Rigid Control Of iPhone Apps

The little downloadable programs known as iPhone apps have made Apple's iPhone hugely popular in North America and around the world. These applications allow users to perform all sorts of tasks, and to program their phones as they wish.

They aren't just limited to Apple's own programs for their iPhone downloads either; other developers can create applications, and if Apple approves them, it places them in its online store.

Users supposedly have access to anything they need on their phone, choosing both from free apps or those that come at a cost.

All is not roses with the iPhone apps, however. Many people have objected to the way Apple exerts such rigid control over what they are allowed to download. They frequently liken it to a company producing a computer but dictating which programs they are and aren't allowed to use on it, which you just don't see happening.

Because of this, perhaps ten percent of iPhone users have performed iPhone hacks, devising workarounds against the guards that prevent them from downloading applications Apple hasn't authorized.

Whatever people's reasons for wanting to hack their phones and alter how iPhone apps work, the Copyright Office must consider them all before it finally rules. Some people want the right to use their phone with someone other than the "approved" carrier, as they can with other cell phones.

Others want to engage in iPhone hacks that allow them to use applications that work much better or have different features than those Apple approves of, and some simply want to break what appears to be Apple's monopoly on use and access.

Whatever the final decision on these matters, 2010 will be an important year for iPhone users.

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