A note to both Apple and iPhone customers on the v1.1.1 update
By Ryan Block 
posted October 1st 2007 12:04PM
posted October 1st 2007 12:04PM
We're in a unique position here at Engadget, serving the technology community, while simultaneously interacting with and trying to make sense of the moves of the companies our readership patronizes. Apple's latest iPhone firmware, as you've probably heard, locks out third party applications, consequently preventing owners from using their device on networks other than AT&T -- so it's easy to see why this is being viewed as a hostile act, with thousands ready to storm the Cupertino castle in order to get their hacked iPhones back the pre-v1.1.1 status quo. Make no mistake about it, whether you care about the iPhone or not, this 150MB software update is uniquely controversial and causing a rift -- if not an outright adversarial relationship -- between Apple and untold thousands of its core customers, who've used Engadget comments, blogs, and any other sounding board at their disposal. So, may we have a word with both parties? Now, we're not going to assume we could possibly be the arbiter of a discussion so complex as this, but we think there a few things both parties should remember. Let's start with the iPhone users. Note: to be clear on nomenclature, when we say a device is "bricked", we mean it's completely unusable, not just that it's been re-locked to AT&T, or had 3rd party app support disabled, ok?
iPhone users,
We know you're incensed. You paid a premium price for a powerful phone with a lot of untapped potential, and only a few weeks after the third party iPhone community got to work on a slew of surprisingly well made apps -- including the holy grail of SIM unlock software (both free and paid) -- Cupertino drops the hammer and shuts it all off in the blink of an eye, in some cases even resulting in the bricking of your device. But before you grab a torch and a pitchfork, there are a few things you should know.
Apple's first mistake in this mess was the ominous sounding announcement they released last week, a few days ahead of the update. Here's the clip from the release:
"Apple has discovered that many of the unauthorized iPhone unlocking programs available on the Internet cause irreparable damage to the iPhone's software, which will likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed. ... 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."
Apple's intentions here are perfectly clear and normal -- almost any electronics company out there will tell you that their customers are discouraged from hacking their devices, as it invariably voids the warranty and might be liable to cause issues in the future. And here's why this announcement was a mistake: Apple conflated the issues of SIM unlocking and/or adding 3rd party software with the anticipation of bricked devices. Basically, Apple sought to preemptively blame the 3rd party iPhone software community for any devices that their software update might brick. In the end, stating that the application of v1.1.1 to hacked phones "will likely result in ... permanently [inoperability]" ultimately makes Apple look like they're targeting thousands of iPhone modders -- which is why this press release is biting them in the ass.
There are a lot of Apple customers out there who have, indeed, had their devices bricked by v1.1.1. We can't say for sure how many, but we do know that blog authors to New York Times writers like Saul Hansell and Katie Hafner have leveled the pointing finger at Apple for targeting those adding software, in no small part due to the press release above. Apple's relationship with its customers is souring because, at the outset, many are starting to believe that the v1.1.1 is nefariously bricking hacked or modded devices; that Apple is somehow hell bent on punishing iPhone users who don't want to use the device Steve's way.
Unfortunately, we suspect the truth isn't quite such a juicy story for those looking to lay blame. We've seen just as many reports of legitimate, "factory fresh" users getting bricked iPhones as those who've just added apps, SIM unlocked their devices, or done both. In fact, besides a lot of hearsay and anger from the tech community, we've seen absolutely nothing which indicates to us that Apple is targeting users who've hacked their phones and is bricking them on update. In an informal and totally unscientific poll here on Engadget, the number of iPhone users who had never hacked their device but wound up bricked was very similar to the number of users who did hack and brick their device -- and that's even with polls showing far more voting users hacked their phones than not.
Without any correlation in bricking between hacked and unhacked iPhones, it's easy to imagine the v1.1.1 update went out without proper QA testing, and is bricking a certain number of phones indiscriminately. For further detail, we asked iPhone hacker extraordinaire Erica Sadun, of our sister blog TUAW, to weigh in. She said iPhones upgrading to v1.1.1 appear to have a completely "random distribution of bricks", implying the far simpler and likelier explanation is that the update was rushed to meet its release deadline. We know Apple promised the update would be out by September's end, and considering how much iPhone software was changed with this update, it stands to reason that Apple worked until the 11th hour just trying to finish up and push it out the door -- not testing it exhaustively for weeks before shipping to consumers.
