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iPhone Jailbreaking Still Going Strong
snydeq writes "Despite the productivity promises of Apple's forthcoming 3.0 firmware update, jailbreaking should continue to push the iPhone's productivity envelope, as users increasingly demand the Holy Grail of smartphone power use: applications that run in the background, InfoWorld reports. Copy and paste, video recording and streaming, Internet tethering, and content search are just a few of the features over which iPhone users have sought to jailbreak their devices — a practice Apple itself has done little to crack down on. Jailbreak apps circumvent hardware and software restrictions that Apple says ensure a consistent, responsive user interface and optimal battery endurance. In particular, jailbroken phones can run apps in the background, a capability Apple reserves for its own apps but prohibits in third-party programs. Jay Freeman, creator of the Cydia iPhone installer and Cydia Store, however, believes a free-market approach is the best way to satisfy power users' demands for features without compromising the performance of their iPhones. And given Apple's App Store overcrowding, it seems likely that jailbroken phones and app venues like Cydia Store will continue to be popular with iPhone customers and developers, even after the 3.0 firmware ships."
The reason i have a jailbroken iPhone (legally unlocked, bought it in Italy) is the way the App Store apps are crippled. The apps from cydia have much better functions in many cases, as a simple example the flashlight app, the one from cydia can override the screen brightness settings, which makes it actually work, whereas the official doesn't. Also apps like intelliscreen and others like it make it clear that I will still jailbreak my phone at 3.0.
iPhone is great, but a jailbroken iPhone is AWESOME! Oldschool emulators (Genesis, Nintendo), bash terminal, custom text ringtones, scp/ssh ... it's a fantastic device by itself, but without restrictions it's unbelievably good.