App Store Piracy Stats

[return7]

Cool info: http://www.pinchmedia.com/blog/piracy-in-the-app-store-from-360idev

[gibbz]

Very cool find. Interesting indeed.

[Pika]

See ? This is big evidence that Jailbreaking = Piracy. I'm fully against Jailbraking and I hope Apple find a way to put an end to this tumor.

All it does is turning a real iPhone into a fake iPhone from china.

[fishkorp]

See ? This is big evidence that Jailbreaking = Piracy. I'm fully against Jailbraking and I hope Apple find a way to put an end to this tumor.

All it does is turning a real iPhone into a fake iPhone from china.

Maybe with your math 38% = 100%, but the way most people count, that's less than half. So no, Jailbreaking != Piracy. A percentage of jailbreakers pirate, but not all, and not even a majority.

I jailbreak because I want things like Notifier, Stack, and GriP. I do not pirate and have no intention to pirate. I'm an app developer myself and fully respect the other app developers' hard work. Every person I personally know that jailbreaks is in the same situation.

[bruinsrme]

Maybe with your math 38% = 100%, but the way most people count, that's less than half. So no, Jailbreaking != Piracy. A percentage of jailbreakers pirate, but not all, and not even a majority.

I jailbreak because I want things like Notifier, Stack, and GriP. I do not pirate and have no intention to pirate. I'm an app developer myself and fully respect the other app developers' hard work. Every person I personally know that jailbreaks is in the same situation.

Good luck arguing any reason with Pika

[MasterDev]

Maybe with your math 38% = 100%, but the way most people count, that's less than half. So no, Jailbreaking != Piracy. A percentage of jailbreakers pirate, but not all, and not even a majority.

I jailbreak because I want things like Notifier, Stack, and GriP. I do not pirate and have no intention to pirate. I'm an app developer myself and fully respect the other app developers' hard work. Every person I personally know that jailbreaks is in the same situation.

Piracy is still a major issue. 38% of 4 Mil is an assload of people.

Most apps are cheap anyways.

[bruinsrme]

Piracy is still a major issue. 38% of 4 Mil is an assload of people.

Most apps are cheap anyways.

40 million iphones
4 million jailbreaks
1.5 withcracked apps or <4% of all users
I bet the music industry would love having <4% of their music that is playing on millions of apple devices not paid for.

[MasterDev]

40 million iphones
4 million jailbreaks
1.5 withcracked apps or <4% of all users
I bet the music industry would love having <4% of their music that is playing on millions of apple devices not paid for.

Good point.

I still don't like piracy.

[return7]

Jailbreaking itself isn't the problem, IMO. Their stats do seem to shoot the "try before you buy" argument out of the water though.


- The average “lite” to paid conversion is approximately 7.4%.

- In fact, pirated-to-legitimate conversions are approximately 0.43%.


40 million iphones
4 million jailbreaks
1.5 withcracked apps or <4% of all users
I bet the music industry would love having <4% of their music that is playing on millions of apple devices not paid for.

I don't believe (unless I missed it) they mentioned how many total devices they've received data from and we can't assume it's 100% of devices since not all apps use Pinch for analytics (or use analytics at all) so I don't think we can say it's 4% or otherwise of the total number out there.

[polobreaka]

See ? This is big evidence that Jailbreaking = Piracy. I'm fully against Jailbraking and I hope Apple find a way to put an end to this tumor.

All it does is turning a real iPhone into a fake iPhone from china.



LOL Pika going again with his Jailbreak laws. hahah

[mrkramer]

See ? This is big evidence that Jailbreaking = Piracy. I'm fully against Jailbraking and I hope Apple find a way to put an end to this tumor.

All it does is turning a real iPhone into a fake iPhone from china.

you obviously didn't read the link or else you would have seen this part.
but it’s worth pointing out that an individual who jailbreaks their phone is not necessarily an individual that steals applications.

[macfan881]

Wow my post was removed lmao Good one. but yeah the piracy is not a big deal Apple needs a better demo/trial service there are way to many apps that cost very high that are bad etc I think all Apps should have a 3-5 day trial it should be a good enough length to decide if you like it or not.

[bruinsrme]

I don't believe (unless I missed it) they mentioned how many total devices they've received data from and we can't assume it's 100% of devices since not all apps use Pinch for analytics (or use analytics at all) so I don't think we can say it's 4% or otherwise of the total number out there.

Here is a report regarding the number of jailbroken units (http://iphonefan.co.za/2009/08/07/cydia-iphone-jailbreak-installed-on-10-of-iphones-and-ipod-touches/)

I agree its tough to put definite number on it since there are 4 tracking companies.
The better the app the more it will be pirated.

[MasterDev]

Wow my post was removed lmao Good one. but yeah the piracy is not a big deal Apple needs a better demo/trial service there are way to many apps that cost very high that are bad etc I think all Apps should have a 3-5 day trial it should be a good enough length to decide if you like it or not.

It's called, "lite" versions. And it's something the developer gets to decide.

By the way, I almost died reading your post. Please, use some punctuation. :D

[macfan881]

It's called, "lite" versions. And it's something the developer gets to decide.


Yes but 90% of the lite versions are crippled down or have features missing or its not even enough of a lite to decide yet, I would like to see something like Verizon has with Get it now were they do trial modes that expire in x amount days and you can have the full version to try out.

[rKunda]

38% is bad. What's worse is the huge amount of pirated apps vs their bought counter parts. It also draws attention to more 'benevolent' JBers like myself. I buy my apps. I like to play with the JB apps, and it would be a bummer to lose them.

I won't be surprised, though to see Apple really work to kill this whole endeavor because of the thievery.

[polobreaka]

if apple is smart enough..they should try to own part of the JB community..

i buy all my apps from the app store and some from Cydia.

[mgamber]

38% is bad. What's worse is the huge amount of pirated apps vs their bought counter parts. It also draws attention to more 'benevolent' JBers like myself. I buy my apps. I like to play with the JB apps, and it would be a bummer to lose them.

I won't be surprised, though to see Apple really work to kill this whole endeavor because of the thievery.

Apple won't have to kill it, developers will abandon it as they realize how far into their pockets piracy reaches. It's happened to various platforms in the past, it'll happen to more platforms in the future, it'll happen to the iPhone. Fewer and fewer new apps show up on the store until one day you notice that there hasn't been anything new in months. Any serious developer is also writing for Blackberry and/or Windows Mobile and/or Android simple to gain exposure and lessen loss. Sure, those platforms have their share of piracy, too, but at least they don't have Apple being a total pain in their ass every step of the way.