So before you pick up any real bricks for hurling through Apple windows in a moment of frustration, consider the possibility that some potentially poor choices decisions on Apple's probably may have led to bricked devices, and the appearance might be that Cupertino is out to get you for hacking your phone. We sincerely doubt it's anything that nefarious. But totally locking down the iPhone doesn't exactly whet our whistle, either, so don't worry, we've still got an earful for Apple, too.
Ok, Apple.
Look, you've so seriously backed yourself into a corner on this one. We know you think you can't really be taking away what you never actually gave us. That we were all living on borrowed bits, so to speak, so tough luck when an update breaks something you didn't authorize -- and to a certain extent that's actually a fair stance to take. But the reality of the matter is that the consumer electronics market has changed, and consumer expectations don't just match what's on the spec sheet. We know that you've been extremely clear about what the iPhone does and doesn't do since day one, and we stand by our initial iPhone review -- we reviewed the iPhone as the device it was on the day of launch, not the device it might one day be. But we still think clamping down the iPhone is really bad news for consumers.
The first mistake that was made leading up to this whole debacle was enticing the hacker community to develop for the iPhone. Let's be fair, that's exactly what happened, you can't play innocent here. At Macworld Steve got up on stage and talked about how advanced the iPhone is running a "sophisticated" operating system like OS X, enabling the development of "REAL desktop-class applications", and "not the crippled stuff you find on most phones", only to demand the development community sandbox its functionality in mobile Safari. That's not dangling a carrot in front of the mule, that's just tempting fate.
The second mistake was loosing the iPhone in such a way that it was so easily broken into. We don't mean to trivialize the Apple's work in getting the iPhone out the door on time, or the open source community's work that went into gaining access to the iPhone and making it ripe for 3rd party development, but it was only a matter of days before iPhone hackers got root access to the device. At its core, jailbreaking an iPhone is just a matter of editing a small number of Unix files, which opens up the rest of the phone -- that's like complaining your encryption sucks when you're using ROT13. If you were so against users developing for the iPhone, you should have taken the precautions you took with the iPod touch (which is encrypted to all get out) when initially releasing the iPhone. But now you've convinced buyers of the iPhone's power to run "desktop-class applications" and then practically left the door open. This isn't a fun while it lasted kind of situation, this became the status quo. With AppTapp, 3rd party apps became so easy to install on the iPhone it was practically an undocumented feature.
The third mistake was putting out that press release, which could be construed as being intended to preemptively shift the blame of iPhone brickings to 3rd party iPhone software. There's simply no correlation between iPhone modding and bricking with v1.1.1. So far as we can tell, this fairly major iPhone update just wasn't properly tested, and it's bricking iPhones randomly and indiscriminately, killing just as many hacked devices as unhacked devices. To us this smacks a lot of the FUD we heard from Steve earlier this year, when he said, "You don't want your phone to be an open platform. ... [AT&T] doesn't want to see their West Coast network go down because some application messed up." There's obviously been no shortage of software-adding iPhone users, and yet the wireless company having trouble with uptime these days is RIM.
There has never been a question of whether you have the right to re-lock the iPhone -- that's more or less indisputable. We may own the hardware, but you own the IP, and while you can't really force us to upgrade, the free market says you can upgrade in countless ways you see fit. But with the damage done, for many users the iPhone lockdown has become a question of motive. We may never learn the true reasons why, but it seems only fair to pontificate, especially given Steve's comment in London about the iPhone becoming a cat and mouse game: "[Is Apple] the cat or mouse?"
