Apple Releasing iPhone Update 1.1.2, Breaking Third-Party Apps -- Again

Apple plans on Friday to release version 1.1.2 of its iPhone software, timed to coincide with the European release of the phone, according to reports on Apple blogs. The new software adds support for foreign languages, and a leading European wireless broadband vendor. And -- oh yeah -- the new release breaks third-party apps on the iPhone. Again.

T3, a European gadget Web site, says it got hands-on-time with the new version. 1.1.2 adds support for dozens of languages, including Cantonese, French, and German, and also support for The Cloud Wi-Fi hotspots.

And the update closes the TIFF security exploit, which was used in a popular hack to "jailbreak" the iPhone and allow users to install third-party apps.

9to5Mac reports that Apple is bricking iPhones unlocked using AnySIM software to allow the phone to work with carriers other than AT&T.

9to5Mac is also talking a poll, asking readers to guess how long it will take for the 1.1.2 Jailbreak to be released.

I haven't bothered to jailbreak my iPhone. I am looking forward to Apple releasing an SDK and allowing sanctioned apps to run on my iPhone, but I'll wait until they're Apple-approved.

I'm not going along with Apple on this because I'm an obedient little fellow. I'm just not all that interested in risking making my iPhone unstable, and playing the spy-vs.-spy game with Apple. The day may come when I want a completely open smartphone, one where developers don't need the vendor's permission to put apps on. In that case, I won't jailbreak my iPhone -- I'll just buy something from some other vendor.

I don't see this as a matter of principle at all. It's Apple's phone, and they have a right to lock it if they want. Once you bought it, you have a right to unlock it -- but Apple has no obligation to cooperate. Don't like it -- buy something else, and if enough people make the same choice, then Apple will lose a ton of money. That's how the free market works.

The iPhone is a closed platform. Whether that's good or bad depends on what you want in a phone. Buying an iPhone and then complaining about its being closed is as silly as renting The Transformers and complaining that there's too many darn robots in it.