I jailbreak my phone for one application, 3G Unrestrictor, which I paid for. How's that for irony?

[bruinsrme]

38% is bad. What's worse is the huge amount of pirated apps vs their bought counter parts. It also draws attention to more 'benevolent' JBers like myself. I buy my apps. I like to play with the JB apps, and it would be a bummer to lose them.

I won't be surprised, though to see Apple really work to kill this whole endeavor because of the thievery.

its not a raw 38%.
Its 38% of the 10% that actually jailbreak.

[OriginalFormula]

Jailbreaking itself isn't the problem, IMO. Their stats do seem to shoot the "try before you buy" argument out of the water though.

How do they calculate those numbers though? They don't really seem to indicate their methodology, especially with results as stirring as these.

[return7]

How do they calculate those numbers though? They don't really seem to indicate their methodology, especially with results as stirring as these.

So each phone has a unique ID. Their analytics software (almost certainly) sends that back to their server to uniquely identify each phone. Said analytics package can also determine whether a copy of an app is cracked or not and relays that information as well. So they store that info in their database. If the app phones home later and isn't cracked, then chances are the user bought the app. Since the phone's ID is the same, they can pair the two and get a percentage of how many people actually paid for the app after having a cracked version. This isn't perfect but it's pretty close. There are loop holes. For example, crackers might change how they crack apps and Pinch's detection might not work anymore. I don't believe this has happened yet.

The Lite-->Full upgrade correlation is a little more fuzzy and they would have had to do some guess work (e.g. substring matching on names like "BillMinder" and "BillMinder Lite" and so one) to get that stat since there's not any way to tell their system (AFAIK) what lite/full versions are a pair. They might have done some other clever tricks but I don't know what those might be off hand. Would have to think about it.

Edit: And I should mention that chances are Pinch Media has some clever hackers (by that I mean good programmers) working for them. Building a decent, scalable analytics app and mining the data isn't easy. Building a crappy one is easy.

Any serious developer is also writing for Blackberry and/or Windows Mobile and/or Android simple to gain exposure and lessen loss.

Yea I gotta disagree w/ you on this one. WinMo isn't exactly a thriving platform right now. And RIM devices are prevalent (3 of 5 top smartphones sold in US ATM, IIRC), but there are different form factors/series to support, which means additional work since one has to write an app a few times (different screen resolutions, OS versions that may not provide as many features/APIs, touch and nontouch screen versions, etc.). Android market is still in its infancy. I think it will grow to a good size over the next 1-2 years, at which point we may jump in. I don't think it's ready to support a business yet. Then again, it's arguable whether the App Store is with its wacky economics. I'm not saying it isn't worth it, just that it's not as easy as just writing another app. Maintenance is not something that should be overlooked. We pour a *lot* (lot lot lot) of time into maintaining/updating BillMinder. And, in my mind, the definition of a "serious" developer is subjective.

Yes but 90% of the lite versions are crippled down or have features missing or its not even enough of a lite to decide yet, I would like to see something like Verizon has with Get it now were they do trial modes that expire in x amount days and you can have the full version to try out.

So it's against the rules to do a time-bombed application because Apple wants "Free" to mean Free on the App Store. Although I wish there were more flexibility there, I get where they're coming from on this one. If the Lite versions weren't crippled somehow, there would be no incentive for users to upgrade. It kind of sucks as a user. We try to leave enough in our Lite app to let users get a good taste of what's available in the full version while still giving them reasons to upgrade. As much as we'd like to help folks with our software, we also want to be paid for our time (as I'm sure everyone does in some fashion -- not necessarily just on the App Store). We're in the process of updating BillMinder Lite -- been busy working on the full version plus other apps. I'm sure you already knew all that but I meant to point out that no one would bother upgrading if the Lite versions weren't slimmed down and that Apple does actually have good reason for this one, as limiting as the reason is.

[cocky jeremy]

See ? This is big evidence that Jailbreaking = Piracy. I'm fully against Jailbraking and I hope Apple find a way to put an end to this tumor.

All it does is turning a real iPhone into a fake iPhone from china.
Wahhhh.

[LSUtigers03]

See ? This is big evidence that Jailbreaking = Piracy. I'm fully against Jailbraking and I hope Apple find a way to put an end to this tumor.


Yes we know and once again no one cares. You're a tumor to this forum but we are forced to put up with you so quit crying.

[Pika]

What did i do wrong ??? I don't pirate. Why are you mad at me. Just be cause i don't support jailbreaking??? :mad:

Without the Jail-Breaking, there would be no piracy on the iPhone.

Jail-breaking is the cause of piracy of iPhones.
Wihout the Jail-breaking, there would be no such thing of pirating the iPhone.

That's my point.

No JB = No piracy

Just look at apple now... they are resistant with the iPhone 3GS 3.1.2 !

Jailbreaking iPhones is something the Dev-Team and others have been able to pull off with every new hardware and software release from Apple. That might halt, at least temporarily, with new jailbreak-resistant firmwares included in the newest iPhone 3GS models.

The Dev-Team and other jailbreak makers have been using an exploit known as 24kpwn to break into the iPhone and obtain deeper access to install new app markets and unlock certain features. A new booting firmware update, iBoot-359.3.2, has been shipped on 3GS models manufactured since last week, however, and a Dev-Team member tells the Boy Genius Report that jailbreaking won't be possible on the newer units, at least until another exploit is found.

Apple is working very very hard to make Jail-breaking impossible and they've been doing the same thing with the OSX86 project as well.

[LSUtigers03]

Your point is that jailbreaking=piracy which is completely false. If Apple didn't rule the iphone with an iron fist then there would be no reason to jailbreak. Apple wants to cry about jailbreaking and say its illegal and they can't see that its their fault that people jailbreak. I mean we just got MMS last month that's pretty sad. If Apple would open up the iphone and give people features that jailbreaking provides then most people wouldn't jailbreak anymore. Jailbreaking will always be around Apple won't stop it. If you want to stop jailbreaking because that's the cause of piracy then why not just shut down the internet since its the internet that provides a way for pirates to do what they do.

[yg17]

What did i do wrong ??? I don't pirate. Why are you mad at me. Just be cause i don't support jailbreaking??? :mad:

Without the Jail-Breaking, there would be no piracy on the iPhone.