Perhaps this is cause and effect of the SIM unlock solutions. Perhaps someone in accounting ran the numbers and figured out that Apple, which has unprecedented revenue sharing deals with its wireless carriers, will lose more money from people unlocking iPhones (which requires some level of 3rd party openness to accomplish) than it would from just selling the things outright -- therefore, in order to lock out the SIM unlock software, the only solution was to lock out ALL software. Or perhaps you're simply contractually obligated to prevent iPhone unlocks from occurring at all costs. (Knowing how much power Apple wields, though, it's hard to believe Steve wrote a blank check to ensure iPhones stay locked at all costs, including customer satisfaction.)
Or maybe it's because you intend to launch an iPhone software publishing service. Sure, why not? It's clear 3rd party apps are on the docket, we've heard way too many hints to think otherwise. And since you so closely control the hardware and software, maybe you're thinking of a more game console-like approach, like the way you sell iPod games -- offer customers only Apple-approved 3rd party iPhone software via iTunes. Developers get their apps certified, users get ease of installation and the assurance that their iPhone won't be knocking out AT&T's West Coast network (har), and Apple gets a cut of the cash. If that is indeed what you're doing, Apple, it sounds to us like you're in for a world of pain. The only thing worse than taking something away is taking it away only to offer it back for money.
Look, we, your users, are smart, and we demand more from every company we buy from. And as a consumer electronics company, you have a responsibility to your customers to continuously provide more. You can't put your Lego model in a kid's hand and throw a fit out when they make something better than you did. Like it or not, 3rd party developers found a way into the iPhone, thus fulfilling the inherent expectation that the iPhone should be an extensible platform. Whether or not you choose to publicly acknowledge it, that expectation is there, period. Sure, you can try to see this one through, but from where we sit in the middle, an inordinate number of first adoptors, smartphone user that switched to the iPhone, people that comprise your core customer base are starting to see you as villainous and money grubbing.
So why not let Steve give another a press-stopping mea culpa, giving your customers what they want (hey, maybe even throw in an SDK while you're at it?). Make developing for the iPhone as free and open as it is for every other smartphone around, and you still get to come out on top as the company that listens to its customers above all. Sure, the SIM unlock software might still be out there, but you can't fight this thing forever, the hackers will always catch up, and every wireless carrier in the world knows that. At a certain point you're expected to do the right thing for the people keeping you in business, and we think that's happening right now. Even if it is contractual obligation with the carriers that Apple must stop iPhone unlocking at all costs, isn't the buying public at least worthy of an explanation? Enough with the silent treatment, Apple. A lot of people handed over a lot of money for a cellphone, and we think it's time for some answers -- even if they're the answers we don't want to hear.
Image by Refracted Moments. Big ups to Erica at TUAW and the iPhone Dev Team.
God what a bunch of whining little bitches some of you are. Apple is not out to make YOU special little hardware platforms to hack at your heart's content. They're out there to MAKE FREAKING MONEY. Apple is not some renegade tech company, some cyberpunked design house of computing, they're BIG business. Part of their business is locked into contract with AT&T, and they're put in a position to honor those contracts.
If you want a phone you can hack, go freaking buy one that will let you. Quit bitching that your mommy won't breast feed you anymore. It's a goddamn cellphone. I'm so fucking sick of seeing all these goddamn iPhone articles on Engadget followed by 100 comments where all you bitches come screaming and stamping your feet. Just stop!
The first and biggest mistake Apple made with the iPhone is to not give it to every carrier to sell it and also not offer it unlocked on their store. The N95 is unlocked 750$ they could defo sell the iPhone for 600$ - 700$ unlocked as a device or subsidised for 200 - 300$ through any carrier that wanted it.
No issues with locking/unlocking no issues with unhappy ATT that is giving Apple loads of money for a privilege that is taken away from it in a blink of the eye.
Apple got greedy as in VERY greedy and now they are paying the price in bad publishing and unhappy customers/partners. Maybe they will learn... or not.
Nobody promoted and facilitated unlocking iPhones more than Engadget. Some of your readers have $400 or $600 bricks because you made it sound cool and hip to crack the lock and linked to the unlockers. You share some of the blame for the bricks.
I note that Apple's stock is at an all-time high today, so maybe ths isn't quite the crisis for Apple that you portray it to be. I've got an iPhone that works great, love that new update that's letting me download songs directly to the iPhone using Wi-Fi. If someone wanted to think outside of the box and hack their devices, then they took the brick risk.
