iModest Proposal

As the proud owner of an iPhone, I will be the first to admit that its capabilities are somewhat limited. For instance, the camera is a big disappointment. AT&T's EDGE network is an utter disgrace. The lackluster battery life is frustrating when you aren't afforded the luxury of re-charging every night. And, although the Google maps feature is quite handy, the lack of a GPS system on the phone itself makes it impractical for navigating unfamiliar roads while driving.

The thing is, all of these problems have easy fixes.

In fact, many hacker sites have popped up with innovative solutions to the shortcomings of the first generation iPhone. For instance, did you know that you can actually record video directly to your phone? Although the first generation application can only record approximately 5 seconds of video, the developer anticipates that second generation apps will be able to record at 15-30 fps for as long as the hard drive will allow. And for those who are sick of AT&T's EDGE network, did you know that you can access Skype directly through your iPhone's web browser? If you do install 3rd party software, you might experience decreased battery life (beyond the already limited scope of the unhacked phone). But never worry, there's a hack for that, too. And for those who have wondered why there is no GPS function installed on the iPhone, look no further: Navizon provides you with a pinpointed location in relation to Google maps based on your distance from cell stations.

Many of these hacker solutions will likely be resolved with the 2G iPhone to be released sometime in 2008. But the prevalence of these innovations to counteract present day limitations illustrates an important point, which leads me to my iModest Proposal.

Crack the iPhone. Allow for open source applications in the same way that Facebook licenses 3rd party vendors to develop solutions to unsatisfied customer needs. Embrace the fact that geeks will be geeks, which means that if there is a way to work around the limitations of a certain product, somebody will figure out how to do it. Help them be entrepreneurs. Exploit this potential and create the first open source platform for software developers to create 3G, 4G, and InfinityG applications specifically for a superior piece of hardware.

When Steve Jobs announced at the 1997 Mac Expo that he was opening the Mac OS to Microsoft Office, the news was met with a resounding chorus of gasps. It looked like the last, desperate act of a failing company. But it turned out to be a genius move that allowed Apple to focus on its core competency. Similarly, an open source iPhone could be the next big thing to revolutionize the cellular and mobile industry.