“Apple is clearly in a war with hackers over the iPhone and its most loyal fans could take a few hits,” Larry Dignan blgos for ZDNet. “Today’s angst over iPhones becoming iBricks because they were modified is really just the beginning. There are a few reports of non-hacked iPhones going dark following Apple’s latest firmware update.”
MacDailyNews Take: Why is there any “angst” at all for modded iPhones becoming iBricks when Apple warned users ahead of time (and during the update process)? Is it logical to expect any company to support unsupported hacks? Of course, not.
Dignan continues, “The iPhone update is just the latest example. Consider the following moving parts:”
• Apple cut the price of the premium iPhone by $200 just weeks after die-hards waited in line to pay $599 for it. Steve Jobs met these early adopters half way and gave them a $100 store credit. Where’s the other $100? If Steve really cared about you perhaps Apple would have made you better than whole, say a $250 credit.
MacDailyNews Take: Some portion of 0.33% of the U.S was upset that they paid the price on the box and then it changed. The other 99.67% of the U.S. population only sees a much better price. How many other companies offer $100 store credits when they change prices. Take your time, we’ll wait…
• The iPhone sticks you with one carrier–AT&T–that few people want. Why? Apple got the best deal from AT&T. We aren’t privy to the math behind the AT&T and Apple deal, but we do know none of these hacks to unlock the iPhone would be necessary if we had carrier choice. What’s the cost differential between adding a few carriers to the iPhone and wasting time developing software to outflank hackers?
MacDailyNews Take: Interesting question. However, assuming that Apple didn’t use Excel to do the math, one would tend to believe that the differential was great enough to have to sit through half-witted online petitions calling for Apple to change their product and nix their business deals, the fulminations of so-called tech reporters, etc. This is the way Apple has chosen to market the product they developed. AT&T in the U.S. is currently part of the product’s specs. If you don’t like it, there are other (lesser) so-called “smartphones.” It is not an unalienable right that everyone has an iPhone. If you want to deal with what unlocking the iPhone entails, then more power to you. But you shouldn’t complain when unsupported mods go unsupported.
• Apple has the best tech support in the business and could put it at risk over the iPhone. According to Consumer Reports June 2007 rankings Apple had a reader score of 81 out of a possible 100 when servicing desktops and laptops. On laptops the next best score was Lenovo’s 66 and Dell’s 60. One theory behind Apple’s score: Apple owners are an elite–some would say elitist–club. These folks will get whatever Apple pumps out of the product pipeline. Consumer Reports bases its scores on reader surveys. In these surveys perception matters. With the iPhone Apple is going mass market scores for Apple are only going to decline based on the laws of large numbers.
MacDailyNews Take: Another, more logical theory: Apple’s products are more reliable than other companies and Apple offers better tech support than other companies. Radical ideas, we know.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The more customers a company gets, the more complaints it will receive, as the percentage of “unsatisfied” customers is likely to remain constant despite growth. Apple should do whatever they can to improve support, quality, and their business decisions as they grow in order to protect their good reputation. Apple is not without fault – and can do better with some things – but the worries presented by Digan strike us as more than a bit overwrought.
Yesterday I reported the iPhone update caused the phone to do a complete re-install of the OS. I was without my iPhone from noon until 5 when I got back home from work. I got back, all was fine, and 1.1.1 was installed as expected.
My iPhone was not bricked as I initially thought.
I disagree with ZDNet’s Dignan.
Apple PROTECT the iPhone.
And AT&T;keep working on improving the service.
dd
MacDailyNews Take: We are iZombies, no one is allowed to criticize the God of Gods, Apple. We lick our anuses in defiance of all criticism.
The article is from ZDNet…what did you expect?
So are we to expect that Apple should engineer around iPhone hacks for the iPhone so that they don’t alienate their “loyal” hacker fans? I dont’ think so. Apple must be Apple and keep developing for their real consumers (the one’s buying the phone to actually use). Hackers are free to keep breaking into the iPhone all they want, just don’t polute the rest of us with their sour logic of Apple not playing nice with them. Companies that are trying to sell software to open up the iPhone are just trying to make a quick buck. They don’t care about the end-user experience that they are creating. It’s fun to hack into something, but that doesn’t mean it’s a viable business model.