Dear Apple,
If you would have only sold your phone exclusively through ATT stores your PR world wouldn't be in such a mess right now. Every buyer would have had to sign up for a contract with ATT before walking out the door. If this were the case then you would have the early-cancellation fee to pad your pockets when people left and unlocked.
So, no wifitunes for me. I'll stick with my 3rd party native apps (and ATT, for now).
So I guess it is wrong for Apple to make a contractual agreement with AT&T that the iPhone will work ONLY on AT&T's cellphone system for a period of 5 years and then to make an effort to uphold their side of the agreement???? Sure, unlocking a phone has been declared by the copyright office to be legal in some ways, but the "unlocked" phones you see at CompUSA, etc are not tied to any particular service and sold by those services at any of their stores for the most part. This is different, the iPhone is sold at Apple Stores and AT&T to work ONLY on AT&T Wireless.
To bitch because you are violating your service and hardware agreements and bricked your phone in the process is just plain silly.
Apple in their statement issued last week warned of possible problems with UNAUTHORIZED unlocking and UNAUTHORIZED third party software. At this date, there are NO AUTHORIZED programs and third party software for the iPhone, so their warning was perfectly logical and sensible.
If I got extra money, I'd probably buy iPhone.
What is apple making from att? 10 bucks a month? So in 2 years they make 10x24 = $240 per subscriber. But not everyone signs up with att (hackers/unlockers/etc). So maybe $200 per user per phone life cycle? I would gladly pay you $200 extra upfront (which I had already done) if you unshackle this phone from exclusive contracts with phone providers. This will also allow you to open up the device to third party developers also since you won't have to worry at&t's west coast network going down.
Last I heard they take 20% out of the bill of each and every iPhone customer. That is around 300-350$ per contract extra at least. It assumes the cheapest tariff and that the customer in the whole 2 year period never goes above his tariff. So I am guessing Apple is making a handsome chunk of money. Over here in the UK that is supposedly even higher at 40% the revenue...
But the point is that you are right. Their first priority should be to further proliferate their platform as much and as widely as they can. They make loads of money anyway, I wonder if a couple hundrend million extra a year is worth all this beating it is getting and all those unhappy customers...
I really don't care, this happens all the time and consumers will be pissed initially and then they will just continue to hack it and use it.
Happened to xbox mod
Happened to a Mio GPS that they didn't hand out newer map for free.
This is why HTC Kaiser and the TYTN / 8525 / Hermes 100 rule. None of this B.S.
absolutely amazing article.
this is why i love engadget, they do for me, what I can't do for myself.
You void your warranty, you take your chances. Case closed.
Stop the whining!
I would probably be classified as an "Apple Fan boy", but I really can't understand why people are getting so upset!.
When I bought my iPhone I bought it knowing that I would be required to use ATT with a 2 year commitment. I also new that the iPhone was locked down in terms of adding third party apps and I did not mind.
I have in the past with other devices been the first to add any interesting hacks/ 3rd party apps to them, but with the iPhone I want a stable and reliable device and I new that if I started hacking it I would stand a good chance of loosing this.
Additionally, I am also confident that over time Apple will continue to enhance and evolve the iPhone, just like the did with the 1.1.1 firmware update where they added the WiFi iTunes store which I think is an amazing app in terms of its interface and the way it performs.
People that choose to hack and/or unlock their phone must have done so knowing that there was an element of "danger/risk" in doing so and therefore I have to assume that they freely accepted these consequences.
I do not believe that Apple have done anything malicious in the 1.1.1 firmware in terms of punishing anyone and it is also not unreasonable for them to want to protect the work they have done in developing the iPhone and making it the enjoyable user experience that it is.
Just my opinion.
If this were a Bailey's commercial, I'd say 'Sense of schadenfreude'... but I'm not going to go that way.
