[RRRA]

I'm still baffled as to why someone would want to buy a locked up device and be forced to use frequent / complicated measures to be somewhat freed... I understand if you didn't get a choice at first, but I people realizing they are really stuck in a jail anyway, without any jailbreaks, might do more good than having them. (Though I encourage breaking things! ;)

[UVB-76]

There are hundreds of millions of happy iPhone users out there. For the overwhelming majority of people, the restrictions on the device are not burdensome.

[reginaldjcooper]

For many people the restrictions protect them from installing malware, and is a huge benefit. For the majority of us reading, I think we know enough to not install weird applications and the restrictions are incredibly burdensome.

[girvo]

And for some of us, they are. So, people have different priorities, who knew?

[noblethrasher]

Because sometimes it's simpler to get what you want by subtraction rather than by addition.

More formally, my ideal device is x. The iPhone (4s) is at x + δ and all the other smartphones are at x - δn (where δ > 0 and n is a really big number)†.

I like the App Store but I don't like the restriction against installing non-approved apps (including my own).

I love Safari/Webkit but I don't like the restriction against using other rendering engines.

I like the the default apps (mail and maps are fine) but I don't like the restriction against changing those defaults.

I like tethering and don't even mind paying a little extra for the bandwidth, but I do not like the fact that my carrier can preempt that ability at the OS layer rather than the network layer.

On the other hand, I do acknowledge that buying and owning an iPhone basically supports eco-system that I despise, and for that reason, my next phone will probably be a Nexus or MotoX.

[reginaldjcooper]

I just wanted to write that I like the iOS platform and devices when jailbroken, but I am also sick of their walled garden bullshit. So, cheers for standing up for your principles over your convenience, it takes a strong person to do so.

[stevewillows]

Some people just don't care to make things better. I can't tell you know many friends I have with Galaxy S3s running the stock firmware.

Even my sister is on cm10.2.

I sold my iPhone when the GS3 came out because I was sick of waiting for an exploit that let me have more than nine icons on my home screen.

[smtddr]

Sometimes you buy it because you like the hardware and know the software is coming down the line. I've done this twice.

- I bought an Android phone that had terrible reviews on Amazon come, knowing that there was a cyanogenmod ROM that'd solve everything.

- I bought the new Kindle Fire HDX because I love the hardware design and knew a hack would show up for it eventually. Sure enough, the "put_user" kernel memory write exploit was found and now I have root on it. I'm sure cyanogenmod ROMs will be coming later on. Until then, I don't even use the HDX. Why didn't I just wait until the root showed up first before purchasing? Because updates to firmware might seal the exploit. So, just like I did with Sony PSP, it's best to get the hardware with early firmware and just never bring the device online for any updates. Just wait for the hack. My HDX still hasn't been exposed to the interwebz. That won't happen until Cyanogenmod is flashed on it. Until then, I'm still using my firstgen Kindle Fire.

I bet some people bought an iPhone fully expecting that one day a jailbreak would show up.

[reginaldjcooper]

I wish we'd collectively only buy things where the root exploit was like ticking an "I want root" checkbox. If buyers collectivized their buying power we wouldn't need to worry about "down the line" companies would release it with root or the product would fail.

Sigh. While I'm at it, I'd also like a sack full of hundreds and a unicorn.

[dasil003]

I look at it this way: if enough people wanted that checkbox to move the needle in the market, then my skillset that a lot of employers find extremely valuable would probably be a lot more common and hence less valuable.

[mikeash]

It's pretty simple. My preference goes:

Jailbroken iPhone > regular iPhone > Android phone

Jailbreaking is not a critical factor for me, but it's nice to have.