Breaking news… Jailbreaking!

The links below illustrate the behavior that Apple encourages for charging for something as small as slight UI upgrade and last year’s applications:

Note: I have not tried jailbreaking mine yet.  I’ll give Apple a little more time to straighten things out.  I still don’t know for sure if we have to pay for the ability to install 3rd party apps.   Also don’t know if there will be such a thing as free, legitimate (in Apple’s eyes) 3rd party apps.

From Engadget:  Dev Team’s 1.1.3 jailbreak…

Hackintosh discussion thread

No charge for the update and none of this is necessary.

Why the $20 Charge is Wrong

I’ve tried to see the other side of the argument. I wish i could agree with the other side of the argument because $20 isn’t a big deal to me and so if i could be happy with handing it over then I’d be a happier person. But i just can’t see the other side. And if i paid the $20 then every time i’d see those new little icons I’d just be reminded about how angry I am at apple for treating me like a second class citizen.

Here’s my list of reasons why the $20 charge for the January update is wrong:

• The apps had already been written for the iphone.  Enhancements for 1.1.3 are relatively minor and can’t possibly have been expensive to develop.
• Apps were conspicuously absent from ipod touch.  It was clear from the start that these apps should have been there.  There was no sensible reason for them to be absent.
• Free for new touch customers.
• Apps install with 1.1.3 update regardless of whether you choose to buy them. Buying them simply unlocks them. (so Apple is already taking the trouble to push this to your iPod for free and use up storage space.)
• Announced after the holiday buying season.  It was timed after a spike in ipod touch sales to increase the base of people to charge.
• Free for all iphone customers.
• Steve jobs labeled this as ‘only’ $20 during an event in which he was showing off how well Apple was doing financially.
• $20 should deliver much more compelling s/w than this in today’s marketplace
• Announced same event where major but free update to apple tv announced
• Microsoft does not charge for Zune updates.  Its safe to say that Microsoft is treating their customers much better than Apple treats iPod Touch customers.
• iPod touch is not a cheap device and so its customers shouldn’t be nickel and dimed by Apple.
• This encourages jailbreaking at a time when Apple could have made jailbreaking pointless. With the upcoming SDK, there’s no reason I can think of for jailbreaking an iPod Touch other than if you had to pay for the ability to install 3rd party apps.

I’m an Accountant… and I’m a PC

I’m seeing lots of Apple apologists explaining away the $20 update charge due to general accounting principles and Sarbanes-Oxley. Great. That’s just the image that Apple is going for isn’t it?

Which one of these guys looks like the accountant?

And by the way that still doesn’t explain why the charge is as high as $20 and why this was seemingly timed after the holiday shopping season. I mean, the reason is obviously greed but I don’t know how the apologists explain it away.

Encouraging the iPod Touch Jailbreakers

What better way to encourage jailbreaking (hacking, cracking or whatever you’d call it) than to put software on people’s devices but charge an monopolistic price for it?   Apple is pretty much begging for the firmware update to be hacked.

Gizmodo posting with YouTube video here.

Gizmodo Misses the Point

The Gizmodo verdict on the January update is that its worth it…

Regarding the $20 charge, they, like many others, miss the point when they say:

anyone who paid $399 for a first-gen 16GB touch especially can spring for the extra Jackson.

Also, they gloss over the poor handling of the deployment of the update when they say:

If things don’t work out just right, don’t panic … uncheck “Manually manage music and videos”—you might get an error message … but still, it will sync the new apps…

Yup, $20 for old software that is a hassle to sync. Sure sounds worth it to me.

Can Apple’s iPod Monopoly Hurt Mac Sales?

While Apple can probably get away with monopolistic practices in the MP3/PMP player market for some time to come, I think this threatens the home computer part of their business. There are many people like me who are relatively new Apple customers via the iPod. (my first iPod was an iPod Photo) I have yet to buy a Mac but, up until recently, was thinking of a Mac as the front runner for my next home computer. Being on the wrong end of Apple’s monopolistic behavior regarding the iPod has made me look at the rest of their products in a whole new way – a way that’s unfavorable to Apple. It will be effortless on my part to never buy a Mac. There must be many others like me.

Apple the Next Microsoft?

They’re probably not quite there yet but many people have been questioning this.

A part of this article from Macworld seems to ring especially true in the context of this week’s $20 January update – see the section titled ‘Sticker Shock’ and here’s an excerpt which makes a good point about Apple’s pricing for ringtones:

Another clue that a company has monopoly power is when you find yourself suffering sticker shock…..
That same shock rippled through the iPhone enthusiast community yesterday when Jobs announced with a straight face that iPhone ringtones based on iTunes songs would cost the full price of the song, plus 99 cents extra. What? The full song costs 99 cents! How on Earth can Apple seriously charge the same amount again for the ability to hear just 30 seconds of the song — the same length as the free iTunes “samples”?

If Apple charges $.99 for a 30 second segment of a song that you’ve already purchased then $20 for some UI tweaks and a few old apps isn’t such a surprise after all.

Send your Feedback to Apple

There’s no guarantee that anyone will read it, but if you’re like me and insulted by the charge for the January Update then it might be worth it to spend a few minutes telling Apple what you think:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipodtouch.html

I have trouble finding a link to that URL on the Apple site. Maybe its just me and I’m overlooking it but it wouldn’t surprise me if they keep it pretty well hidden for a reason.

Think Twice Before Installing 1.1.3 – even the free part

Don’t install it yet if you choose to use you’re Touch differently than the way Apple wants you to use it. Click here for more.

Apple Continues to Disrepect iPod Touch Owners

If you’re seeing this post then you probably are well aware of the $20 charge to iPod Touch owners for a few small apps and minor UI enhancements that are free for iPhone and future iPod Touch owners. Oh that’s right, its not just $20, its “only $20″ according to Jobs.

I like this part of Engadget’s coverage of the announcement:

9:35am – “All the same stuff we just heard about on the iPhone — on the iPod touch. Starting today we’re going to build it into every new iPod touch, for existing iPod touch users it’s going to be just a $20 upgrade.” EXCUSE me?! You have to PAY for this? This is SO weak.

More coverage from Engadget

Take the poll.

Plenty more to follow..