Let's Give the iPhone Hackers a Big Round of Applause

I'm the kind of guy who rarely bothers to hack my devices. By "hack," I mean use the hacks and instructions of those who are much more intrepid than I. Tinkering with a device that I shelled out hundreds of dollars for, if not more, isn't something I take lightly. If I break it, I've not only lost usage of the device, I'm out of the money, too.

If I had a bigger bank account, I might be more cavalier about it all.

I've poked at my Apple TV, messed around with a first-generation iPhone, and the like, but the only super-useful "hack" I ever bothered with was enabling a white iBook to handle screen spanning between the iBook screen and an attached monitor. I'm not sure if Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) created the screen-spanning limitation because the iBook had a dinky graphics processor or if it was simply a hobbling effort designed to encourage people to buy a pro-grade PowerBook. Or perhaps it was to create differentiation in the product line -- pro vs. consumer models -- which these days is so, you know, quaint.

I suspect the latter, because at the time, my performance was pretty snappy. Not for gaming, but good enough for the basics. What that hack did do was give me a massive boost in productivity. Here's the equation: more screen real estate = faster work = more output. I was quite pleased.

And to whom do I owe my gratitude? I have no idea. I downloaded it off the Web, followed rudimentary instructions, started using it, went back to work and took it for granted.

Which brings up the question: Who are these guys, anyway, and why do they do it? Fame? Fortune? Rage against the machine? Or a simple love of tinkering?

Or maybe it's the challenge. Or a combination of all of these things.

Take George Hotz, who Wired.com has called a "superstar iPhone hacker." This week he released Blacksn0w, which is a free and astoundingly simple-to-use unlock solution for the iPhone 3G and 3GS. It joins Hotz's Blackra1n iPhone jailbreaking application.

Basically, unlocking lets you use your phone with any cellular service provider that supports GSM (i.e. not Sprint (NYSE: S) or Verizon's CDMA-based networks). Jailbreaking opens the device up to the installation of applications that are not supported by Apple. In this case, the metaphor is apt: Apple and its partner service providers are the jail -- albeit a jail that offers a 100,000 apps -- and getting out of jail gives users access to a bigger world.

Learning to Love the Jail

Of course, Apple wants you to love the shackles, and that's pretty much where I'm at: quite happy with the Apple-created ecosystem.

I spend most of my time working in front of a 24-inch screen, and if I want to access anything electronic, it's relatively easy for me to get it from my desk. When I'm out and about, I'm usually not that interested in everything electronic, because hey, I'm out and about. I don't waste very much time standing in lines, commuting, or being stuck in places I'd rather not be. Quite lucky, I know. The upshot is, I use my iPhone for core business -- talking, email, Web browsing, listening, and watching. Occasionally I play games, but when I have free time to play games, again, I tend to error toward the big-screen HDTV.

I find it hard enough to keep up with the 100,000 apps in the Apple App Store -- keeping up with jailbroken apps is yet another effort.

Tethering Anyone?

There is one application of a hacked iPhone that gets my attention: tethering. Right now, you can't use tethering with AT&T (NYSE: T). The company has committed to offering the service in the most uncommitted way possible, saying it's coming but failing to offer any sort of timeline. Maybe in the next decade?

Thanks to Hotz, tethering is reachable for a guy like me. The question becomes, is it worth my time? Blackra1n is astoundingly fast, according to reports. I could probably be in and out in 15 minutes flat, and that includes finding the download, reading the instructions, and making it happen. That's pretty compelling.

And what about bricking my iPhone? The risk there appears to be crazy low, too. Sure, I might mess up some YouTube features, and push email might not work correctly, and oh, I might have to reset my network settings a few times to get WiFi running again, but really, these are relatively minor hassles. How about running afoul of the Apple/AT&T end user license agreements? Maybe getting kicked off AT&T? The risks are all low, and besides, I don't think Apple or AT&T are really interested in a creating an army of highly vocal and intensely upset consumers.

I'm not sure how much Apple wants to lock down the iPhone and iPod touch vs. due diligence for its carrier partners and self-protection of the iTunes/App Store ecosystem. By self-protection, I mean ensuring that its developer partners aren't losing sales because people are stealing their apps, not to mention Apple losing its cut of the sales, too. Then there's the ability for jailbroken phones to access content in ways that Apple can't monetize, which is also understandably irritating for a company that invested in creating the iPhone in the first place.

As you can see, there's a bit of a "fair" streak that runs through me. Seriously, if I went to all the trouble to build the iPhone and build an ecosystem, I'd be a little torqued if people bought my iPhone only to avoid all the greatness I made available. Still, part of me would be pleased to see the innovation. I'd be happy for the hackers, glad they were able to take the device farther than I was able to ... but I still wouldn't want to be stuck supporting the device if it was broken, or dealing with a nightmare PR problem if a hacked iPhone somehow failed to dial 911, for example. That doesn't appear to be a risk at the moment, but not every kid with a penchant for hacking can think through the cause and effect.

I understand both sides of the fence.

Still, when I had heard that Apple had started shipping new iPhones with a new baseband that stymied hacks, I'll admit it: I was a bit concerned. What if Apple had finally figured out a way to forever lock down future iPhones? I didn't like the idea one bit. But I had faith. Hotz and others like him -- how about a call out to the iPhone Dev Team -- would puzzle it out eventually.

And I find comfort in that. So, to all the hackers out there: thanks. I'm not sure whether I'll ever hack my iPhone, but damn it, I do like having the option out there on the table!