Apple: why iPhone jailbreaking should not be allowed

Mostly the point is to work around the restrictions put in place by the carrier. AppStore blocks such applications, but if you jailbreak the phone you can load anything.

For example, tethering a pc to the phone and running voip using a data connection rather than a voice connection isn't allowed (or attracts high data fees). However, put a sip proxy on the phone and you've set up two separate data flows - the tether is no longer there but you still get cheap voice calls. Apple is trying to protect the carrier against this as part of the deal that they will be the only network on which iPhones can be used.

Apple is in new territory here. With Mac's and ipods you've got expensive hardware with cheap, good software being the differentiator. This is a solid business model. The iphone is different.

With the iphone, the hardware is expensive, but they are also trying to control post-purchase behaviour. The problem is that iphones are "sold." They are in shops, in shopping centres and a "selling" environment. For Apple to turn around and say you can't mess with your own stuff doesn't really follow what people expect from a retail situation. If Apple's advertising was all phrased in terms of "rent an iphone" then fine, its clear it still belongs to Apple. You can't sell it and keep control.

Apple typically provides services around its products which people want, which are better than the competition and for which they can charge. e.g. calendar printing, It may be awkward but the user has the final say. Forcing people to do things goes beyond what even Apple normally do and will probably fail, as so many others have done.

Personally, I'm waiting for the hackintosh port to the G1...