Jail-breaking is the cause of piracy of iPhones.
Wihout the Jail-breaking, there would be no such thing of pirating the iPhone.

That's my point.

No JB = No piracy

Uh oh, somebody better call the whambulance :rolleyes:


There's be no piracy without the internet either, but you don't see anyone calling for us to get rid of that. There are tons of legit uses for jailbreaking that don't involve piracy.

[alent1234]

Apple won't have to kill it, developers will abandon it as they realize how far into their pockets piracy reaches. It's happened to various platforms in the past, it'll happen to more platforms in the future, it'll happen to the iPhone. Fewer and fewer new apps show up on the store until one day you notice that there hasn't been anything new in months. Any serious developer is also writing for Blackberry and/or Windows Mobile and/or Android simple to gain exposure and lessen loss. Sure, those platforms have their share of piracy, too, but at least they don't have Apple being a total pain in their ass every step of the way.

I jailbreak my phone for one application, 3G Unrestrictor, which I paid for. How's that for irony?

how many of the blackberries out there are locked down by BES where the user can't install anything?

there hasn't been a hardware/software platform that was 100% immune to piracy

[RappleRapple]

Wahhhh.

http://robdamanii.com/macros/wahmbulance.jpg

[cublah]

Pika is right in a way. I just released an update of one of my apps and within days it was cracked, I had installed analytics in the latest version and got some interesting numbers.

I got 967 downloads in a week.
612 were from people with Jailbroken phones.
599 downloads were cracked!

Hence only 13 people who had a Jailbroken phone paid for my app.

[cublah]

Your point is that jailbreaking=piracy which is completely false. If Apple didn't rule the iphone with an iron fist then there would be no reason to jailbreak. Apple wants to cry about jailbreaking and say its illegal and they can't see that its their fault that people jailbreak. I mean we just got MMS last month that's pretty sad. If Apple would open up the iphone and give people features that jailbreaking provides then most people wouldn't jailbreak anymore. Jailbreaking will always be around Apple won't stop it. If you want to stop jailbreaking because that's the cause of piracy then why not just shut down the internet since its the internet that provides a way for pirates to do what they do.

How can it be Apple's fault? If Apple opened up the phone and you could download anything to your phone, it wouldn't be long before somebody releases something damaging to the phone and unsuspecting people would have huge problems, Apple are only protecting themselves and making sure they can give you users the best they can.

App's are only mainly on average a couple of dollars, most developers release lite versions so people can see what they are getting, so the excuse that people like to play them before they try is just justification by people who download something for free, I'm sure they would complain if they went to work and then at the end of the week they didn't get paid, that's what it's like for the developers.

[bruinsrme]

Pika is right in a way. I just released an update of one of my apps and within days it was cracked, I had installed analytics in the latest version and got some interesting numbers.

I got 967 downloads in a week.
612 were from people with Jailbroken phones.
599 downloads were cracked!

Hence only 13 people who had a Jailbroken phone paid for my app.

After looking at the two games I wouldn't consider making the purchase without trying them. The description of the games and screen shots are extremely lacking.

[err404]

See ? This is big evidence that Jailbreaking = Piracy. I'm fully against Jailbraking and I hope Apple find a way to put an end to this tumor.

All it does is turning a real iPhone into a fake iPhone from china.

According to the numbers ~2,500,000 people have discovered Jailbreaking fills some legitimate need and have not resorted to pirating apps.

In other words Apple needs to be listening since 2.5 million honest users are apparently unsatisfied with the iPhones out-of-the-box experience; enough to push them void their warranty in search of solutions.

[str1f3]

After looking at the two games I wouldn't consider making the purchase without trying them. The description of the games and screen shots are extremely lacking.

That has very little to do with it. I'm sure most, if not almost all, are not buying this game after getting the cracked version which they don't have to pay for and just leave as is. I'm sure it's close to the same percentages with apps that offer a lite version.

According to the numbers ~2,500,000 people have discovered Jailbreaking fills some legitimate need and have not resorted to pirating apps.

I agree and would also say that it seems most of the issue of stolen apps seems to be coming from China (37%), Russia (25%), and Brazil (22%). What a surprise!

In the US, Great Britain and Japan it only accounts for no more than 5% of their respective jailbreak users.

In other words Apple needs to be listening since 2.5 million honest users are apparently unsatisfied with the iPhones out-of-the-box experience; enough to push them void their warranty in search of solutions.

That is true but it should also be said that doing all the things we ask for is no easy task. Backgrounder is just a hack. For example, in order for multitasking to be done correctly on the iPhone the whole OS may have to be redesigned so it can be seamless as much as the iPhone is now. Right now most consider it the best smartphone already w/o these features.

It should be noted that using many use jailbreaking for using apps over 3G that AT&T disallows even though it is their data they paid for. These kind of things are out of Apple's hands. As for Google Voice, it is becoming abundantly clear, by the way AT&T is now going after Google, that they had some serious influence over it's current state of eternal purgatory. They hate Google Voice so much that they would rather allow Skype over 3G.

[cublah]

After looking at the two games I wouldn't consider making the purchase without trying them. The description of the games and screen shots are extremely lacking.

ok that's fine, but that is why I created lite version's, those were my 1st 2 apps and mainly coding exercises, although I have made a fair amount of money from them and I did create an updated version of Ballz! with better graphics and more features.

Each to there own, this is a thread about hacking not bashing other people's apps.

[yalag]

the only reason why anyone would jailbreak is to crack apps. accept the fact

[uberamd]

the only reason why anyone would jailbreak is to crack apps. accept the fact

But that isn't a fact... not at all. I installed stuff like backgrounder, GrIP, and a few others when I jailbroke. Nothing to do with piracy or app cracking.... so you are so wrong its not even funny.

[yalag]

But that isn't a fact... not at all. I installed stuff like backgrounder, GrIP, and a few others when I jailbroke. Nothing to do with piracy or app cracking.... so you are so wrong its not even funny.

either you have cracked apps before, are you belong to the 5%

[Pika]

But that isn't a fact... not at all. I installed stuff like backgrounder, GrIP, and a few others when I jailbroke. Nothing to do with piracy or app cracking.... so you are so wrong its not even funny.

That's another bullock excuse to Jail-break.

Who gives a **** about background ? I care that my phone and my apps doesn't crash. I care to get the latest apple updates ! I care about my warrantee... then a stupid background wallpaper.

