Filed under: iPhone, App Store, Jailbreak/pwnage
Cydia Store now open for jailbreak app sales
As previously reported, users of jailbroken phones and the developers who cater to them now have an avenue for commerce in apps: the Cydia Store. Smoking Apples visits the store and has a solid rundown, noting that Amazon Payments is the only funding source for the moment (PayPal is on the way, says Cydia lead Saurik/Jay Freeman). Users who update to the latest version of Cydia on their phones get the store capability automatically; if your phone isn't already jailbroken, though, you'll have to jailbreak it and install Cydia.The limited number of apps on the store versus the overwhelming bounty of the official App Store may help users find the apps they truly want, says SA. Freeman has a list of apps queued up for release over the next few weeks before he begins accepting unsolicited submissions.
If the functionality you want and need is uncertain or unlikely to show up in the App Store (*ahem* -- tethering, anyone?), would you jailbreak your phone and buy from the Cydia Store?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
drakhul said 10:28AM on 3-09-2009
I agree 100%, but that does not negate the fact that if you use copyrighted software and don't pay for it, you are stealing.
Back in the dark ages when I used a PC, I used to pirate everything... even the OS! Now I am grown and I know better.
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Alex said 10:34AM on 3-09-2009
Why are you talking about piracy and copyrighted software?
What does *anything* in the article have to do with that?
Jailbreaking is not piracy.
drakhul said 10:40AM on 3-09-2009
Sorry about that piracy post... 1Password had saved that comment and it submitted before I could do anything about it.
Just ignore it... since I can't delete it.
THJ said 2:04PM on 3-11-2009
Haha, I feel you dude, I did that a few times when I first got 1password, make sure auto-submit is turned off.
Actually, don't even bother trying to use it for blog posts, the whole 'new readers' and 'returning' tabs thing makes it more of a PITA than retyping my email/pw, but ymmv.
drakhul said 10:29AM on 3-09-2009
ARGH! Sorry...
No, I would not break my iPhone for ANY app.
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Dan said 10:33AM on 3-09-2009
So what about the plethora of apps already available for free to jailbroken iPhones? Will they all suddenly jump on to the Cydia store and stop being offered for free?
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ahhyeah said 10:41AM on 3-09-2009
That is not the intention. It's to give the option to developers that don't want to develop for free.
jigme said 10:37AM on 3-09-2009
yes, i would, and like so many others, i did.
we've all said it before - and i have some sympathy for Apple, dealing with the unprecedented numbers of apps being submitted - but come on: they really have got to get on top of this.
right now, the restrictions they impose and the apps they reject just make no sense - not from a technical point of view, and not from a business point of view. so in some cases there are licensing issues etc. to be resolved - ok. so get onto resolving them! and you need more administrators to review apps for approval? then hire them!
because one thing is for sure: if *you* don't provide your customers with what they want, and what is technically possible - then someone else will. and then, bottom line: you lose dollars.
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DrWho said 11:18AM on 3-09-2009
In Apple's case so long as they are selling iPhones I doubt they really care.
boss9192 said 12:32PM on 3-09-2009
The App Store already has over 25,000 apps. That are so many to approve. Apple is trying their best.
It's not like the App Store has been around forever. Yes, iTunes music purchases have been around for a while, but the App Store isn't completely similar to purchasing music.
Apple simply just wasn't prepared to have so many apps to sell this quickly but I am confident they will be able to solve this problem with time.
Arnan de Gans said 10:40AM on 3-09-2009
neverwill I jailbreak
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Logan said 12:43PM on 3-09-2009
Those who try jailbreaking learn that it actually is a pretty pain-free process. I was able to accomplish the feat in about an hour (with 90% of that time just being wait time).
The amount of new features one can add to the iPhone is ridiculous. I can't name them all off the top of my head, but some of the most basic include a free video recorder (which works suprisingly nicely) and system-wide copy and paste (which also works suprisingly intuitively). Since Apple won't add these features and the market demands them, people will keep jailbreaking and buy from the Cydia Store.
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Jeff said 10:44AM on 3-09-2009
If you are scared to jailbreak your iphone you are a ninny.
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drakhul said 10:48AM on 3-09-2009
I'm not SCARED to break it, I'm too SMART to break it.
Dom said 7:22PM on 3-09-2009
@drakhul
Why do you say you're "too smart" to jailbreak your phone? What do you think jailbreaking does, and what's "not smart" about jailbreaking?
It's worth remembering that if it weren't for the dedicated community jailbreaking the original iphone, Apple would never have seen the potential of apps and relented on third party apps and released their own app store.
All jailbreaking does is give you access to the full potential of your device - including many features that Apple arbitrarily want to restrict.
It's this 'hacker' community that's driving development of the platform - not Apple.
glad said 8:02PM on 3-09-2009
Dom said .
If he actually believes the above then he's a poor deluded fool period.
drakhul said 10:47AM on 3-09-2009
There is not currently, nor will there ever be an app SO good that it would make me want to break my phone. Not even tethering. As it is now, if something goes wonkey with my phone I can go to my local Apple or ATT store and get it fixed. If I jailbreak my phone, and it turns into a brick, then what? I just tossed all that money out the window. I dunno about you guys, but I can't afford to go get a new phone if I brick this one.
I do agree that Apple needs to revisit the process for approving apps, and they need to be way more informative on why stuff is rejected. A list of "no way this app will ever be approved" app ideas would be a good idea too so folks will not waste time writing apps that have no chance of being approved.
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colouroflight said 11:16AM on 3-09-2009
1. Even a jailbreak-gone-bad will not brick your phone.
2. You can restore it in iTunes and take it to Apple for service if you need to.
drakhul said 11:21AM on 3-09-2009
I don't care. It's a violation of the EULA everyone agreed to when they first activated their phone. If you jailbreak your phone, you are a thief, a liar and a cheat.
colouroflight said 11:47AM on 3-09-2009
I should've known you were a troll.