BlackBerry jailbreak will cost warranty protection, RIM warns

News that Research In Motion has no intention of allowing users to jailbreak their BlackBerry devices couldn't come at a worse time for the company.

In a blog post published earlier this week, RIM's BlackBerry Security Incident Response Team (BBSIRT) Director Adrian Stone reaffirmed the company's stance on jailbreaking. Also known as rooting, this practice allows users to bypass the normal security protocols on their smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices that would typically limit what they can and cannot do.

A jailbroken device, for example, could allow a user to install software outside of established app store distribution channels, or install titles and code not normally sanctioned by the vendor. Jailbreaking is the technology equivalent of tinkering with your car in the driveway to increase its performance — and RIM is sternly warning users against venturing under the hood.

A jailbreak can cost you more than warranty

If they choose to jailbreak their devices, anyway, Stone warns they could "void the manufacturer warranty and also increase the long-term risk of negatively impacting the stability and user experience of their BlackBerry products." He adds the practice "could also amplify the impact and severity of a future security issue, making your personal data more vulnerable to theft and more difficult to protect."

He's absolutely right. If I decide to add a mail order turbocharger and suspension mod kit to my car, I have every expectation that when I roll it into the dealer's service bay for service, they'll challenge me on it — and could just as easily refuse to cover repairs under warranty for that weird engine noise. Vehicles are complex enough today without consumers throwing in undocumented monkey wrenches that stymie technicians and consume support resources disproportionately.

The same logic applies in the computing space, with vendors including Apple, Amazon and Motorola specifically banning the practice, then backing the policy up with repeated software updates to thwart increasingly creative users who say they just want the freedom to do whatever they want with their devices.

This is a case where everyone has a valid reason for sticking to their jailbreaking guns, but RIM's position is particularly sensitive given where it currently sits in the market. While banning jailbreaking on any BlackBerry device — essentially, every smartphone and PlayBook tablet it makes — makes sense from a purely technical perspective because it ensures system stability and security, it's the wrong thing to do if you're looking at the issue through a marketer's lens.

Why so important to RIM's future?

As much as jailbreaking messes things up from a support and security perspective, playing hardball at this point in time increases the potential for freezing out developers and consumers, precisely the community the company needs right now to generate buzz and goodwill as it aggressively tries to reinvigorate the brand. While Apple can afford to ruthlessly enforce the rules that protect its famously closed ecosystem, RIM doesn't have the same luxury.

A joint survey by Appcelerator and IDC showed almost 90 per cent of developers were interested in developing for the iPhone and iPad. Android trails, with just under 79 per cent of developers, and Windows Phone garners 37 per cent. RIM continues to fade, with 16 per cent of developers say they're interested in coding for BlackBerry, down 4 points over the previous quarter.

With investment advisors shifting away from the company — analysts are predicting the company will miss guidance over the next two quarters as it prepares for the all-important BlackBerry 10 release later this year — and driving short interest to an eight-year high, RIM can't afford to stick to its technical guns.

In fairness to RIM and other vendors, jailbreaking is hardly a mainstream activity, with a Pinch Media survey in 2009 putting the figure for iPhone users at about 8 per cent. Most users simply don't have the time, willingness or ability to tweak their phones beyond installing sanctioned apps from an online app store.

But the numbers aren't at issue here: The perception is. And a company that closes the door on users' ability to tweak their devices also runs the risk of being perceived as closing the door on developers. RIM's repeated failure to ignite developer interest is a crucial factor in its sinking market share, and a major obstacle to future turnaround efforts. No matter how good the upcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system is, if RIM fails to stoke third party interest in building value-added capabilities on top of the baseline offering, demand will remain tepid.

RIM's opportunity here is an interesting one. With competitors shutting the door down on this hacker-esque activity, the company could position itself as a hero to innovators by sanctioning the practice. It won't change the numbers to any great degree, and it'll probably cause headaches for both internal and client-facing support and security teams. But it'll score major marketing points by repositioning the company as an open-minded, customer-facing, risk-taking innovator. New CEO Thorsten Heins promised change. A fresh approach to jailbreaking could be just the ticket.

Carmi Levy is a London, Ont.-based independent technology analyst and journalist. The opinions expressed are his own. carmilevy@yahoo.ca