Apple Set to Disable iPhone Apps — Again

British reviewers who have tested the Apple (AAPL) iPhone that goes on sale in the U.K. Friday report that it comes pre-installed with a software update — 1.1.2 — that disables third-party applications.

According to the British gadget website T3, the update closes the so-called TIFF exploit — the software loophole used by hackers to “jailbreak” version 1.1.1. This loophole allowed iPhone owners to install dozens of third-party apps, including such popular add-ons as Navizon (a location finder), Voice Notes (a voice recorder) and instant-messaging programs like Apollo and Mobile Chat.

Thanks to one-click installations scripts like AppSnapp, these unauthorized iPhone add-ons have become almost mainstream. AppSnapp’s developers report that their software was downloaded 144,000 times in its first three days — which suggests that as many as 1 in 10 iPhone owners could be in for a rude surprise when they upgrade their software next weekend.

Some Apple bloggers — led by Quincy Pince-Nez at 9to5 Mac — advocate holding-off any iTunes and iPhone updates until programmers can find another way to install their apps. Apple would undoubtedly prefer that everybody wait until it releases its official iPhone software developers kit (SDK) in February, and Apple-sanctioned apps start to flow in.

The update is also likely to disable — and perhaps re-brick — iPhones unlocked to work with cellular providers other than Apple’s official carriers (AT&T in the U.S., O2 in the U.K., T-Mobile in Germany and Orange in France).
source: http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2007/11/04/apple-set-to-disable-iphone-apps-again/
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Is Apple the new Microsoft? - iPhone customers begin backlash

With the iPhone about to hit Britain, it seems not everyone is entirely happy with Apple’s new approaches now that they are a mainstream player. Let the backlash begin…

The iPhone is released in the UK this week, with the hype surrounding the gadget at astronomical proportions after it was named as Time magazine’s ‘Invention of the Year’, but it seems that customers on both sides of the Atlantic are starting to express concerns over what they perceive as Apple’s lurch to the mainstream.

Apple devotees are a strange breed, with most being fiercely loyal to their brand and not letting a bad word go by without some sort of response, but now that the Apple brand has grown to huge proportions, and the company is making more money than at any time in it’s history, the consumers are starting to question some decisions by the company and it’s figurehead Steve Jobs.

Apple was always seen to be on the side of the consumer, the anti-Microsoft with money less of a concern than customer satisfaction and innovation. But that has recently been reversed, with Apple now being seen as much of a money grabbing beast as Microsoft has ever been.

1.4 million iPhones have been sold in America since it’s release in June, which are impressive figures. But the decision to cut the price by $200 just 10 weeks after launch meant a lot of early adopters, the lifeblood of a company such as Apple, were left out of pocket and mad at the company they have supported for years.

But that’s not the worst. As the Guardian are reporting, Wil Shipley, an Apple devotee thinks that Apple’s insistence on using closed systems for their products is their worst crime.

“Why is the iPhone locked to a single carrier, so I can’t travel internationally with it? There’s really only one viable reason: Apple wanted a share of the carrier’s profits, which meant giving AT&T an exclusive deal. Which meant, we get screwed so Apple can make more money. It’s that simple.”

“And the iPhone is a closed system, like the iPods before it, so third parties can only develop software for it if they are EXTREMELY close to Apple. This is an incredibly frightening trend. As Apple gets more and more of its revenue from non-Mac devices, they are also getting more and more of their revenue from devices that simply exclude third parties.”

Making the iPhone only work on one network (AT&T in the States, 02 in the UK) really does not serve the consumer well, and makes a lot of people wary of buying in to the Apple brand. There’s only one reason for doing it, and that is to try and wring every cent and penny out of the technology they can… does that remind anyone else of Microsoft?

Some companies worked out how to unlock the iPhones, and offered their services to consumers unwilling to be forced to go with AT&T in the States, but a software security update in September made some of these iPhones freeze up and erased some programs such as games and instant messaging. That’s just playing dirty.

The same is likely to happen in the UK, with some companies already offering to unlock your newly purchased iPhone, and Apple have already threatened people trying to use the service by warning “installing one of the unlocking programs could make the phone ‘permanently inoperable’ when future software updates are released.”

Whether the iPhone is as big a success in the UK as in America remains to be seen, but what is clear is that Apple have changed from being the consumer driven company you want to see succeed, to another establishment player, and a ruthless money making machine along with it.
source: http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2007/11/04/are-apple-the-new-microsoft-iphone-customers-begin-backlash/
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1,400 extra staff are called up for iPhone launch

One of the most eagerly awaited gadgets goes on sale on Friday - and mobile firm O2 has taken on 1,400 staff to help cope with demand for Apple's new iPhone.

The hi-tech handset works as a touch-screen mobile phone, internet browser and iPod and costs £269 plus an 18-month O2 contract at between £35 and £55 a month.

It will be available from Apple, O2 and Carphone Warehouse who will be opening stores until 11pm to meet demand.

The iPhone is sleeker than rivals such as the Blackberry and Treo, and the 8 gigabyte version of the gadget holds up to 1,825 songs.

Some 1.1million of the phones have been sold in the U.S. since the end of June and it is understood that "several hundred thousand" have already been ordered in Britain.

O2 fought off stiff competition from rivals in the UK to win the exclusive contract to offer iPhones on its network.

The deal is understood to have involved a unique arrangement where Apple will take a share of call income.

The iPhone is controlled entirely through a touchscreen and has been a hit with celebrities such as Demi Moore.
source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/technology/technology.html?in_article_id=491706&in_page_id=1965
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