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The Jailbreak Effect

I

itryanditry

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 20, 2010
30
0
I was never really the jailbreak type. The concept was enticing, but I never really felt like doing it. I understood having the added features, but I still loved my iPhone regardless of whether I could quickly turn off the wi-fi or use the sleep button to launch the camera. And I was always legit with my carrier, so I never needed an unlock.

Awhile back, the jailbreak.me website launched and I jailbroke my iPhone 4 without even really realizing it. So, for 4.0 and 4.1, I had a jailbroken phone... and it was pretty badass, I won't lie. Besides having the phone do my bidding, I also indulged in some unsavory ways of getting apps.

Now I'm not here to condone piracy, but I will admit to it. In reality, I think most people have probably given into the "free demon" at least once before. So save the lecture, if that is indeed where your mind went. I know it's wrong, I know that I can be fined, I know that our developers need to eat too... but there's a point to all this.

The release of 4.2.1 was so long coming that I decided that jailbreak ready or not, I would update my iPhone 4... and I did. Besides missing SBS settings a little bit, the only thing I truly missed was the open-bar mentality towards the App Store. If I saw an app and thought it was cool, it was MINE... even if my bank account was in the lower double digits... But all that was gone without my jailbreak.

While I was flirting with copyright infringement, I came across apps that I would have never given the light of day had they not been "free"... and it was a whole new iWorld. I fell in love with some apps that I later wondered how I ever lived without. I kept saying that if only they had a 'lite' version or something, I would have bought this AGES ago. But the fact that those were gone made my Apple fanboyishness fade a bit. My geeky little heart no longer had that leap of joy before I slid-to-unlock.

So I took a deep breath on the next payday and spent about $55.00 in the app store in one afternoon, buying the apps I had stolen and loved and having that warm feeling of actually doing the right thing and paying the devs their dues.

Would I have come to this awesome revelation if I had an immediate or timely jailbreak for 4.2.1? Probably not... But you know, I've learned something today. I pirated apps not because I wanted to steal or break the law, but because I just wanted to see if they were for me. Sometimes when apps cost more than usual, its easy to just pass over them and not even read the description... then simply depend on websites for your app buying guides. But the app store is hundreds of thousands of apps deep and there's SO much out there. I wonder, if devs were allowed to implement a "demo" or "lite" mode of their apps how many more people would see the value of an app and decide to shell out the extra money for an unlimited license. (That is after all what we do on full-fledged computers. Why not mobile devices too?)

I realize that lite options are out there for some apps... but definitely not most apps in the App Store. I did a bad thing by stealing the apps, but I ended up actually buying them. Jailbreaking and pirating actually made the app store money in a roundabout way. (in that instance I mean, definitely not generally) I know that not all people on the internet are as thankful or cognizant as I... but it still got me thinking. What do you guys think?

edit: I want to make it clear that I am not generalizing about the jailbreak community. there are good fellows out there who jailbreak their devices, but are honest... and not thieves like me.

tl;dr??
I jailbroke my phone and stole apps. Then I restored my phone to normal, but ended up buying the apps anyway. This would not have been possible had I not broken the rules first, so I think there should be a more significant way for people to preview apps... then maybe they'd be more likely to buy them.
 
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Great post. Maybe Apple could include some sort of default one day preview for all apps that developers would have to opt out of, if their app is the kind of thing that's only used once anyway. When downloading the app there are two buttons instead of the current one, buy and preview. Since it's tied to your iTunes account you can't really abuse it...one day of free preview and that's it. When you launch it next after that first free day, you get a pop-up with two buttons, buy and delete.

I haven't thought this through, just spitballing here. It may well have the opposite effect of getting people to not buy apps they otherwise would have, but I suspect the more likely outcome is people previewing then buying apps they otherwise would have ignored.
 
You're the rare exception that actually bought the apps after you pirated them, most people even if they buy an app, only use it for a few days, so a demo would just let people use it for as long as they want and while it may translate into a few sales it will cause many more lost sales.

I know I've seen a few developers posting here saying that they didn't see much increase in purchases of their apps when they lowered their prices.
 
