Apple Store lost > $450M to pirated apps ? Huh ?

[cbelt3]

Relevant linky to text of a WSJ Article (plplp, Rupie)

I'm confused. The Apple store and iPhone / iTouch security seems pretty darn robust. How can people pirate these apps ? Or does it require some serious hardware hacking ?

Of course, the 'calculations' are based on total BS 'statistics'.

[Will Collier]

From what I understand (I haven't tried it, honest) copied/pirated apps can be installed on jailbroken phones.

[cbelt3]

IMHO, there are enough free apps to completely fill an iTouch or iPhone without having to jalbreak. And the piracy impetus just isn't there when an app costs $1.99. It ain't worth the trouble, and the risk of bricking your hardware.

I mean, I got an HP 12c calculator for free, AND a good performing VNC control app for free already this week. I'm a happy little camper !

[3d]

The "how" is pretty clear in the third paragraph:

"Jailbreaking an iPhone modifies the OEM Apple iPhone OS. This allows the user to circumvent the limitations put on the phone by Apple. Apart from the ability to modify the OS itself to allow for customizing of icons, backgrounds, functionality and processes, a jailbroken iPhone permits the installation of applications from sources other than the iTunes store."

And it's NOT a Wall Street Journal article. The article is linked to a website called 247wallst.

[Jimmypoo]

247 Wall Street!?

That's Eliot Spitzer's address! Wow! I wonder if him and the whore keep in touch?

[onthedownlow]

"How dare you! She's a nice lady!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZH4h4etigo (language warning)


lol

[Forrest]

The article makes a lot of assumptions to create a misleading high number of pirated applications. The article assumes that everyone who has a jailbroken phone/ipod touch has downloaded pirated apps. I disagree - I think the number one reason most iphones are jailbroken is to use them with a carrier besides AT&T.
I believe very few ipod touch uses have jailbroken their devices. With the high number of free apps on the iTunes store - what's the incentive?

[DRR]

Forrest wrote:
The article makes a lot of assumptions to create a misleading high number of pirated applications. The article assumes that everyone who has a jailbroken phone/ipod touch has downloaded pirated apps. I disagree - I think the number one reason most iphones are jailbroken is to use them with a carrier besides AT&T.
I believe very few ipod touch uses have jailbroken their devices. With the high number of free apps on the iTunes store - what's the incentive?

These numbers are grossly exaggerated for the headlines. It's like the recent one that said Star Trek was the most pirated movie of the year and they just multiplied 11 million downloads x the avg price of a movie ticket and said that they "lost" almost $100m. Right. 11 million people were going to see ST in the theater but though, well, let me wait until it's available for illegal download, so instead of paying $9 and going out and seeing a movie, I can keep my ass cemented to the chair, wait 8 hours for it to download, and then watch it on my dell laptop.

If anything, the studios should be happy to get the exposure, hopefully they've gotten a couple of fans out of the ordeal, who may actually go pay to watch the sequel because they enjoyed the first one. What a novel idea, embrace your consumer instead of fighting against them.

[graylocks]

i haven't read the article yet but on christmas day, within hours of receiving an iPod Touch, my son had found a page on how to jailbreak it to get free apps. (sigh...) whatever he did bricked his Touch and he was much relieved that the Restore function worked. the bricking freaked him out enough that he swore he'd never try that again.

yes, the apps are cheap. so cheap that within 10 days he spent over $160 of gift/allowance money on them. (grrrrrrr...)

Forrest - the incentive is that there is a generation out there that believes everything digital should be free. (double sigh.)

[Winston]

Just about the first thing our son did when he got my wife's old iPhone 3G was to jailbreak it. There are a lot of programs available for a jailbroken phone which are not available via the app store. A lot of programs. While it's not something I'd likely do, it does allow a great deal more customizing of the phone.

I don't have a problem with him doing this. The phone is out of contract and out of warranty. Apple should have no say on how he uses the phone.

Also, pirating means using an app without paying for it. That's not what he's doing with the apps available for a jailbroken phone. He's using apps not available at the Apple app store.


Good luck.

- Winston