First off,"We're in a unique position here at Engadget, acting as a voice for the technology community,..."? Dudes, you're more like bunnies with loaded guns. You don't really speak for the technology community. I know you do NOT speak for my views because your views are often diametrically the opposite of mine. Give me a column on Engadget and then you'll have someone who represents my views and the other people who aren't affected by Jobs' reality distortion field... :) You speak for your own views, which, let's face it, are intentionally 'in your face' to draw readers who are with you (mostly Apple fans) or against you.
You've been successful at this (in an National Enquirer sort of way) to the point where you've actually managed to inflict damage on companies, including Apple - ironically - which makes you dangerous because you still haven't realised the damage you can do (or if you have, you've chosen to ignore it - which I find mindnumbingly irresponsible).
You claim no bias, but come on. Just run back and compare your review of the Zune and your review of any Apple product. Read your comments on Microsoft or of any other company you decide to go on a vendetta against. Objective you are not. To be honest, no one expects you to be - but to try and tell us you're not biased is insulting to us and could possibly indicate some form of collective dementia on your part.
As has been noted, 40% of your readership thinks you post too much Apple stuff. I suspect you'd have a hard time getting that high a number if you substitute any other company in for "Apple".
Now on to the meat and potatoes.
When the iPhone came out and its shortcomings - yes, it has them - were identified, the uniform reaction wasn't "Damn Apple for building a half-assed phone", which is what you'd have said if anyone else had built it; it was "well, they'll fix it in the future, or someone will hack it and build new stuff...", which they did.
However, what you missed was that unlike any other phone maker (that I'm aware of), Apple actually makes money from the iPhone's *use* on the AT&T system. This is an unusual situation that could only have happened because of the nearly irrational level of coverage the phone got. The media (ie: groups like Engadget) so overhyped this phone that they literally GAVE Apple the ability to go to AT&T and say 'give us a cut of your phone revenue or we don't give you the GodPhone'. What amazes me is that even NOW, you guys seem desperate to find a way to make Apple the good guy (or at least, the unwilling bad guy) in this story.
So, let's cut to the chase. In North America, where there are no unlock laws, a phone company has zero legal obligation to unlock your phone or even to make it possible to unlock a phone. Yes, a recent law in the US has made it legal TO unlock your phone, but it doesn't put any obligation on the phone company to do it for you. So, AT&T has no financial or legal incentive to give you a way to unlock it or to let you install software.
Moreso, *Apple* has no legal obligation to let you unlock your phone or install software - and they have plenty of financial incentive NOT to let you do that as your jumping to another carrier means Apple loses revenue.
Anyone with an IQ of 50 should have seen this coming.
Let me recap in small words: Apple and AT&T have *nothing* to lose and tons to gain by keeping the iPhone locked up tight. Period. People are still going to buy them because they're still the most hyped phone out there and most people just don't care about unlocking their phones or going through risky hoops to install stuff on their phone.
By putting it the way they did, they put it completely out in the open: you unlock your iPhone or install software we didn't approve and your phone may go bye-bye. At the very least, you'll lose all of that if Apple decides to reset the phone.
It's just that simple and it affects a very small number of people.
If you wanted an open phone that's easy to unlock, you should have gone with a Windows Mobile phone. You went with the iPhone instead because you thought it was slicker, cooler and easier to use.
You made your choice. Live with it.
Engadget, you've got it way wrong. There is a 100% chance that if you've got a SIM unlocked phone and you apply 1.1.1 that you'll end up with a brick.
There is only a slight chance if you've got an jailbreaked phone or a virgin phone that hou'll get bricked.
This is not a random distribution, this is wishfully thinking "Hey maybe Apple isn't really picking on the modders."
Do people not know how to use their scroll wheels?
The majority of posts I see on blog sites do not interest me. Guess what I do...scroll past them!! Genius!
What is the point in complaining about a post not tailor made for you?? Engadget and all other blog sites will at times have posts that may not relate to you...get over it.
i absolutely love apple.. always have. i bought macs, power macs, ibooks, powerbooks, macbooks, imacs, ipods and the iphone.. i love their software, hardware and their look. BUT, i am having serious doubts with this whole iphone/att thing.. why not just fooking sell the phone and not bother with Att.. this would have prevented a lot of problems and also having the SDK.. it's actually a good thing: a million people can think of more ideas than just a few dozens. Let the developers, the person with an idea, the little guy develop his own thing and get it to market.. to our handsets... this is very annoying: it's like you want to fail and piss us off.. get it together apple... it's time you evolve and start thinking differently.........
