Comments on: Best Way To Win Back iPhone Jailbreakers: One Word, Multitasking

By: What Would Win Back Jailbreakers? « Cell Phones & Computers

What Would Win Back Jailbreakers? « Cell Phones & Computers — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:58:36 +0000

[…] it is one feature Dixon doesn’t talk about that PatrickJ at Just Another iPhone Blog nails that we think would be the big megillah of jailbreak-habit-breaking — the elusive […]

By: Nick

Nick — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:57:34 +0000

I have the following Jailbreak apps installed on my iPhone:

Jailbreak (blackra1n)
Cydia
Backgrounder
Proswitcher (with Activator)
MobileTerminal ("root" & "mobile" pw's changed for security)
iFile
BTstack keyboard app
"find in page" bookmarklet
SBsettings
Rotation Inhibitor
SplitScreen (or TVout-mirror version)
OpenSSH

The single biggest things for me are BTstack keyboard support, Splitscrn for additional tv-out support and, of course, multitasking.

By: Christian

Christian — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:03:47 +0000

Freedom. If Apple gave me freedom to do whatever i wanted with my own phone, then I wouldn't jailbreak.

By: Olivier Savignac

Olivier Savignac — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:12:53 +0000

Sorry for the off-topicness… What's the theme for the icons in the pic ?

By: patrickj

patrickj — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:55:12 +0000

In reply to Matthew. Wow, now that's a damn fine reason if ever there was one.

By: kelly

kelly — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:09:42 +0000

In reply to sysrage.

i agree…not piracy as my number one, but sometimes it is nice to be able to try before i buy. my biggest NEEDS are customization and quick SMS apps…i cannot live without my biteSMS.

By: kelly

kelly — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:03:53 +0000

In reply to Olivier Savignac. looks like glasklart...i have it on mine too!

By: Matthew

Matthew — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:28:17 +0000

I use Sygic Mobile Maps (Europe) on an 8gb iPhone 3G. It uses up a LOT of space and I only need UK, Germany and Spain for the maps. My phone is jailbroken simply so I can access the root folder, find Sygic and remove all the maps I don’t need (about 1GB). I can also then add the speed camera files and alert voices from PocketGPSWorld which work great with the app!

That’s why I jailbreak!

If Apple made it easier to access the file structure or even, at the very least, make it easier to add files to a folder for apps to access (as the rumours for the OS3.2 iPad OS seem to suggest they are) then I’d consider not bothering with the hassle of jailbreaking.

SBSettings is also very very useful!

By: patrickj

patrickj — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:00:25 +0000

In reply to Olivier Savignac. It's Glasklart.

By: patrickj

patrickj — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:26:38 +0000

Lots of great reasons folks – keep 'em coming. 🙂

By: patrickj

patrickj — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:26:17 +0000

In reply to sysrage. Great points! I'd have to agree with you on nearly all of that. I so much hope you're wrong on pirating being the number one reason, but I guess I wouldn't bet against it either. I certainly agree that there are a great number of reasons to jailbreak, and that choice is important for a lot of us. Like you, I sincerely hope there will always be jailbreak and jailbreak developers to push the boundaries.

By: Rodney

Rodney — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:12:28 +0000

SBSettings and Lockinfo. On the 3G, with the limited processor and memory, multi-tasking is not a real option…..it is just too under-powered. But I could not be without SBSettings or Lockinfo.

By: Drew

Drew — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:03:11 +0000

Folders! Seriously, categories is the one app I refuse to unjailbreak for. Others are nice, but I need something to organize all of this stuff.

By: John Steele

John Steele — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:01:24 +0000

What about just make it more efficient when we leave applications, especially games? When I am winning 2-0 with 30 seconds left in soccer and my phone rings, or I need to check my calendar, I used to cringe-now I just run backgrounder. I don’t see why every app can’t have the ability to immediately save its exact state. The other thing that would take care of apps like bitesms/jailbreaking is to have android style notification. Allow the user some freedom, such as displaying their calendar on the lock screen, and allow quick access to settings, and setting the few hardware buttons to anything the user wants. Do most of these things and you’ll win over all but the nerdiest and pirates. I have suggestions to win over the pirates too, but this is already rambling and its nothing you all haven’t thought of. In short, keep the core the same, and adopt what Android does better (settings and notification).

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:41:51 +0000

There is nothing apple can do to make me stay with their version of the OS. Jailbreaking gives you the full potential of ur phone and that's what I like.

