The developer of Cydia “ the jailbreak program that is the leading place to browse for and install jailbreak apps on the iPhone “ is planning on creating a centralized payment system and making Cydia a full-on App Store competitor.
Converting Cydia into a proper application store won’t be complicated, and more or less amounts to Freeman adding a centralized payment service to the software. His competitive ambitions, though, aren’t so subtle: He told the WSJ that "the overworking goal is to provide choice" and that he plans on match or beat Apple’s commission for downloaded apps.
I ‘m not currently jailbroken, but when I was the subject of paying for jailbreak apps was always controversial. I have mixed feelings about it now. On the one hand I fully believe in supporting developers “ of jailbreak or App Store apps. If you like an app and use it regularly, then you should do your best to donate to the developer, or pay for the app if it offers a paid version.
But it is also harder to justify paying for jailbreak apps, as they come with some greater risks than most ‘legit ‘ App Store apps. For instance, when a major new version of the iPhone OS comes out, there is generally a period where no jailbreak is available for that latest firmware. So, when 2.0 came out and everyone wanted in on the App Store goodness, you had to give up your jailbreak to get it, for a time. Even when a jailbreak process comes out for a major new Apple OS update, it may take *much* longer for many jailbreak apps to make themselves compatible with the latest version.
So you end up with some awkward and tough decisions. Maybe your sweet new video recording app will not work with iPhone OS 3.0, as a hypothetical example. And that hypothetical new version of the OS boasts proper background notifications and some multi-tasking “ so you end up having to choose which you want more “ video recording or the other big new features. Video recording while staying stuck on an outdated version of the OS?
Presumably, it is Apple ‘s responsibility to ensure a high degree of compatibility for all apps that are in the App Store and work under OS 2.x, when a new 3.0 comes out. I imagine that may prove to be interesting times for legit apps as well.
Another worrying thing about Cydia turning on a system for buying apps is that this may cause Apple to me much more aggressive in fighting against jailbreaks “ as John at Gizmodo points out:
While a centralized Cydia payment system would make purchasing apps such as Snapture and PDAnet simpler and could breed innovation for potentially useful nonsanctioned apps, but it also provides a single, unified target for Apple should they decide to start hurling lawyers at the jailbreak scene. Though the company hasn’t specifically responded to this announcement, it’d be naive to think they won’t: in effect, Freeman, who has already hired a lawyer, has just announced that he plans on making money on a process that Apple claimed to be totally illegal just a few weeks ago.
What do you all think? Good or bad move by Cydia? And how do you feel about paying for jailbreak apps?
Via: Gizmodo
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