@shlumdaily news take:
How did MDN make it so that “no one is allowed to criticize the God of Gods”? Seems to me that Dignan criticized and MDN responded. Isn’t that what reasoned discourse is about?
Or is name calling the best that you’re able to do?
Kevin
I believe that reporters and many others like to pick hot topics that stir up feels from the large audience.
But, these issues rarely affect, but a very small number of people.
The number of people with an iPhone is a very small number.
The number of people with a modified iPhone is an extremely small number.
But, the story of Apple causing this very small number of people a problem is crazy. We know that all of these people are world travelers or live in an area without AT&T;service. And, they are just trying to use their phone. I feel so sorry for them. Able we should change some federal law to force Apple to correct this wrong and provide free service to the poor.
The French do not deserve a way to unlock the iPhone.
Hey Shlum, is that really the best insult you could come up with? Man you windows cats just keep consistently proving your lack of imagination, intelligence, and vision.
Keep up the mediocre work!
AT&T;sucks. They’re the main reason I don’t own an iPhone at the moment.
And iDiots who spend $600 (before the price cut) or $400 for a fabulous, value-for-money device and then proceed to tinker around with it deserve their fate.
As for this writer, same old, same old. The new line is:
1) Apple is suddenly making “mistakes.”
2) The “mistakes” are pissing off “loyal” customers (whatever that means).
3) More and more “loyal” customers are abandoning the Apple ship.
4) Therefore, Apple has started to sink.
This calculation too seems to have been done on Excel!
…right… and why are you reading stuff on this site anyway?
All these MSoft Worshippers. You can tell them by their profanity…. sorry, no class…. none at all.
Well, Apple has no choice. They are walking a tight rope and doing pretty good at it. They had to team up with a carrier in order to do things like visual voice mail. If they had made the iPhone really easy to unlock, how would they ever establish any future relationships with other companies. However, if they made the iPhone completely unlockable, they would be alienating part of their user base. So, they didn’t turn it into an iBrick on purpose, but if it happened, well, we told you it might and that you should do it at your own risk.
Now Mr. Jobs has to give an out to these early adopters…..
Just my $0.02
The product is what it is. As a manufacturer, I release a product and if you don’t like it, get an alternative!
If you buy a Ford to put a Chevy engine on it, you do it at your own risk! Don’t expect Ford to make parts for your modified car or to fix your engine.
If you want something you can hack at your leisure, get Linux! Linux was made for that.
As Andrew Dice Clay said: “If you don’/t speak the language, get the F$%& out of the country!” (cound be read as “if you don’t agree with the terms, get another device!”)
This is a phone, not an open source project. Don’t like it? Buy a motorola.
When did Apple Computer become open season for hackers. Why should Apple have to placate a group that represents the smallest fraction of the minority of the customer base. These hackers act like it is their right to do what ever they want with the phone. Apple has certain legal obligations to ATT. Thats why the phone is built the way it was. If the hackers want to hack let them do it, at their own risk. Hackers, a bunch of cry babies.
Apple, learning from Micro$oft, has to protect their stuff, protect it early, and protect it often. Micro$oft is getting a bad trying desperately to protect their stuff too much, way too late. The volume of sign ons is way greater than those complaining about Apple’s monopolization tactics. Again, you can monopolize as long as you have the best product and best product cycle and best product upgrade path. Micro$oft never had the best product, and look at them now…desperate. Go ahead, buy Facebook, Yahoo, and whoever else to try and compete, but the four horsemen have a long term plan and will stay strong. AAPL, GOOG, AMZN, and yes, RIM. Later, AAPL and RIM are going to compete head to head and Apple will win, but, for now, they are on the same page against the spiraling Micro$oft.
I have a recording of my grandmother’s voice saying, “Boy, answer that damn phone!”
It was my ringtone.
I’m not stealing anyone’s stupid pathetic who cares crappy ass music. I just liked Lucy’s voice on my phone. My $600 phone. Or is it my phone? Maybe I didn’t read the docs properly. Apparently Apple still OWNS my phone and will direct what I do with it.
