JailBreaking a BB

**The_Engine** · 02-12-2010, 11:42 AM

I don't know a lot about the i Phone, and even less about Jail-breaking. That being said I recently fell down the You Tube rabbit hole and watched several videos about what Jail-breaking is, and what the benefits are from doing it. After my limited research I was astounded that the reasons that most iPhone users Jail-Break their devices were to seemingly obtain functionality that is native to BlackBerries.

For example, the reasons must people listed were: (and these were the predominant things that I saw looking at several top 10 apps on Cydia videos)

- Customization - Via 3rd party apps like "Winterboard" that let users change the background, icon's, etc. Even apply themes that change the over all look and feel of the OS
- Organization - Create and Manage folders where you can place your apps
- Multi-Tasking - I did not see a specific way to do this after Jail Breaking, but my research was limited and I was always told you can do this after jail-breaking
- Video Camera - 3gs has this, but several videos talked about how the 3rd party apps were better.

So it amazes me that the accepted Pinnacle of Smart Phone User Experience has a large community of users who are hacking their device with 3rd party software to alter the User Experience with features that are native to the BB OS. Especially when all we ever hear about the BB OS is how much of a dinosaur it is, and all that.

Now I am not saying that the BB OS is better then the IPhone OS, as clearly Apple is a doing a lot right there. But I had to wonder...

If you removed Theme Support, all customization of the UI including Folder Creation, Multi Tasking, Security & Encryption (Since I Phone just plain does not have that), and BES/BIS functionality (again since the i Phone does not have that and just rolls on the internet across the carrier's network) how much could RIM tighten up the OS? I'd have to imagine that you could create a smokin fast little OS with blazing fluidity in the UI, and have room left over for plenty of Open GL support and a real nice browser. Also if you had 1 device to support, 2 if you count the iTouch.

**howarmat** · 02-12-2010, 12:21 PM

yes you can multitask with a program after jailbreaking

**jtornone** · 02-12-2010, 12:29 PM

The good thing about RIM is that you can customize it without having to do anything to the os. You can also install any app you want without RIM saying wether you can use it or not. Yes the iPhone is pretty but lacks a lot of the funtionality of a blackberry. Its not a perfect phone, but no phone is.

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**BergerKing** · 02-12-2010, 12:59 PM

Sounds like a lot of hassle just to get something to actually live up to, or at least resemble, a true smart phone.

The iPhone has it's merits, and really serves one segment of users for their needs. The flexibility of BlackBerry works fine for me. And, I have keys that I can press and tell that something has taken place, without having to look down to see if I got it right. I like that.

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**JRSCCivic98** · 02-12-2010, 02:44 PM

Originally Posted by BergerKing

Sounds like a lot of hassle just to get something to actually live up to, or at least resemble, a true smart phone.

The iPhone has it's merits, and really serves one segment of users for their needs. The flexibility of BlackBerry works fine for me. And, I have keys that I can press and tell that something has taken place, without having to look down to see if I got it right. I like that.

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Hacking a phone is hacking a phone. Doesn't matter how you do it. Technically speaking, by mixing and matching up OS files we're already "hacking" the phone's OS in a very small way. ANY modification from the OEM design is "hacking" to an extent.

Anyway, there's nothing negative about hacking an iPhone to get it to do more stuff. There were simply provisions and capabilities within the phone itself that Apple didn't want to enable yet or simply didn't think they needed for whatever "user experience" they were looking to accomplish. For other people that want those extra features from a product that otherwise they like is a good thing. Look at the new Droid... people are overclocking the CPU to make things faster then they were already. Does it need it, probably not, but it's nice to be able to know that it can be done. A lot of us in the tech community love to know there are options for all our toys.

**Krypto** · 02-12-2010, 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by JRSCCivic98

Hacking a phone is hacking a phone. Doesn't matter how you do it. Technically speaking, by mixing and matching up OS files we're already "hacking" the phone's OS in a very small way. ANY modification from the OEM design is "hacking" to an extent.

Anyway, there's nothing negative about hacking an iPhone to get it to do more stuff. There were simply provisions and capabilities within the phone itself that Apple didn't want to enable yet or simply didn't think they needed for whatever "user experience" they were looking to accomplish. For other people that want those extra features from a product that otherwise they like is a good thing. Look at the new Droid... people are overclocking the CPU to make things faster then they were already. Does it need it, probably not, but it's nice to be able to know that it can be done. A lot of us in the tech community love to know there are options for all our toys.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but there have already been several documented negatives about hacking the iPhone - primarily, the average user ends up exposing themselves to various secuiryt exploits (true techies know how about the extra steps to secure their iPhones, but the average person hacking the iPhone doesn't). And, if you want the most recent updates by Apple, you'll lose the jailbroken status, so you either have to wait until someone has created a hack for the most recent update before you upgrade, or you lose the jailbreak.

Too bad Apple can't seem to keep out the spyware apps from their own App Store. At least that might justify staying legit, but as it is...