The main reason why people jail-break is simple:

- Free Apps
- Free Carrier

It's all about money... I mean look at china... look at the stats... poor and communist countries are high on iPhone Jailbreaking... Why is this??? Why???

[LSUtigers03]

I've jailbroke every iphone that Apple has made and I buy my apps. In fact this morning I added more credit to my itunes account so I could buy more apps. I jailbreak to use things like backgrounder, quickreply (so I can answer a text without leaving the app I'm in), 3g unrestrictor (because the iphone gets treated unfairly when it comes to things like sling), and many other things. Yesterday I noticed some issues with my phone since updating to 3.1.2 so I wanted to set the phone up as new but I didn't want to lose the data for my app store apps. If you aren't jailbroken then you're screwed but if you are jailbroken you can use appbackup to back up your data then restore it so you won't lose it. The legit uses of jailbreaking far outweigh the piracy.

[sharp65]

That's another ******** excuse to Jail-break.

Who gives a **** about background ? I care that my iphone and my apps doesn't crash. I care to get the latest apple updates ! I care about my warrantee... then a stupid background wallpaper.

When your going on a pointless and incoherent rant, it really helps to at least know what your talking about. Backgrounder has nothing to do with changing your background wallpaper. But I know that's probably a lot to expect from you going off what other people have said.

[LSUtigers03]

That's another ******** excuse to Jail-break.

Who gives a **** about background ? I care that my iphone and my apps doesn't crash. I care to get the latest apple updates ! I care about my warrantee... then a stupid background wallpaper.

My apps never crash and I've returned phones that have been jailbroken to Apple and had them replaced without any issues. Also you have no clue what backgrounder is which makes your argument meaningless.

[Pika]

Look at Japan compared to China...

http://www.pinchmedia.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/slide071.jpg

[Pika]

My apps never crash and I've returned phones that have been jailbroken to Apple and had them replaced without any issues. Also you have no clue what backgrounder is which makes your argument meaningless.

Liar

Third, all jailbroken phones (whether the application is pirated or not) suffer from increased application crash rates, which may result in more-frequent uninstalls.

Read this from the website.

Im on OS 3.1.2 and i have 500 apps installed on my iPhone 3GS and none... NONE have crashed on my face.

[LSUtigers03]

Liar



Read this from the website.

Im on OS 3.1.2 and i have 500 apps installed on my iPhone 3GS and none... NONE have crashed.

Haha I'm a liar? I know the performance of my phone.

[calvy]

Liar



Read this from the website.

Im on OS 3.1.2 and i have 500 apps installed on my iPhone 3GS and none... NONE have crashed on my face.

I read on THIS website that it's not true. So how does that prove anything?

I personally am jailbroken on my 3GS. I also pirate some apps. I hope one of them is yours.

Rarely do any of them crash. Even when running in background mode with Backgrounder. I regularly run C25K, RunKeeper, and my internet radio streaming app all at the same time while running for about 30 minutes each day. Rarely do I have a problem.

[macfan881]

Just look at apple now... they are resistant with the iPhone 3GS 3.1.2 !

Jailbreaking iPhones is something the Dev-Team and others have been able to pull off with every new hardware and software release from Apple. That might halt, at least temporarily, with new jailbreak-resistant firmwares included in the newest iPhone 3GS models.

The Dev-Team and other jailbreak makers have been using an exploit known as 24kpwn to break into the iPhone and obtain deeper access to install new app markets and unlock certain features. A new booting firmware update, iBoot-359.3.2, has been shipped on 3GS models manufactured since last week, however, and a Dev-Team member tells the Boy Genius Report that jailbreaking won't be possible on the newer units, at least until another exploit is found.

Apple is working very very hard to make Jail-breaking impossible and they've been doing the same thing with the OSX86 project as well.
pika stop posting and go back to your job as the apple rep:D

[uberamd]

That's another bullock excuse to Jail-break.

Who gives a **** about background ? I care that my phone and my apps doesn't crash. I care to get the latest apple updates ! I care about my warrantee... then a stupid background wallpaper.

The main reason why people jail-break is simple:

- Free Apps
- Free Carrier

It's all about money... I mean look at china... look at the stats... poor and communist countries are high on iPhone Jailbreaking... Why is this??? Why???

You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

A LOT of people jailbreak to add functionality to their devices that is not included. This includes backgrounding, GriP notifications, and other things like that. It does NOT mean piracy or carrier transferring necessarily. Don't generalize a major thing like jailbreaking...

People like you infuriate me with your spreading of false crap.

[LSUtigers03]

People like you infuriate me with your spreading of false crap.

I wonder how much Apple is paying him?

[Unspoken Demise]

I love how you all are bashing on Pika, when he is only speaking as an angry developer that is mad about people downloading the apps he worked really hard on for free when he should be compensated.

I assume many of you are not developers, thats why what he says seems silly to you, but as a developer, I can say I agree that pirating apps is wrong, however I couldnt care less if someone Jailbreaks their phone.

Can you guys at least try and see it from this point of view?

*Zips up flame suit, grabs the fire extinguisher, and a bag of marshmallows and a box of grahm crackers. Flame on*

[cmwade77]

The most effective way to fight piracy:

14 days of full versions of the software.

I wouldn't necessarily do a time bombed version, what I would do is set it up that if you delete it from your phone before the 14 days are up, you don't get charged for it, if you leave it past 14 days, the next time that you open it a notice will pop up on the phone that you are about to be charged for it and give you the option to remove it or to pay for it at that time, before you can open it again, along with the price.

[polobreaka]

- Free Apps
- Free Carrier



- App store has free apps. are they pirating?
- where did you get the idea of free carrier? i dont know anyone or anywhere that is getting free cell phone service....do you know something we dont know? hmmmmm

Liar



Read this from the website.

Im on OS 3.1.2 and i have 500 apps installed on my iPhone 3GS and none... NONE have crashed on my face.

my JB iphone has been very stable.
how many pages does an iphone hold? 9 i heard? how do you fit 500 apps in your jb iphone? opps..i mean non-jb iphone? do your math pika...

9 pages x 16 apps/page = 144 total apps on all full pages + 4 on your dock = 148

500 apps huh? your phone must be jb to hold that many.

[polobreaka]

I love how you all are bashing on Pika, when he is only speaking as an angry developer that is mad about people downloading the apps he worked really hard on for free when he should be compensated.

I assume many of you are not developers, thats why what he says seems silly to you, but as a developer, I can say I agree that pirating apps is wrong, however I couldnt care less if someone Jailbreaks their phone.