Engadget, you are missing the point here.
1) The iPhone is a computer.
2) I own my iPhone. My iPhone belongs to me, it is no longer the property of Apple Computer, Inc.
2) My iPhone is NOT:
• an iTunes cash cow
• a mobile Mac OS test platform
• a marketing vehicle for Apple and its business partners
• a device whose use is restricted by "terms of use"
• licensed hardware
3) The software installed on the iPhone on June 30 BELONGS TO ME. Apple cannot modify it without my permission.
4) The software used to connect my iPhone to my computer ("iTunes") belongs to me. Apple cannot modify it without my permission.
And indeed Apple asks permission. And I decline their requests.
you got it all wrong.. it's called copyrights.. it's like when a movie is made and you buy the dvd.. yes you can play the dvd.. but you can't edit the movie and say it's yours. it's still their intellectual property.. it's like that for everything in this world.. music, photographs, movies, and yes code/programs
the hardware is yours, but not the software running it..
now i am mad at apple as well for not thinking of what we would want to do with our phones and not providing a legal way to do it.. like they said in jurassic park.. nature always finds a way..... the same can be said of hackers.
I think you've missed the Terms & Conditions that are attached to both iTunes and the iPhone product.
What? You declare I've got it "all wrong", but then you only object to my statement that you own the iPhone software that you bought? Regardless, you are totally confused pal. Copyrights, software licenses, terms of use -- they're all different, you can't just glob them all together as 'intellectual property' and scurry off. The software on your DVD player belongs to you. Your DVD player's software source code is the property of Samsung. Samsung has lisenced you to use your DVD player software on your DVD player so long as you do not violate any of the specifically prohibited uses they list in the license.
That's it! Everything else is fair game! THE DVD BELONGS TO YOU! THE DVD PLAYER HARDWARE BELONGS TO YOU! THE DVD PLAYER SOFTWARE BELONGS TO YOU! It's all yours! It is YOUR property.
"Editing" your property is completely legal! Yes! Yes it is legal for you to splatter an inkwell on a poster you didn't paint, or snip a ringtone out of a song you didn't compose, or play a Oprah at 1.4x speed so she sounds like chipmunk, or delete all of Clippy's DLLs from MS Office ....... whatever!
FOLKS: you can do anything you want with YOUR property, IT IS YOURS. You just can't disseminate it afterwards!
OK, and enough of referring to people who alter their OWN softare as hackers. You aren't 'hacking' unless you alter somebody else's software, without their permission. You aren't hacking your iPhone when you stick a ringtone on it that you didn't buy from Apple, or when you install software on it that you didn't download from Apple, or a SIM card that doesn't didn't come from one of Apple's business partners.
The iPhone is a computer and a radio.
THAT IS IT.
I remember when Engadget used to be a fun place to visit. All I read here every day is something iPhone-hacking related that only a small minority of people give a shit about. It's amusing for Engadget to make assumptions believing they're talking on behalf of everyone. I guess I'll be removed Endgadget from my RSS feeds then.
Some people want to install 3rd party software on their iPhone, some do not.
If you're not interested in one story or another, scroll past it! It's that simple.
To call everyone a whiner because their opinion differs from yours is absolutely pathetic.
It’s ironic that the people calling others "whiners" are the ones doing all the actual whining. "I want an RSS feed just for me, boo hoo. I don't like so many apple stories, boo hoo".
Thank you Engadget for giving the little man a voice! Apple and most other companies have pretty much stopped listening to individual customers.
I notice the hypocrisy in your comment.
Anyone who had an unlocked phone and installed that update has to be legally brain dead. It was well documented that it would shut down those phones. Even the installer window warned what would happen in BOLD CAPS. So, all the people whining about their phones not working have no one to blame but themselves. If you want to go outside the intended uses of the phone, then you should probably be a little smarter about it.