To say that I am disillusioned with Apple is an understatement.
@Jim –
I had the same problem as you — an error during the updating process required a “restore” on the iPhone, and resyncing all the data. Why in the world would you think your phone was dead?
The whole process was completely straightforward (if a bit annoying), and on-screen directions made it perfectly clear that this was no big deal. It took about two hours to reload about six gigs of data on my phone. Your iPhone was no doubt waiting for you ready to go long before you showed up after work.
Considering what a pain reinstalling an OS can be (even the Mac OS), I thought this was a relatively painful process.
I wonder if you are who the dumb-ass over at ZDNet was referring to as unhacked customers reporting their phones were “bricked”?
There is no “war” with hackers. Please… What happened when hackers hacked iTunes’ DRM or hacked Mac OS X to run on generic Intel hardware? Did Apple “lose” those wars. Nope, Apple just made a few adjustments, and those hackers where defeated. Yes, they could have come back with another hack, but apparently, it wasn’t worth their effort. I guess even hackers these days have to make money too.
@Grifterus-
Your analogy is flawed. I don’t think that anyone who physically modifies their iPhone expects Apple to support it. Changing software, though, is reversible. If Apple were to release an update that breaks unlocked iPhones, and then doesn’t allow folks a way to reset the software back to factory stock, then I’d call that a problem. Apple doesn’t put this requirement on the desktops or laptops, and since the iPhone runs a variant of OS X, there’s no reason why some one who’s clever enough to do it shouldn’t be able to change the software. They should, however, be able to reset the software, just as you can do on a desktop or laptop from Apple. Besides which, even everyone’s “favorite” law, the DMCA, has an exception for unlocking phones so that they’ll be able to work on other than the original network. If the morons who passed the DMCA even see the ability to change networks as worthwhile and something that should be legally protected, why do have an issue with folks who want to buy an iPhone but don’t want AT&T;’s service?
The iPhone is a great device, but there are plenty of ways it could be better. I’d love to own one, except that I’m not willing to change service plans (no one’s been able to beat my current monthly price), and I’m not willing to pay nearly double what I do now every month just to get an iPhone. Besides which, with an iPhone, I’d lose some capabilities that my current phone has (save, view, and edit Office docs, save and view PDF’s, run 3rd party apps), and it’s not a good trade for me even with the features that are exclusive to the iPhone.
And before any fanboys pipe up accusing me of being a Microsoft hack, I’ve been a Mac user for the last 14 years. I only use Windows at work, and then only when necessary.
Thanks Brian
“We know that all of these people are world travelers or live in an area without AT&T;service. And, they are just trying to use their phone.”
Agree Andrew
” Hackers are free to keep breaking into the iPhone all they want, just don’t polute the rest of us with their sour logic of Apple not playing nice with them”
If you want an iPhone, you have 2 choices,
choice 1/ abide by the terms with your Countries carrier,
choice 2/ unlock/ hack what ever, but do at your own risk, and do not go bitching if they get one up on you
I live in Mexico, have an unlocked iPhone, LOVE IT
I am happy with the original version of software, no need to update, until the hackers have a fix
If it is permanently turned into a brick, I will buy a new one as soon as that is unlocked, I figure if I have to buy 3 iPhones a year, so be it, well worth $100.00 per month just to have one.
Any way, love having a reason to fly to Miami
You would think after reading this and similar articles, that everyone and their brother were unlocking their iPhones. I seriously doubt that anywhere near 1% of iPhone owners have even thought about doing it. So it is unlikely that this is going to have any impact, one way or another, on Apple’s reputation.
anyone that wants to hack an iphone is prolly the type to d/l pirated music. you hacks just dont get it. its not your right to hack someones product and demand they support your lame ass hack. now stfu and go back to your rooms/basement/garage. the VAST majority of actual consumers dont care for your lame ass hacks and are buying the iphone cause they want one. only idiots buy iphones to hack em. i mean wtf get a life. go play wow or something….noobs i swear.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”raspberry” style=”border:0;” />