Can you guys at least try and see it from this point of view?

*Zips up flame suit, grabs the fire extinguisher, and a bag of marshmallows and a box of grahm crackers. Flame on*


are you saying all developers are against JB? i would like to bet most developers have their iphones JB.

i think you got the idea wrong, we never said pirating is right, Pika stood strong STATING that ALL jailbreakers pirates their apps. which is infact very untrue. Jailbreaking and pirating are completely different.

Most of the jailbreakers jailbreak their phones for more functionality that Apple did not want to provide for us. There are also developers in the JB community that develops apps as well, and i pay for them.

[Nyan]

how many pages does an iphone hold? 9 i heard? how do you fit 500 apps in your jb iphone? opps..i mean non-jb iphone? do your math pika...

9 pages x 16 apps/page = 144 total apps on all full pages + 4 on your dock = 148

500 apps huh? your phone must be jb to hold that many.

Actually, I know a rich person with a non-jail-broken iPhone that have 500 paid apps installed and use the iPhone's OS search instead of looking at page to page.

[Unspoken Demise]

are you saying all developers are against JB? i would like to bet most developers have their iphones JB.

i think you got the idea wrong, we never said pirating is right, Pika stood strong STATING that ALL jailbreakers pirates their apps. which is infact very untrue. Jailbreaking and pirating are completely different.

Most of the jailbreakers jailbreak their phones for more functionality that Apple did not want to provide for us. There are also developers in the JB community that develops apps as well, and i pay for them.

I just told you. As a developer myself, I am not against JB. I am against pirating, but I couldnt care less if someone/ everyone jail breaks.

I see your point. I think Pika is just very mad, and you guys (everyone bashing him) is just flustering him. I bet he doesnt think EVERYONE pirates. Maybe he does. I certainly dont. I have a few friends with JB iPods and iPhones, and I think they look really cool! Also, they dont pirate.

I agree. JB and pirating are mutually exclusive. A JBer is not a pirate. However, you cannot pirate without JB. But not every JBer is a pirate. Certainly not.

[Nyan]

However, you cannot pirate with JB. But not every JBer is a pirate. Certainly not.

You mean... You cannot pirate without JB.

[polobreaka]

You mean... You cannot pirate without JB.


LOL you bolded the wrong word.

[Unspoken Demise]

You mean... You cannot pirate without JB.

Ah, you bolded the wrong word, but yes, I meant "without JB." Thanks.

[LSUtigers03]

I just told you. As a developer myself, I am not against JB. I am against pirating, but I couldnt care less if someone/ everyone jail breaks.

I see your point. I think Pika is just very mad, and you guys (everyone bashing him) is just flustering him. I bet he doesnt think EVERYONE pirates. Maybe he does. I certainly dont. I have a few friends with JB iPods and iPhones, and I think they look really cool! Also, they dont pirate.

I agree. JB and pirating are mutually exclusive. A JBer is not a pirate. However, you cannot pirate with JB. But not every JBer is a pirate. Certainly not.

He doesn't see it this way or at least that all he says here. That's what I have a problem with. If he's mad that his apps are being stolen then he has a legit argument. But instead he posts that jailbreakers are all pirates and posts lies about jailbreaking. I jailbreak and I pay for my apps. I even pay for the jailbroken apps that people sell.

[Unspoken Demise]

He doesn't see it this way or at least that all he says here. That's what I have a problem with. If he's mad that his apps are being stolen then he has a legit argument. But instead he posts that jailbreakers are all pirates and posts lies about jailbreaking. I jailbreak and I pay for my apps. I even pay for the jailbroken apps that people sell.

Yes, I can see where that accusation may bother you. Well, you know he's wrong in that regard. No need for everyone being mad at him.

[LSUtigers03]

Yes, I can see where that accusation may bother you. Well, you know he's wrong in that regard. No need for everyone being mad at him.

I guess it's just annoying for everyone to be lumped into one group. On a separate note is your avatar from Bleeding Through's album The Truth?

[Unspoken Demise]

I guess it's just annoying for everyone to be lumped into one group. On a separate note is your avatar from Bleeding Through's album The Truth?

I know. Generalizations can suck sometimes. I agree that you are correct: Not all JBers are Pirates.

yarrrrgh.

And yes, yes it is. It is my face photoshopped onto the album cover. :)

[-aggie-]

Just wondering, but what are the apps Pika has made? They're not listed in his/her sig or profile.

[Unspoken Demise]

Just wondering, but what are the apps Pika has made? They're not listed in his/her sig or profile.

I think its best the people against him right now not know. We dont need false negative reviews.

[LSUtigers03]

And yes, yes it is. It is my face photoshopped onto the album cover. :)

The bottom looked the same but I was wondering why it looked a bit different. Nice job on the photoshop.

[Unspoken Demise]

The bottom looked the same but I was wondering why it looked a bit different. Nice job on the photoshop.

Thank you! I did it 2 years back. Now that I look back on it, I love it for what it is, but I see so many ways I could make it better. I may end up re-editing it, but as a small picture it looks fine.

[Nyan]

Just wondering, but what are the apps Pika has made? They're not listed in his/her sig or profile.

iSaveWeb

[-aggie-]

iSaveWeb

Thanks, I got the app after you linked it and it looks very useful. I asked because I wondered if Pika really had any apps that someone would want to pirate. It looks like he does, so I can understand his frustration with the pirating.

[-aggie-]

One thing I would like to know is the reason people have to jailbreak their phones.

Is it because of the service provider? wanting free apps? etc.

I would love to see a poll on that!

jailbreaking has nothing to do with the service provider (you unlock for that....totally different).

Free apps, IMO, are no reason, since you can get plenty of free apps not being JB.

The main reason is freedom to change your layout on your phone, freedom to put apps that you might not be able to put on not JB, and freedom to background. Mainly it's freedom and not being tied to what Apple says.

[jav6454]

jailbreaking has nothing to do with the service provider (you unlock for that....totally different).

Free apps, IMO, are no reason, since you can get plenty of free apps not being JB.

The main reason is freedom to change your layout on your phone, freedom to put apps that you might not be able to put on not JB, and freedom to background. Mainly it's freedom and not being tied to what Apple says.

This in a nutshell. Problem is, people abuse the jailbreak and add even more reason to why Apple has to have locked down tight iPhone software.