I bet you Steve Jobs is using the HACKED version as we speak.
I was thinking the exact same thing. People really think all the development guys and the guys who know what cool stuff the phone can do just use a limited stock phone?
Buying a porshe and sticking to 30mph on a race track comes to mind.
"The only thing worse than taking something away is taking it away only to offer it back for money."
.Mac
With millions of people owning iPods and iPhones -- any news about either is big news.
I don't own an iPhone. I've never even owned a Mac, but face it people, these aren't your parents' Apple days. The company's small personal computer market share has nothing to do with its profound place in the handheld industry.
All this whining is amazing. "I f&#ed with the software and hardware of my iPhone, even though I was warned it could screw up my phone. I downloaded an Apple patch even though Apple warned me it could disable hacked phones. Now my phone is junk and it's Apple's fault. Wah! Wah!"
Let's recap:
1. Some iPhone owners decided that they wanted to hack their device. Various unlocking workarounds appeared on the Web, each one WARNING that the hack could brick the phone.
2. Some iPhone owners plunged in anyway. Some got their phones to work, some did not. Some bricked their phones. They all KNEW that they were taking a risk that the phone would be disabled in the present or near future.
3. Apple releases a patch, but BEFORE doing so warned that the patch could disable or permanently damage the machine. My guess is that the patch came with dialogue boxes repeating the warning.
4. Some owners of hacked iPhones downloaded and installed the patch anyway and ruined their phones.
Can these clowns understand that it's their own fault? No one forced them to hack the phone. No one forced them to install the patch. They were warned repeatedly at each step in their path of STUPIDITY.
Finally: do you really think AT&T is going to sit with a thumb up its collective ass and not demand that Apple prevent people from unlocking their phones? The iPhone only exists because a cell phone service provider agreed to put the phone on its network. The carrier did so because it could make a profit. If that carrier can't make money when people abandon its network, it's going to fight to keep them on that network.
It's amazing when adults start behaving like children and demand that companies compensate them for their own rash, unthinking and stupid behavior.
The Apple shareholder's noose has been slipped over it's customer's neck. Hopefully Steve will remove it before the floor drops and Apple becomes Macrosoft. Or even better, before Apple becomes Britney Spears.
I have faith, Steve will start a new private company that will compete with Apple. This would allow him to direct the technology without tether, just like NEXT.
Enough of my caffeinated blurbs. Enjoy your iPhone!
Well said and I totally agree. I also appreciate the reminder of Steve-O making comments on how the iPhone would be developed for and the advantage of the OS. If I hear one more, "you should have researched the phone before you bought it comment." I may puke. It was sold as a device that would continually be updated with new "delights"
Wow. 1.1.1, what a delight.
I have not modded and refuse to. If Apple and Steve-O don't start living up to the promise I will just take my $$ elsewhere and ensure at least one less sale of an iPhone by selling mine. Seriously, are people really OK with the phone having no native MMS or IM capability..?
Kudos on this article Engadget.
TC
Guys, releasing an SDK is easy to do & hard to undo. Apple is absolutely right to wait. They will keep waiting & they're smarter than me & most people on engadget.
Releasing an SDK & then maintaing compatibility with it is a huge bit of work. The longer apple waits the more time they have to work on apps internally where they can rev the api w/o backwards compatibility issues. They can consider, research & prototype java, javascript, other technologies.
Just to repeat: releasing an SDK is easy to do but starts a never-ending obligation. They are absolutely going to take their time & if you disagree the best thing to do is to buy an openmoko or an n95 or a windows mobile smartphone.
I love my iPhone and it is not modded. It is the most fun for me when I'm smokin' a cigar and surfing the web on my balcony! It works well for me and I enjoy using it. I could only use it on one other system if it was unlocked and I never leave the country and don't plan to. The phone works well for me too and I love th ipod function. I use that a lot also. The youtube stuff is great too. I love the darn device. I use it for business and personal stuff. I think a lot of people need a life.
