5 Great Reasons To Jailbreak Your iPhone

A Look At The Best Apps For The Jailbreak Crowd

Nov 10, 2009

You've heard of it, you've seen others who've done it, now let's look at 5 great reasons you should be jailbreaking that iPhone.

In this day and age, there are so many technologies vying for the consumer's attention that it seems like everything somebody could ever need is already right at their fingertips. But there are some who aren't happy with the current state of affairs; they feel oppressed by big corporations telling them what they can and can't do; telling them what they should and shouldn't see.

There are groups like the iPhone Dev Team that feel this way about Apple products-iPhones and iPods, in particular. The Dev Team, and their tech-savvy brethren, feel that Apple shouldn't tell a customer what they can and can't run on the iPhone. They feel that the consumer should be the one to make that decision; if it's what the customer wants, it's what the customer gets. After all, isn't the customer always right?

5 Great Reasons To Jailbreak

Winterboard is an application that allows a user to run "themes" on their iPhone. These themes are numerous, and there seem to be no two alike. They range from simple black-and-white icon replacements, to more massive overhauls of the GUI on the iPhone. Some even replace standard system sounds, keyboards, lockscreen buttons and sliders, and carrier logos.

Some are based on other operating systems, and seem to be very popular. Imagine owning an Apple product that looks like it's running Windows 7.

The possibilities are endless with Winterboard, and it definitely provides flexibility when choosing how the phone should appear, but it doesn't actually change how the phone operates; it's just a cosmetic enhancement. However, it's fun, and it's well-worth the download.

AT&T promised it's iPhone customers that tethering-a method of using a phone's data-connection as a WiFi-hotspot for a computer-was just around the corner when iPhone's OS 3.0 was released in mid-2009. Those users are still waiting for a solution, and AT&T, while certainly trying, isn't offering any consolation.

These three apps (available in Cydia and Rock) are, though. They each allow a user to connect their laptop (or desktop) to their iPhone, and use the phone's data-connection to surf the Internet on an actual computer; preventing eye-strain from staring at the iPhone's small screen for extended periods of time.

This solution also allows the user to view videos and websites that utilize Flash, which isn't an option on the iPhone.

Each of the three applications has a different way of achieving connectivity, but they all work just fine. They aren't free, but they won't cost an arm and a leg like the plans AT&T have hinted about in regards to tethering an iPhone.

dTunes is an alternative to the iPhone's native iPod application. It also has the added bonus of containing a search function that can be used to scour the Internet for that one song that's been so elusive, that one video that is impossible to find, and even that one torrent that there wasn't time to download at home.

Yes, dTunes allows downloading of audio, video, and torrents right to the phone. This means if there's a song missing in that collection of '80s Metal that couldn't be found anywhere else, the phone's owner has the option of searching numerous sites for that MP3. They can also use the program to download torrents from any tracker on the web.

The iPhone is great on it's own, but there's a lightweight version of Mac OS X under that touchscreen. And that means there are plenty of commands, tweaks, and tricks that can be performed on the OS; it is based on BSD, after all. But there's no way to actually perform any of those tricks without a good shell.

That's where Terminal comes in handy. Not only does it provide access to the inner-workings of the phone's filesystem, but it also allows changes to be made that wouldn't otherwise be possible.

As an added bonus, Terminal is required to download those torrent files from dTunes. The two work in conjunction with another program called cTorrent. Together, these 3 programs allow a user to not only download the torrent (and it's associated files) but move the file anywhere on the phone they want.

This one hasn't gotten much publicity, but it still belongs on this list. iBluetooth is a completely rewritten collection of Bluetooth stacks. The iPhone does come with Bluetooth support right out of the box, but it doesn't support transferring files via BT connections. It can pair with a headset for hands-free communication, but it can't send a picture across the room to another phone.

This was a major oversight for Apple. While many complained of the lack of MMS support (added for AT&T customers with iPhone OS 3.1) and others complained of it's lack of landscape keyboards for any application other than Safari (added in iPhone OS 3.0,) there were others who wondered why Apple would allow the phone to be released without support for BT transfers.

The answer is simple: piracy. Apple doesn't want customers transferring their songs to somebody else. This makes sense, but what about images? Surely they'd let a customer transfer a picture via Bluetooth, wouldn't they?

No, they wouldn't. The easiest way to prevent unauthorized transfers is to take away the method. However, this is also the best way to ensure that somebody, somewhere, will find a way. And that's exactly what happened.

Other Great Reasons To Jailbreak

There are plenty of other wonderful reasons to jailbreak an iPhone. From free turn-by-turn GPS apps, and better camera apps, to small applications that run a web-server on the phone, there is something for everyone.

That doesn't mean that everybody should jailbreak their phone. If a user is having a good experience with a virginal iPhone, and won't benefit from anything available on Cydia or Rock, then there's no reason that person should jailbreak their phone. If, however, that same person decides that they need the ability to transfer a file to their sister, and the only way to do so is through Bluetooth, then there may be a valid reason.

The copyright of the article 5 Great Reasons To Jailbreak Your iPhone in Cell Phones is owned by Charles Zuspan. Permission to republish 5 Great Reasons To Jailbreak Your iPhone in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.