[bruinsrme]

I am going to go out on a limb here.
Since pika is categorizing all jailbreakerd as pirates I am sure he can relate to this.
Maybie pika drinks alcohol and drives a vehicle he is not only a drunk but drives under the influence.
After all one can only assume every that drinks alcohol and drives must be drunk drivers because there can be no seperation.
I have no idea if he drinks or dances naked around jailbroken phones doing some voodoo dance just like he doesn't know if we dress in drag and sing show tunes.

[Nyan]

I am going to go out on a limb here.
Since pika is categorizing all jailbreakerd as pirates I am sure he can relate to this.
Maybie pika drinks alcohol and drives a vehicle he is not only a drunk but drives under the influence.
After all one can only assume every that drinks alcohol and drives must be drunk drivers because there can be no seperation.
I have no idea if he drinks or dances naked around jailbroken phones doing some voodoo dance just like he doesn't know if we dress in drag and sing show tunes.

Pika is more crazy than that... http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=801474

[m3coolpix]

Hmm.....

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

iSaveWeb is an application used to download a website. Which, if he's so bent on piracy....he should remove his own app from the app store. Pika himself is writing an app that is aiding in the download of copyrighted material.

[emt1]

What did i do wrong ??? I don't pirate. Why are you mad at me. Just be cause i don't support jailbreaking??? :mad:

Without the Jail-Breaking, there would be no piracy on the iPhone.

Jail-breaking is the cause of piracy of iPhones.
Wihout the Jail-breaking, there would be no such thing of pirating the iPhone.

That's my point.

No JB = No piracy

Without cars, there would be no car accidents. Therefore, we should ban cars, right?

[fungg3]

Without cars, there would be no car accidents. Therefore, we should ban cars, right?

Yes, if one in three cars gets into a fatal accident.

[emt1]

Yes, if one in three cars gets into a fatal accident.

Who are you to decide what the acceptable rate of piracy/accidents is?

[mgamber]

Who are you to decide what the acceptable rate of piracy/accidents is?

Someone with some common sense and half a brain? It's not exactly rocket science.

[OneMike]

Without jailbreaking would there even have been an app store to begin with?

[return7]

Without jailbreaking would there even have been an app store to begin with?

I think so. It's sort of an obvious thing for Apple to do to push hardware sales. They don't exactly hire stupid people..

[Sparky9292]

I am going to go out on a limb here.
Since pika is categorizing all jailbreakerd as pirates I am sure he can relate to this.
Maybie pika drinks alcohol and drives a vehicle he is not only a drunk but drives under the influence.
After all one can only assume every that drinks alcohol and drives must be drunk drivers because there can be no seperation.
I have no idea if he drinks or dances naked around jailbroken phones doing some voodoo dance just like he doesn't know if we dress in drag and sing show tunes.

Yawn. I doubt that the Somali pirates attack those oil freighters because they copies of Tap Tap Revolution on them. Oh wait.. I think you mean Copyright infringment...

Show me one just ONE case where copyright infringement on Appulous causes harm to a developer.

Only like 10% of American's put cracked apps on their iPhones. Big Deal.

Bill Gates once said that he was happy that the Chinese were pirating his apps because no one would want to use Linux or OSX.

If I was an Appstore developer, I would be happy to see my app on Appulous It's free advertising!:p

[strike1555]

Someone with some common sense and half a brain? It's not exactly rocket science.

Common sense is a precise formula? Tell me, what is the formula to decide the rate and then tell me how you arrived at that formula.

@Pika....just ignore him. Nobody actually likes him, he just has a vendetta against jailbreakers because he thinks they ALL download his crappy application.

[Sparky9292]

Common sense is a precise formula? Tell me, what is the formula to decide the rate and then tell me how you arrived at that formula.

@Pika....just ignore him. Nobody actually likes him, he just has a vendetta against jailbreakers because he thinks they ALL download his crappy application.

I don't think his app is crappy. I just think he wants to profit from his app. Whatever disappointment he is having with the sales of his app is causing him to look for a scapegoat.

The days of making $200,000 in the first month on the appstore is long gone. Now your app has to be substantially good.

[polobreaka]

i think pika is a female...

[strike1555]

Whatever disappointment he is having with the sales of his app is causing him to look for a scapegoat.

Good point. Kinda pathetic really reading all of his rants in the threads.

i think pika is a female...

I think that's irrelevant to this conversation.

[str1f3]

Yawn. I doubt that the Somali pirates attack those oil freighters because they copies of Tap Tap Revolution on them. Oh wait.. I think you mean Copyright infringment...

Show me one just ONE case where copyright infringement on Appulous causes harm to a developer.

Only like 10% of American's put cracked apps on their iPhones. Big Deal.

Bill Gates once said that he was happy that the Chinese were pirating his apps because no one would want to use Linux or OSX.

If I was an Appstore developer, I would be happy to see my app on Appulous It's free advertising!:p

First off, I have no idea what the hell you're first paragraph is about.

As to your second, they don't have to prove anything. You're stealing no matter how many different ways you try to slice it.

Regarding your third, read the NYT article from today I believe. Microsoft is actually tryingto fight the piracy. BTW, I'm sure Bill Gates can afford to lose in the short term when it comes to piracy in China. Small developers don't. They have families to feed and bills to pay.

As to your last, it is a joke. Exactly why should they be happy? The only people who visits those sites are the ones looking for cracked apps.

You can try to make reasons for yourself as to why it's ok to steal from people who don't have much. The truth is that the people who steal from devs are no different than the jerkoffs on Wall Street who ask for a bailout and then give out $160 billion in bonuses.

[Sparky9292]

i think pika is a female...

So you are saying that women react illogically to blown out of proportion copyright infringment?

[str1f3]

Good point. Kinda pathetic really reading all of his rants in the threads.

Yeah Pika does rant and he is not fully right in blaming all jailbreakers (especially when it's not the majority) for this. IDK, but maybe he does know at what percentage it is being used while cracked. I will say this, though, I can easily see a dev being pissed off at putting some hard work into their app and having to go through the approval process, only to have a bunch of people steal it as soon as it comes out.

[Sparky9292]

Yeah Pika does rant and he is not fully right in blaming all jailbreakers for this. IDK, but maybe he does know at what percentage it is being used while cracked. I will say this, though, I can easily see a dev being pissed off at putting some hard work into their app and having to go through the approval process, only to have a bunch of people steal it as soon as it comes out.

But it's NOT the same as stealing. Pika still has the original copy.

