible with most Gameboy games. So a consumer that already had some games from the previous generation would be able to play Gameboy Advance games on their new systems, preserving there library and most importantly their money.
• The PSP was totally different from the DS. It introduced a new UMD format, (basically a small cd enclosed in a plastic case) and it a memory stick Duo Pro add-on. The memory stick wasn’t anything new, but like anything “SONY” it was  propritory, but it was Sony once again introducing new formats… The UMD was Sony’s bet that this would replace DVDs eventually.
• What Sony did not account for was the high price for the UMDs. As DVDs got more  popular and eventually cheaper (from $25 to $20), the price for the same UMD movie was $25 - $30. Also, it did not have any space for the extra features (like deleted scenes, extras and what not) because of space limitations on the UMD.
• Another miss is that UMDS can only be watched on Sony PSPs. There were no UMD players for the home system. It was just a Sony PSP and that’s it. With DVDs, they can be readily played on computers, laptops, home theatre systems.
• Another thing worth noting was that UMD movies were region locked (like DVDs). So you could not watch a Japanese UMD on an American PSP.. wtf

With all these negatives, what kept the PSP living until now? A bit of the success can be attributed to the attention of the games coming out, like Grand Theft Auto: Liberty Cities, Lumines, Metal Gear Acid to name a few. They were also Untold Legends and other games, but at the time not many games were alive.

Here comes the hackers,

There were a bunch of homebrews once people started figuring out the limitations of the 1.5 firmware on the PSP, Sony then  started playing cat and mouse with the homebrew scene. Each new iteration of the hacks allowed Sony to update their firmware to patch the hole. When “hackers” found a way to downgrade your PSP to 1.5 firmware using GTA: LCS from anything between 1.5 to 2.0, Sony re-released GTA:LCS with the exploit resolved. This cat and mouse game continued to this day.

However, the use of  homebrews that allowed games that home users developed and also use of (ISO) games that can be played from the Memory Stick also raises some ethical questions about the process of homebrew. But Sony did leave the PSP firmware largely unchanged. Hackers found a way to integrate the lastest PSP 3.5 firmware (with its web-browsing, PS1 backward compatible games, and Remote Play for the PS3) with the “features” of 1.5 ..

Sony’s PSP, despite any killer games, was kept alive from the homebrew community.  The PSP was overpriced, over inflated with features, and consumers honestly didn’t care for it anymore. Without the ability to play homebrews, the PSP was waiting it death.

Lets bring this back to todays’ discussion with Apple’s iPhone. The way to install 3rd party apps is so easy, and requires almost NO user intervention with syncing. You tap. Pick what you want and download it. Everything is so intuitive that even a child can use it. Seriously.

The iPhone has some great apps, but it’s missing some critical ones like a dedicated AIM client, a ToDo list,  and .. games

Software like Apollo IM, iBlackJack and SummerBoard are just a handful of great apps. Apollo IM finally updated their software to 1.0, enabling MSN, Yahoo and AIM connection through EDGE and WIFI. I have personally tested this with HTD, and it seems to run just fine.

If Apple does not have enough resources to keep up with consumer demand, don’t leave the iPhone’s huge potential out of reach to consumers. What 3rd party developers are doing what kind of applications joe-blow likes to see and use.  There is so much benefit to an open ended system that the potential for future apps becoming better and better is almost guaranteed.

If the upcoming 1.1.1 firmware version stops phones from being unlocked (which 99% it will) then that is fine. I can see where and why this is needed. However, to stop 3rd party apps from being developed is like killing your own potential for applications. Look at how popular many 3rd party apps the Nokia phone has. It’s Java, it’s open source.

Com’on Apple, don’t be like that .. you know you will sell more iPhones when their are new applications out there. Don’t just pretend that this does not exist.

Feel free to chime in with your opinions on the upcoming 1.1.1 firmware release.