Although we often find ourselves on the side of hackers and the open-source movement, we must respectfully disagree with most of the blogging against Apple on the subject of bricked unlocked iPhones.
We think that Apple's practices are quite common with product warranties, albeit not usually with software. Let's take cars for example. Let's say you cruise your car down to a performance-enhancement specialist, and they add a performance exhaust, a new chip for the engine-management computer (or flash the existing one) and new suspension springs, for instance. If your newly-sporty auto develops a problem with the catalytic, and the engine light comes on telling you to take it in, the dealer and the manufacturer will immediately blame the after-market exhaust and will not warranty the problem part. If the wheel bearings start to make a noise, the dealer will blame the suspension and charge you to repair the noise. Oh and if ANYTHING is wrong with the way the car runs, the manufacturer will most definitely blame the new, or re-flashed, chip and void your entire engine warranty--even if the problem is mechanical and has absolutely nothing to do with the engine management system.
We think that Apple's practices are quite common with product warranties, albeit not usually with software. Let's take cars for example. Let's say you cruise your car down to a performance-enhancement specialist, and they add a performance exhaust, a new chip for the engine-management computer (or flash the existing one) and new suspension springs, for instance. If your newly-sporty auto develops a problem with the catalytic, and the engine light comes on telling you to take it in, the dealer and the manufacturer will immediately blame the after-market exhaust and will not warranty the problem part. If the wheel bearings start to make a noise, the dealer will blame the suspension and charge you to repair the noise. Oh and if ANYTHING is wrong with the way the car runs, the manufacturer will most definitely blame the new, or re-flashed, chip and void your entire engine warranty--even if the problem is mechanical and has absolutely nothing to do with the engine management system.
Apple has every right to void warranties if someone begins to mess
around under the hood. They never promised hackers an open system that
would not be affected by future services and updates. Maybe Apple
targeted hackers, but we don't think so--they have better things to do
than worry about a small group of people modding their
product. We believe there are technical reasons that these updates
have affected the hacked, unlocked iPhone. The company even warned
that theses practices could damage the operation of the phone.
Just like over-clocking a processor, you run the risk of frying your product if you mod it or mess with it. And, the manufacturer has every right to not cover the product under warranty.
Conversely, Apple should offer some sort of "re-format" program for users of bricked phones. For $100 or something, you bring your iPhone in and they re-flash it or exchange it for a new one. A one-time courtesy, perhaps, but for a fee.
Apple is trying to build a solid, reliable product for people that bought a phone...not a hackable computing platform. We believe any phone manufacturer would follow the same tact as Apple has, if someone performs an unauthorized modification.
What would BlackBerry do if someone modded one of their phones and the phone bricked? Probably say, "too bad" and suggest a new one is purchased to replace it.
Just like over-clocking a processor, you run the risk of frying your product if you mod it or mess with it. And, the manufacturer has every right to not cover the product under warranty.
Conversely, Apple should offer some sort of "re-format" program for users of bricked phones. For $100 or something, you bring your iPhone in and they re-flash it or exchange it for a new one. A one-time courtesy, perhaps, but for a fee.
Apple is trying to build a solid, reliable product for people that bought a phone...not a hackable computing platform. We believe any phone manufacturer would follow the same tact as Apple has, if someone performs an unauthorized modification.
What would BlackBerry do if someone modded one of their phones and the phone bricked? Probably say, "too bad" and suggest a new one is purchased to replace it.
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