I'd say that copyright infringement is really not that evil compared to rape or murder. It's less evil than shoplifting something from a store.

When you say "steal" you feel that copyright infringement is as evil as going to steal my neighbors car, or steal all of the money in the bank.:eek:

[str1f3]

But it's NOT the same as stealing. Pika still has the original copy.

I'd say that copyright infringement is really not that evil compared to rape or murder. It's less evil than shoplifting something from a store.

When you say "steal" you feel that copyright infringement is as evil as going to steal my neighbors car, or steal all of the money in the bank.:eek:

It's semantics. If you are taking something that you didn't pay for and was not offered for free, it is stealing. While in the court of law it is copyright infringement, it is nevertheless stealing.

There are always different levels of committing a crime. But when I say they are no differentthnqn the people at Wall Street, I am referring to greed. You are taking something you don't need, but want it anyway and yet want it for free. I'm not viewing all copyright infringement as being the same. I'm not a judge or lawyer. I'm looking at this from a moral perspective.

Normally I wouldn't care too much about piracy. It's wrong but the music/movie/tv businesses have other avenues of making money. Devs don't. This is the only way they make money. Read about the lives of some of these people. Most don't make tons of money and have to pay bills like you and me. When you steal from these kinds of people, in my eyes, it is far worse than getting the latest U2 album off the torrents.

[Nyan]

Yet pika is offering his iSaveWeb Lite for free and you could get the paid version for free if you Jailbreak and go to Appulous.

[bruinsrme]

Yet pika is offering his iSaveWeb Lite for free and you could get the paid version for free if you Jailbreak and go to Appulous.

What the other program Pika has?

[bruinsrme]

i think pika is a female...


I think there was mention to that by Pika in one of the threads.
Not that is matters.

[str1f3]

Apparently Rally Master Pro just came out yesterday and the developer is already seeing a 95% piracy rate of his game and questions the long term viability of the platform if piracy is occuring at such a high rate:

http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=30751&page=11

From Fishlabs:

We think RMP is a polished game and if you like rally racing it offers great value for €5,99 but we don't want to argue with our customers. However, it feels kind of strange to be facing a discussion of 50 Euro Cents about international price points on a game that we have spent 5,000 working hours on. In combination with 95% piracy (!) on the first day this makes it very hard to believe in the future of the App Store, sometimes.

[lllll]

See ? This is big evidence that Jailbreaking = Piracy. I'm fully against Jailbraking and I hope Apple find a way to put an end to this tumor.

All it does is turning a real iPhone into a fake iPhone from china.

you're pretty close to china. what are you going to do? :D

I though jailbreaking = prison break? :D:D

[dubels]

Interesting. I had my iphone jailbroken before the APP store days, but it seems that things have changed.

[rwilliams]

the only reason why anyone would jailbreak is to crack apps. accept the fact

FAIL. I've jailbroken my iPod Touch, and didn't even know until now that you could crack apps. That's because I've downloaded my apps from the App Store and paid for the ones that I liked that weren't free. I jailbroke my device to change icons, docks, the lockscreen, and other UI-related things. Your comment is absolutely ridiculous.

[Sparky9292]

Apparently Rally Master Pro just came out yesterday and the developer is already seeing a 95% piracy rate of his game and questions the long term viability of the platform if piracy is occuring at such a high rate:

http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=30751&page=11

From Fishlabs:

We think RMP is a polished game and if you like rally racing it offers great value for €5,99 but we don't want to argue with our customers. However, it feels kind of strange to be facing a discussion of 50 Euro Cents about international price points on a game that we have spent 5,000 working hours on. In combination with 95% piracy (!) on the first day this makes it very hard to believe in the future of the App Store, sometimes.

Most of that is in China or Russia, so take the 95% number with a grain of salt. In addition, you don't hear EA bitching about piracy.

Just make a good game and don't worry about the 1% of the population skilled enough to JB and apply AppSync to their iPhone.

[Gr80Likes2Boogi]

I bought 3G in Paris where I was living, and my friend from the states was visiting. She ordered her 3Gs, and it was waiting for her when she got back from her vacation. Anyway, I fell asleep on the metro and left my French iPhone on the train. Long story short, I got my friend's iPhone but had to jailbreak it because I was putting a French SIM card in an American phone. I jailbroke it, hid the "stocks" and "youtube" icons, and put a picture of my fiancée on the background. How is that pirating?

I think Pika's heart is in the right place, in that I'm sure it's just frustration (and I would be, too). But it IS wrong to infer that all jailbreakers are pirates. It's unfair, and if you made similar accusations with religious/ethnic groups, you'd be beaten down instantly.

[mgamber]

If I was an Appstore developer, I would be happy to see my app on Appulous It's free advertising!:p

But you're not. You couldn't write an app yourself if you had to. You not only don't know what you're talking about, you obviously have no idea how utterly offensive you are spouting that crap.

[alent1234]

FAIL. I've jailbroken my iPod Touch, and didn't even know until now that you could crack apps. That's because I've downloaded my apps from the App Store and paid for the ones that I liked that weren't free. I jailbroke my device to change icons, docks, the lockscreen, and other UI-related things. Your comment is absolutely ridiculous.

people have been doing it for a long time. only reason i haven't JB'd my iphone is i need push notifications and there is a big issue with Push and JB.

Apple's problem is due to backward compatibility they put a lot of the DRM checking on the client and into the file itself and it's very easy to strip the DRM out. The new rule of offering free apps with paid content will change things and cut down on piracy

[alent1234]

But it's NOT the same as stealing. Pika still has the original copy.

I'd say that copyright infringement is really not that evil compared to rape or murder. It's less evil than shoplifting something from a store.

When you say "steal" you feel that copyright infringement is as evil as going to steal my neighbors car, or steal all of the money in the bank.:eek:

i've copied software since the mid 1980's because back then my parents could only afford $5 shoes once a year and even at age 10 i knew it wasn't right

[yalag]

if you stop jailbreak, you stop piracy, end thread.

[TraceyS/FL]

Most of that is in China or Russia, so take the 95% number with a grain of salt. In addition, you don't hear EA bitching about piracy.

Just make a good game and don't worry about the 1% of the population skilled enough to JB and apply AppSync to their iPhone.

Seriously? That is a valid argument?

EA doesn't complain, so what is your problem?

Every developer is hurt by piracy - the difference is that EA is a huge company and can more absorb the piracy hit. Don't think that they aren't bitching about it behind closed doors, or have teams that work on ways to stop it.

