When I first got my iPod touch, I jailbroke it immediately. It was a no-brainer. The benefit of getting the applications from the iPhone that we iPod touch owners were denied was tremendous. The added ability to add more apps seemed like a bonus. That feeling soon changed for me.
The apps that I could download from Installer were mind blowing. When I realized the potential that these apps had, my perception of my iPod changed. It was a computer in my pocket. I began using my iPod for tasks that I would normally have to sit down at a computer for.
My usage of my iPod continued like this for months; it was filled to the brim by apps from Installer. One such app that became a necessity for me was Summerboard. For someone as fond of design as me, being able to exchange some of the undistinguished icons provided by Apple was a godsend. I frequented the Macthemes forums looking for new themes and updates regularly.
So when Apple announced their official SDK, I was stuck in a rut. There was no way they would allow apps like Summerboard into the App Store; it modified the system resources. So when the time came, I chose to go the official rout. No more customization for me.
I expected the use of my iPod without the tweaks that I had meticulously put in place would be barren. Then I downloaded an app from the App Store. The I got another one. Again. I became hooked with the quality of some of the apps that I discovered. Some of the ones that I had loved with Installer were there, albeit with a new coat of polish. These apps seemed to be filling my need for custom themes.
It’s been around a month and a half since the App Store launched. I’ve been content with a non-jailbroken iPod for that time. Now I’ve been sucked back in. Watching the forums and not wanting to install some new themes was hard. The work of some of the artists on there is amazing. So I decided to jailbreak again.
The setup was fairly mild. The instructions were simple, the process was painless, and the way toward being jailbroken was clear; at least until I had to restore. The restore process was a nightmare. It took hours to return my iPod to operable form. Once that was over, I expected to be set.
I felt really disappointed. Installer didn’t feel like it used to. The apps on there felt cheap (like some App Store ones.) Cydia was just a clone. All of these things that I had loved before were let downs. Maybe the customization will make things better, I thought.
Summerboard wasn’t even available. It had been replaced with Winterboard. The install process was the same as it had been before; SSH over Wi-Fi and drop your files. Yet the experience was different. It felt so frustrating to have to move themes in that tedious way. Jailbreaking had let me down.
I don’t think I’ll be jailbreaking again. I’ll keep it jailbroken until 2.1 comes out, and leave it that way. The App Store has been good enough for most users, and it’s been good enough for me.