I applaud you.
Arguably that is the reason why there are cracked apps anyways. So that you could try them to see if you liked it before buying it. Especially with the app store. A lot of apps there are caveat emptor. A lot of times I've sunk 5 bucks on the next great game only to find out that it was basically a realigned version of tower defense or angry birds.

Well done and welcome to Mac Rumors.
 
Thats one thing I do like about Android, that you can preview an app for 24 hours and if you don't like it you get your money back. I hope and wish Apple will do this soon too because I for one have bought a few apps I wish I didn't and I know others have too.
 
g35 said:
Great post. Maybe Apple could include some sort of default one day preview for all apps that developers would have to opt out of, if their app is the kind of thing that's only used once anyway. When downloading the app there are two buttons instead of the current one, buy and preview. Since it's tied to your iTunes account you can't really abuse it...one day of free preview and that's it. When you launch it next after that first free day, you get a pop-up with two buttons, buy and delete.

I haven't thought this through, just spitballing here. It may well have the opposite effect of getting people to not buy apps they otherwise would have, but I suspect the more likely outcome is people previewing then buying apps they otherwise would have ignored.
Click to expand...

great idea that flows well with apple's whole interfence.

too bad apple probably doesn't care
 
g35 said:
Great post. Maybe Apple could include some sort of default one day preview for all apps that developers would have to opt out of, if their app is the kind of thing that's only used once anyway. When downloading the app there are two buttons instead of the current one, buy and preview. Since it's tied to your iTunes account you can't really abuse it...one day of free preview and that's it. When you launch it next after that first free day, you get a pop-up with two buttons, buy and delete.

I haven't thought this through, just spitballing here. It may well have the opposite effect of getting people to not buy apps they otherwise would have, but I suspect the more likely outcome is people previewing then buying apps they otherwise would have ignored.
Click to expand...

You're kind of describing how Android does it. You can refund any purchased app within 24 hours.
 
Good idea

I am not so sure that lite or demo versions actually help, because they often do not have all of the features of the full version. Thus, I like the idea of a 24-hour cooling off period. In the meantime, we should all be careful to provide fair and honest reviews of the apps we purchase, and highlight in our reviews any previous reviews that appear to the result of marketing firms trying to boost the rating an an app (*cough* *cough* BTFon *cough* *cough*).

EDIT: LOL - BTFon, BT's utility for logging in to a virtual network of shared WiFi home hubs, no longer appears in the app store. I wonder why. Was it simply poor ratings, and they're fixing it? Or did Apple catch them red-handed trying to boost the ratings of the app by 'reviewers' with names such as 'HappyBTConvert' who composed exactly one review in the app store? I am not making an accusation here. I just wonder...
 
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I was pretty much the same way as the OP.
Still jailbreak but all apps are purchased.
Perhaps it's just an illusion to be but my phone doesn't run into half the issues it did when I had cracked apps. Friends still do, and the funny thing is they get pissed when the cracks don't work.
I used to buy the starving student claim but then again with my son in college have seen college kids running around with MBPs, $6 coffees, spending $8 on a pack of cigarettes but won't spend a buck on an app.
Sure the are exceptions.
Apps and songs will continued to be pirated whether the are trials or not.
Why bother with a trial when the full app can be downloaded free?
 
Apple should give users the option to get a refund within 24 hours after purchasing an app. I now almost never buy any apps because I don't want to see if the app is actually worth my money AFTER I purchased it.

The only reason I jailbreak my phone is because I don't want to pay for an app that I can't try first. If Apple would allow me to get a refund within 24 hours, I would've bought a lot more apps.
 
"edit: I want to make it clear that I am not generalizing about the jailbreak community. there are good fellows out there who jailbreak their devices, but are honest... and not thieves like me."