By: sysrage

sysrage — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:40:35 +0000

Multitasking is definitely a very very big feature that draws people the jailbreaking. However, I disagree that it would make a significant dent in how many people will jailbreak. My very very unofficial and un-scientific analysis just from what I've encountered over time would probably show the main uses of jailbreak go something like this (sorted by the main reason people jailbreak):

1) Piracy (Sad. Very very sad. Unfortunately, I think it's true.)

2) Themes and customization (All the various types of themes, SMS tone changes, Lockscreen modifications, and SpringBoard enhancements like FiveIconDock, Categories, and PogoPlank)

3) QuickSMS-type apps. (iRealSMS, BiteSMS, qTweeter, etc)

4) Multitasking

5) The rest — Which is obviously still VERY large. This includes things many of us can NOT live without such as iFile, Safari Download Manager, Attachment Saver, SBSettings, 3G Unrestrictor, AddExchange, Notifier, Snappy, etc.)

It's possible my view on the scene is skewed, but I try to watch the whole field to see where things are headed. So, yes I agree multitasking is a very big reason many people jailbreak, I don't agree that Apple adding official multitasking would make much of a difference at all. What Patrick said makes it even more unlikely. At this point, there are quite a few different ways to accomplish app-switching and backgrounding. QuickDo, ProSwitcher, vanilla Backgrounder, Kirikae… The amazing thing about all these choices is that no matter how incredible one gets, there are still a large number of people that prefer one of the other options. That, to me, points out the exact reason why jailbreaking is incredibly important to me (and I'd even risk saying important to the iPhone's success); People need options. Apple can add multitasking. Apple can add lockscreen widgets. Apple can add quick-toggles for WiFi, 3G, etc. They can add all these features people want, and they should, but it is literally impossible to please everybody. Their implementation of all these features will, at this point, almost certainly fall short. People have grown used to an incredible community of hackers willing to listen and tweak the phone to exactly what people want. If one dev thinks it should be one way, a second dev does it a different way and everybody is happy.

There will ALWAYS be a significant need for some amount of openness in the platform. Apple refuses to understand this. The harder they fight the jailbreak community, the larger the hole is that they're digging themselves into. I personally upgraded my 3G to a 3GS without a second thought the day it was released. As I've watched Apple fight their users more and more every day, I will definitely not be upgrading to the next iPhone until I know it can be jailbroken. I absolutely love my phone, but without being able to tweak it how I want, it's more or less useless. Other options are gaining ground very quickly and are MUCH more open. Apple needs to realize this very quickly. Their 150,000 apps won't keep people around forever.

By: jacoch

jacoch — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:14:54 +0000

For me, multitasking is not so important. Apps are starting quickly enough that I don’t really use it although it’s installed for some time now. What I can’t live without is SBSettings, Categories (CategoriesSB of course) and LockInfo.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:14:50 +0000

I don’t think I’d ever not jailbreak, just for the fact that it allows me, albeit unnoticed, to protest the ridiculous software restrictions apple has placed over it’s iPhone/Touch/Pad. Even so, the things that would cause me to consider no longer jailbreaking would be:
-Multitaking
-A SBSettings replacement
-Ability to remove (or hide) stock apps [why do I need Stocks app when I don’t have any investments?]
-Theming [at least give me a customizable background]
-A better lockscreen [LockInfo is essential IMO]

By: Clark

Clark — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:07:27 +0000

Multitasking and SBSettings.

By: tys

tys — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:30:25 +0000

Multitasking.
Tethering (at a reasonable price).
Folders (if I didn’t have Categories, all my apps would take up 7 pages! Now they’re nicely organized on just 2)
Quick settings access like SBSettings.
Downloading of any file or attachment to a folder I can later copy to mac.

There are others I’d like to have but those are the ones I consider essential for me not to jailbreak.
If those are implemented in a future OS along with some compelling new features, I’m in.

By: patrickj

patrickj — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:55:40 +0000

I think the implementation of multitasking would have to be impressive as well, because by now what we've got in the jailbreak arena is a very strong offering – especially if you use several of the apps available for this purpose in combination. If the Apple implementation has anything in common with the super lame home screen / app organizing in iTunes that they brought out in the 3.1 update, then forget it, nobody will go back to stock. 🙂

By: psylichon

psylichon — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:49:17 +0000

Yup, multitasking would seal the deal for me. Well, that and proper Google Voice app.