Cydia developer, Jay Freeman also known as Saurik has released a new version of Cydia that sports essentially an AppStore clone. It’s called Cydia Store. It’s where iPhone/Touch developers can get money from their unofficial third-party jailbreak applications. The first paid package to be released on Cydia Store is Cyntact. It’s a simple app that shows profile pictures in the contact list. It’s priced at $1.00USD at the Cydia Store.
Based off his twitter updates, he plans to add PayPal support sometime next week. He also plans to convert cydia from a package repository to a full fledged app store with an integrated payment system. He also does not plan to charge more than the 30% commission that Apple charges developers
He opened the store for unofficial AppStore developers like himself to make money from their efforts. He says “The overworking goal is to provide choice. It’s understandable that [Apple] wants to control things, but it has been very limiting for developers and users.”
WSJ reports that Freeman, who has been on the lookout daily for email from Apple lawyers, isn’t taking any chances and has lined up a lawyer in case Apple takes legal action.
Details via Freeman’s twitter:
- Direct credit card processing in the future.
- The purchase is tied to your Cydia account on the server, so even if you buy a new iPhone you will be able to install it on your new device.
- Cyntact is DRM-free. Freeman plans to work with the existing commercial applications to handle their current DRM.
Open up Cydia to update!
What do you guys think of this idea? – Personally, I’m excited. More apps will become more stable and better and will be worth every cent. For those who haven’t yet jailbroken their iPhones: What are you waiting for? Do it already! You’re missing out on a ton of awesome stuff.
The one thing I would be concerned with is what if Apple comes up with a way, or models for that matter, that cannot be jailbroken?
How do you get these apps on then?
A fine can of worms has just been open.
@Jimm exactly, I don’t have an iPhone yet but I can imagine that you wouldn’t pay a lot of money for apps that can get useless in the next iPhone firmware update..
I though the whole point of jailbreaking was so that you could get the apps for free this is stupid if you are going to have to pay for these apps aswell…???
Saurik is gangsta rapper out there to rip you. there is no art anymore, just $$$ “tilt”.
I second this opinion.
Your got a point Hazik it’s make no sense to jailbreaking the iphone and pay for apps if that’s the case i buy it from apple apps store better because it is more stable.
This is stupid I jailbroke to get some really cool FREE apps and now we gotta pay
WTF
I can understand where Jay Freeman is coming from. All his efforts and other peoples efforts to make some good apps are just going to ‘waste’ because they just don’t have the funds to make them great. But on the other hand, I have to agree with Ivan Castillo. I just don’t see the point in paying for Freeware Apps and then risk of losing them if you update your phone to a firmware which you cannot jailbreak.
It’s a very good proposition, and I hope that there will still be free apps freely available from Cydia, because if not, I’m just going to end up getting apps from the Apple Store.
It’s actuall a good idea to make people pay for these apps. Not all apps are allowed to be sold in the apple store, so this gives developers more freedom..
My problem is that nothing guarrantees that Apple might actually do anything agains these jailbrakes..
If they do, you will lose the apps you paid for…
You guys are missing the point! It’s not about getting free apps, it’s about getting apps that Apple won’t sell in the apps store. Developers routinely get their apps rejected from the Apple store for various reasons and now they have a store to sell them at. You guys buy a $400 phone and pay $100 a month for service and you’re complaining about paying a few $$ for an app? Get real. Most developers are not making a mint selling these things. Stop being so cheap!
hey p2dak, stop being so see through!
Guys Cydia is a rippoff. Better off without it.
All, the point of the jailbreak is to get apps that utilize the total hardware of the phone. You paid a lot of money for this little device, you own it. Apple is dictating to you how much of it you can use. I don’t like that. Cydia is a marketplace. It allows developers to produce and give away, or sell, applications that you want and need in order to get the most out of your device. It’s a good thing. It’s an OPEN market. The app store is a closed market and developers give away A LOT of revenue to apple for hosting their apps there. I like cydia and the freedom of choice. Where would the world be without Open Source and UNIX? Guys, this is really a great thing. Don’t worry about the apps not being made available in the future. Critical mass has been reached and taking it out of commission would be a mistake by Apple as they’d loose face and supporters worldwide for allowing a black market to exist.
just think soon every app will be on there
if they want to make money why dont they make an app they can sell in app store
dont worry i bet they will appear elsewhere for free
I Agree, why would you jailbreak to pay for more apps.
Ino theres apps that wouldnt be accepted in iTunes, but i paid £350 for a PAYG (Pay as you go) iPhone…
I cant afford to pay for any apps…
Hence why i didnt get the iPhone on contract, im skint lol :(
I would be a very gd idea if i was the one selling the apps tbh, but heh pfft.
The only problem I see here is that many developers will start charging for their apps which were previously supposed to be released as free, for example, iBluetooth.