Glad you put this in there. The generalization that all of us who jailbreak or hack are thieves is completely overstated and wrong. We just want the freedom to be able to do what we want with the device that we own. I for one could not use an iPhone without my jailbreak and would likely use another OS phone if it were not for this. It has nothing to do with warez or cracked apps. I have always paid for all software that I have on my phone, and probably wasted a lot of money doing so. :p

I do hope that one day Apple will get it right and finally provide a way to truly preview an app though, as this would really help out us consumers in a big way, and I think overall would benefit the developers as well. I often hold off on buying an app because I don't want to waste the money on it without trying it out. The reviews are bogus for the most part and lately are full of spam messages that Apple really needs to get on.

Fix it :apple:!
 
Jailbreaking?

I don't know why but I feel I need to write something about my jailbreaking experience. I don't think I have pirated any software. I have bought some from Cydia and I am using the free apps from Cydia but no pirating. I love having my calendar available on the lock screen, changing my slid bar, changing the SDS sounds to make them unique for each caller and having my folders hold as many apps as possible without the limitation of 12 (I did pay for that one in Cydia). The others were free. I like having this freedom to customize my iPhone. If Apple would allow some of those items then I wouldn't even Jailbreak. I know they added the SMS sounds but from what I read they are still limited. I have not upgraded to 4.2.1 yet and I will not until there is an untethered Jailbreak. I believe I have a clear conscience about the Jailbreaking of my iPhone.
 
itryanditry said:
I jailbroke my phone and stole apps. Then I restored my phone to normal, but ended up buying the apps anyway. This would not have been possible had I not broken the rules first, so I think there should be a more significant way for people to preview apps... then maybe they'd be more likely to buy them.
Click to expand...
I agree with you. There are probably quite a few good applications in the App Store that I will never purchase because an extended trial is not a possibility.

First complaint: Let me please avail myself of this opportunity to complain about the general availability on Cydia of servers that provide cracked applications. I think that the community in general, and Apple corporate, would be less anti-jailbreaking if Cydia took an active step toward preventing the insertion of these cracking servers onto the Cydia application.

By default, Cydia only gives you servers that provides legitimate applications that are uploaded by people who own the applications. But allowing people to put their own server names into the Cydia applications opens up a whole new world of openly cracked, illegally distributed applications and, in a few cases, it has provided the community with applications that do not work well, or which applications do some harm.

Second Complaint: Apple. There are simply a couple of things that iOS on the iPhone still does not do, and this is going to keep some people continuing to try to jailbreak.

I have to admit that the advent of the iPhone 4 and the introduction of iOS 4 has provided us all with more and better services.

I am sure that many people who had jailbroken their phones just to get tethering enabled, are not doing it any longer because Apple in iOS 4+ have provided people with a legitimate and easy way to activate and tether their devices, and pay for it appropriately, as they need that service. It's not perfect...they're still not letting us broadcast like MyWi. But it's a start, and it gives serious businessmen a way to tether in an emergency when there is no other way to get connected.

What is keeping this particular old man jailbreaking at the moment is the lack of availability of a firewall. Applications like MCleaner and iBlacklist should be approved for sale in the main App Store, IMHO.

Some Apple requirements for the App Store could be loosened up a bit while remaining completely safe, and we should do this in order to allow better applications to show up in the Apple store instead of having them stay in the jailbreak community where Apple and the developers aren't going to make enough money to further perfect their applications.

I think that one example of overly stringent restrictions for the App Store can be found in the recent release of the App Store item called Google Voice. It was developed for the App Store, and everybody said "Thank goodness! Finally!" But then when they discovered all the weird design parameters that had to be included to get it to work for Apple Minds, they threw their hands up and went back to the Cydia application of GV Mobile+.

Pardon the rant, please. :)

Oh, and by the way: iOS 4.2.1 works so well on my iPad 3G that I haven't even made any attempt to jailbreak it.

Apple can get to the point where it will satisfy most enthusiasts. For this particular user, they've got there with the iPad.

But they're not there yet with the iPhone, specifically because of the lack of an App Store firewall the likes of iBlacklist or MCleaner.

[....]
 
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I think the one day full functionality idea is a great one.

I don't know how many apps I bought (after reading reviews, etc.) and after the first use or day of use, either deleted them or never used them again.

I would even ask for maybe a 3 day full functionality that would then expire or the buyer could purchase the app.
 