Now then, the true hacking, like overclocking processors is just plain fun to do if you know how and can afford to replace a bricked device!

I wish I had the money to play around more!

**The_Engine** · 02-12-2010, 03:13 PM

My point here was not about whether or not to Hack, or the pros and cons of that, but was more Surprise at how excited iPhone users were to be able to put icons in a folder after they jail broke their device. I am just astounded by some of the basic things BB's can do "Off the Shelf" that iPhones can't without modifying it.

**Krypto** · 02-12-2010, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by The_Engine

My point here was not about whether or not to Hack, or the pros and cons of that, but was more Surprise at how excited iPhone users were to be able to put icons in a folder after they jail broke their device. I am just astounded by some of the basic things BB's can do "Off the Shelf" that iPhones can't without modifying it.

And that right there is a big reason I don't care for the iPhone.

**howarmat** · 02-12-2010, 05:00 PM

yes out of the box the jesus phone is limited IMO. Sure its smooth and looks ok but still lacks some big performance features. Jailbroken its nice and can be a good phone, still on a lackluster network in most places.

**JRSCCivic98** · 02-12-2010, 07:33 PM

Originally Posted by Krypto

Correct me if I'm wrong, but there have already been several documented negatives about hacking the iPhone - primarily, the average user ends up exposing themselves to various secuiryt exploits (true techies know how about the extra steps to secure their iPhones, but the average person hacking the iPhone doesn't). And, if you want the most recent updates by Apple, you'll lose the jailbroken status, so you either have to wait until someone has created a hack for the most recent update before you upgrade, or you lose the jailbreak.

Too bad Apple can't seem to keep out the spyware apps from their own App Store. At least that might justify staying legit, but as it is...

Now then, the true hacking, like overclocking processors is just plain fun to do if you know how and can afford to replace a bricked device!

I wish I had the money to play around more!

There are not "various security exploits", there was just one. One that the people designing the technique for Jailbreaking processes didn't protect the average user against. The issue was that SSH was left on and with a default password that everyone knew. It's no different then the millions of people out there right now with 1234 as their PIN for their check cards.

It's no different then the millions of people out there with no firewalls on their home PCs or no AV products because they think they know better. In the end all it does is create jobs for the rest of us, lol. But seriously, your argument that a Jailbroken iPhone is unsecure is about as valid as saying a gun is unsafe because it exists and is loaded. Hey, don't misunderstand, I'm not arguing with you, just trying to put the vision in perspective.

As for Apple's patches, yes, once one is released, the Jailbroken process must be changed to work with that version, but in the 3.1.3 patch Apple fixed like almost nothing... so people didn't miss out on much. Trust me, people with Jailbroken iPhones don't care about the official releases. People want freedom and that's what they get from Jailbreaking.

Originally Posted by The_Engine

My point here was not about whether or not to Hack, or the pros and cons of that, but was more Surprise at how excited iPhone users were to be able to put icons in a folder after they jail broke their device. I am just astounded by some of the basic things BB's can do "Off the Shelf" that iPhones can't without modifying it.

I dunno if I would consider "filing an icon in a folder" as a miraculous thing a Blackberry can do. That's not exactly "head of the class" material if you know what I mean. The iPhone was designed with the idea of presenting icons to the user in flippable panels while maintaining a customizable static set at the bottom for easy access. They didn't want a user to have to open a folder and another folder until they dug up the icon they needed. Some people don't like that, I could care less... I didn't like the idea of being limited to 7 icon panes, but in reality, how many apps can you load on an iPhone to run out of panes. Some fill them up, others don't.

Every phone won't fit everyone and they all seem to have one limitation or another. I honestly can't understand why these makers design a smartphone with all the newest stuff, then botch one thing to make you go... Oooo, Ahhh, Yeah, YES, YEESSS!!! YES!!!!... wtf? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Case in point, a smartphone I read about recently that had plenty of memory, fastest processor available, awesome screen, amazing design... and a 2MP camera.

WTF?! It's like the designers build this great device and then sit back at the last moment and go.... hummmm... how can we frack with these people? I know, let's do this... Boom, so much for your perfect device! Losers will come back in 6 months for another model.

**Krypto** · 02-12-2010, 07:57 PM

Absolutely... I just don't know why they cant get it right! (And by them, I mean all smartphone manufacturers).

**JRSCCivic98** · 02-12-2010, 08:09 PM

Originally Posted by Krypto

Absolutely... I just don't know why they cant get it right! (And by them, I mean all smartphone manufacturers).

I think it's because they don't want to. If we can come up with the perfect idea, everyone can too.

**BergerKing** · 02-12-2010, 09:04 PM

Oh, I didn't say it wasn't amusing to experiment with making the unit do more, just a PITA that it wasn't done natively. I've probably done a couple hundred different things I'd never really considered with my BlackBerry. And each day I'm expanding into a lil' more.

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