Ryan and all the "heavy" users may think I'm a loser user, but I am into gadgets far more than the average person and I think the iPhone is great as is. It needs a lot of other cool stuff, but I am sure it will develop.
Is it really that serious?!?!?! I think time and energy could be better spent towards topics and ideas that directly effect us.
War in Iraq, anyone?
Dude, check the URL you typed into your browser.
How is the war affecting you? I bet everything I own that you're tucked away safe in a western country where your biggest problem is which pair of sneakers to buy.
Go to IMC if you want to start a hippie rally.
i think this is a fair post. definitely very easy on all the people who are whining about their hacked and unlocked phones not working; even though it's their own fault for doing that in the first place. but overall good.
the "iphone killer" will be apple itself, can i get an amen?
>The second mistake was loosing the iPhone in such a way that it was so easily broken into.
I have nothing to say about the iPhone, but I want to congratulate the author on bagging this extremely rare internet specimen, a correct use of "loosing". Maybe its appearance should be noted on Slashdot - it's quite a feat.
"Note: to be clear on nomenclature, when we say a device is "bricked", we mean it's completely unusable, not just that it's been re-locked to AT&T, or had 3rd party app support disabled, ok?"
Thank You Engadget! This has been one of the most irritating parts of this whole ordeal... misinformation about the term Brick.
By the way, I had an N95 and loved the camera, but the phone user interface and the stupid GPS was so bad, I sold it. It may be better now (the one with 3G), but there's is nothing as nice as the user interface on the iPhone.
good post... and a good discussion!
this blog is preachy, screechy and somewhat pretentious
get a grip - apple broke a load of phones, made some poor excuses like a 3rd party app could break the network and implied the unlocking software caused the problem - then you guys run in flailing like some spastic elementary school teacher and try and soothe both sides with guesswork and compliments
wow
everything people say about blogs being crap is obviously true
This is way too funny. Way to f'ck over your user base rottenapples!
This kinda reminds me of when Creative did something like this to the Vision M players. In a firmware update they took away the ability to record FM without notice (maybe due to pressure from RIAA?). The fan base went up in arms and once it was found out and word got around pretty fast NOT TO UPDATE! People started downgrading and pretty soon Creative woke up. Don't piss off your support base!
While I hate apple and its products, I hope you bricked users get unbricked soon.
Seems to me that the best explanation is the most obvious: AT&T is pissed. Not sure why everyone's in a huff over something that was inevitable.
I do think we're missing a big part of this travesty - AT&T. I think ATT was more involved with the development of the iPhone than we all want to believe.
On the off chance that Engadget or Apple actually read this comment, while I agree that taking something away and then offering it back for money is generally a raw deal, I would actually support 3rd party apps distributed through iTunes as described in the article. I remember when the original palm pilot was being "supplemented" through hacks and half the hacks out there just crashed the thing. Similarly, I find it humorous that the gps iphone hack originally described as kinda sorta working is now portrayed as an essential add on. I think it's worth vetting 3rd party apps to make sure they work, and I think iTunes would be a great single source to distribute them, provided the aps are appropriately priced (
I think people are expecting to much from the iPhone.
When you go to an Apple store and pick up a phone they tell you it’s on ATT Wireless only, it is locked and theses are the apps that are on the phone. You know off the bat you can’t add anymore unless Apple release new apps.
After you purchase it you do what you want but at soon as you cross that line and go against what Apple told you then your on your own.
They never said they would support 3rd party apps only apps thru the browser.
Can you really expect them to support you when you've gone messing with there software EVEN when you where told this is what it is in the beginning.
I'm sorry but no company will support you if you go against what they recommend or say that is the way it is. Maybe you don’t like that the phone is not living up to its full potential or that you don’t want ATT but this is what they offer and that’s all there is and you have to go along with it if you want Apples support.
So you still want to buy it and go against what they say. Sure do it but then Apple will turn a blind eye to you don’t expect any hugs and kisses when something goes wrong and your crying because your phone doesn’t work.
So wipe your tears because you didn’t listen to Mommy Apple and go home and deal will your 400 dollar brick. Maybe next time you'll read your user agreement a little better before you click the accept button.