George Knighton said:
I agree with you. There are probably quite a few good applications in the App Store that I will never purchase because an extended trial is not a possibility.

First complaint: Let me please avail myself of this opportunity to complain about the general availability on Cydia of servers that provide cracked applications. I think that the community in general, and Apple corporate, would be less anti-jailbreaking if Cydia took an active step toward preventing the insertion of these cracking servers onto the Cydia application.
Click to expand...
I couldn't disagree more with this. The whole point of jailbreaking is to take control over your own phone. There shouldn't be a new barrier of restrictions, limiting in what you're able to do. What you're saying just sounds ridiculous. Cydia isn't the police, it's a tool, and people can use it however they want to.
 
Gee, if only there was some way for developers to offer free trial versions of their apps. You know, some kind of 'lite' version.

Oh, but wait. I'm told those don't count because they're 'not good enough to know if you'll like it.'

I'm sorry, but I'm going to need some examples. I have a hard time believing that any of you played all the levels on Angry Birds Lite and then said "Gee, I still don't know if this is something I'll like."

So if it's not Angry Birds, then what? What 'Lite' version did you try that just wasn't good enough? What features were omitted that just made it impossible to decide?

This is a pretty serious charge to make (that 'Lite' apps are worthless) and I've seen several people say it without giving any examples. That's not good enough. Start talking.
 
What most people fail to realize is that the money developers make from people who "buy it, then realize it's not for them" is part of their revenue. By that I mean it's built-in to the business plan. Developers know that they'll get more money developing for iOS than for Android because of this. One of the effects is that they can make their prices lower because of it.

For example, if I wrote an app for the app store the way it is today (no trials), I might charge $0.99. But if I knew that it had a 24-hour refund period, I might price it at $1.99. Because I know that a proportion of my sales are going to be refunded, so I have to charge more to make the same amount of money for the same exact app.

So the way I see it, Apple is helping to keep the costs of their apps low, to the benefit of the consumers and the developers.
 
Merkie said:
I couldn't disagree more with this. The whole point of jailbreaking is to take control over your own phone. There shouldn't be a new barrier of restrictions, limiting in what you're able to do. What you're saying just sounds ridiculous. Cydia isn't the police, it's a tool, and people can use it however they want to.
Click to expand...
I am sorry you disagree.

It would not be difficult for Cydia to lock the servers down to the ones of which Cydia specifically approves. There's only a couple of reasons to allow the user to input his own server, and fomenting the deliberate theft of applications is one of those reasons.

If Saurik wants legitimacy, he should think about it.
 
mrblack927 said:
What most people fail to realize is that the money developers make from people who "buy it, then realize it's not for them" is part of their revenue. By that I mean it's built-in to the business plan.
Click to expand...

That is a valid point that definitely has it's merit - but the reverse is true from some apps on other platforms like Android. From what I remember (though am too lazy to Google myself) Angry Birds is offered free in the Android Market because of the developers worrying about the open nature of the OS... so they simply offer an ad based version only. So as iOS users we have to pay, but Android users get the freebee.There's always different ways to revenue, and Apple's lovable (albeit annoying) policy of giving users what they want without key features, then giving them those features to love it more, is kind of a shady way to make money without being able to try it first. If the App Store were a carnival, I'd declare shenanigans and probably be thrown out by carnies. (no offense to any past or current carnies)

For the curious, here are a few of the apps I loved... it's not all of them, though... don't have much time. I should have left for work 15 minutes ago: Plex (holy crap!!! Mac mini is complete!) Final Fantasy: Chaos Rings, Snatch, Skyfire, Better Browser. (for the record, i think better browser is called mercury browser now and has a lite version... at least that's the one i legitimately paid for.)

Thanks btw for the warm welcome. :)
 
People often confuse the moral issue with the forums rules, I find your story "cool", however discussing cracked/stolen apps is against the forums rules, what you do with your phone and what type of app you get is your own business.
 
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I jailbroke, originally, just to change my SMS tones. Now everytime I get a SMS, Peter Griffin says, "Beeeee....there it is.....hehehehehehehe."

I love my phone :D
 
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