Piracy is stealing. Period. Software, songs, digital scrapbook kits, copying books.... all that is stealing.

[Sparky9292]

Piracy is stealing. Period. Software, songs, digital scrapbook kits, copying books.... all that is stealing.

My argument is not that copyright infringement is wrong. I think that the punishments for it are excessive.

Do you really think a 15 year old girl should be thrown in Federal Prison for five years and $250,000 for downloading Tap Tap Revenge from Appulous?

If I go into a bank and steal $500, i"d only get about a year in prison for it.

I think "Software Piracy" is about the same as littering. It's not the same as raping a small child that you think.

[Sparky9292]

if you stop jailbreak, you stop piracy, end thread.

If you stop Google, you stop piracy as well, also child porn, 2girls1cup, ******* and other interesting things.:o

[Sparky9292]

people have been doing it for a long time. only reason i haven't JB'd my iphone is i need push notifications and there is a big issue with Push and JB.


JB has nothing to do with push. The problem is that if you install some of the Cydia apps, yes some of them interfere with the push feature. JB'ing your phone doesn't affect operation of the phone.

There are alot of wonderful apps in Cydia. For example, the Cydia Flashlight app is better than all of the dozens of AppStore Flashlights because it prevents the iPhone from dimming.

However, there are a bunch of crazy unstable apps in Cydia as well.

[Gr80Likes2Boogi]

If I go into a bank and steal $500, i"d only get about a year in prison for it.


except that any bank offenses are immediately investigated and handled by the FBI =)

[alent1234]

JB has nothing to do with push. The problem is that if you install some of the Cydia apps, yes some of them interfere with the push feature. JB'ing your phone doesn't affect operation of the phone.

There are alot of wonderful apps in Cydia. For example, the Cydia Flashlight app is better than all of the dozens of AppStore Flashlights because it prevents the iPhone from dimming.

However, there are a bunch of crazy unstable apps in Cydia as well.

i think the issue was that when you JB you replace the apple SSL cert with the cert of the person who made the JB software. I remember there was an article how people with JB'd phones would get strange push notifications and they had issues getting their push notifications.

since my employer shot of texting a few years ago i decided to repoint some alerts to my iphone and i need to get those right away. i use textfree lite since it's only for emergencies and i don't want to pay for a texting plan

[jaseone]

i think the issue was that when you JB you replace the apple SSL cert with the cert of the person who made the JB software. I remember there was an article how people with JB'd phones would get strange push notifications and they had issues getting their push notifications.

That has long since been fixed, I'm jailbroken solely for SBSettings (two finger swipe down on the home screen to toggle wifi, bluetooth etc) and Backgrounder for Sirius XM.

I seriously think there must be something screwy with the stats some of these developers are throwing around, 95% piracy? Come on now, the majority of people don't even know what jailbreaking is so how could that many pirate your game/app?

The problem with the app store is the early developers came out with low priced games/apps and made a KILLING so set a precedent that cheap prices are the norm where in actuality it is very difficult now to make a profit at such low prices especially if your app needs a server architecture for push notifications or whatever. It isn't cheap to build a scalable server side app nor is it cheap to run and maintain especially with the high level of availability that iPhone users demand.

[tatum]

Well this thread certainly raises some very valid arguments. I won't talk about anything that i don't know much about...

What i find so frustrating, are the people having opinions that have no substance to 'back' it up...
It's a little bit like me advising against eating frogs legs based on what someone had told me... even though i've never eaten any frogs legs before.

Here are the facts:

Apple doesn't 'like' jailbreaking.
Jailbreaking enables the installation of applications via other routes other than the iTunes store.
These 'other routes' give freedom, including freedom to piracy.
Only SOME people choose the piracy route.


I have never pirated any apps. I own many paid apps. I don't intend on pirating apps.
I do however know for a fact that jailbreaking enables me to install functionality that is common place in a lot mobile phones on the market: E.G. Ability to turn on/off of bluetooth easily.

But i don't jailbreak now (3rd iphone - 32gb 3GS) because my previous iphone's modification 'apparently' caused issues that rendered Apple unable to repair my screen in a warranty claim and when i tried to claim on my insurance, apple kindly informed them of the invalidation of my policy (Carphone Warehouse). Not too happy about that.

So to end it all... please don't post generalist comments (JB=Piracy).

Can anyone here guarantee that the jailbreak process itself doesn't harm the iphone e.g. signal strength/drop-outs, battery length etc.

[macfan881]

Well this thread certainly raises some very valid arguments. I won't talk about anything that i don't know much about...

What i find so frustrating, are the people having opinions that have no substance to 'back' it up...
It's a little bit like me advising against eating frogs legs based on what someone had told me... even though i've never eaten any frogs legs before.

Here are the facts:

Apple doesn't 'like' jailbreaking.
Jailbreaking enables the installation of applications via other routes other than the iTunes store.
These 'other routes' give freedom, including freedom to piracy.
Only SOME people choose the piracy route.


I have never pirated any apps. I own many paid apps. I don't intend on pirating apps.
I do however know for a fact that jailbreaking enables me to install functionality that is common place in a lot mobile phones on the market: E.G. Ability to turn on/off of bluetooth easily.

But i don't jailbreak now (3rd iphone - 32gb 3GS) because my previous iphone's modification 'apparently' caused issues that rendered Apple unable to repair my screen in a warranty claim and when i tried to claim on my insurance, apple kindly informed them of the invalidation of my policy (Carphone Warehouse). Not too happy about that.

So to end it all... please don't post generalist comments (JB=Piracy).

Can anyone here guarantee that the jailbreak process itself doesn't harm the iphone e.g. signal strength/drop-outs, battery length etc.
I have been JailBreaking Since i got a ipod touch when they first came out and yeah battery drains a lil bit more but it depends what your doing like bagroudner etc. Overall I find Jailbreaking Great for customizing etc and other handy tools etc and i have never had a problem with it at all.

[Sparky9292]

So to end it all... please don't post generalist comments (JB=Piracy).

Can anyone here guarantee that the jailbreak process itself doesn't harm the iphone e.g. signal strength/drop-outs, battery length etc.

Jailbreaking your iPhone doesn't affect the operation at all. The problem is with all of the Cydia apps. Since Cydia apps don't have the limits that AppStore apps do, they can do powerful things with your phone. At the same time, they can screw up settings on your phone as well.

All of this can always be fixed by restoring your iPhone to factory defaults.