Toyota pulls ad campaign for jailbroken iPhones at Apple's request

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
After a custom theme created for jailbroken iPhones to promote the Scion car brand gained attention, Apple requested that Toyota abandon the campaign, and the carmaker complied.



Toyota complied with Apple's request to "maintain their good relationship with Apple," a person associated with the advertising campaign reportedly told Kyle Matthews of ModMyi. The theme has been available on Cydia, an alternative iPhone application store, since Feb. 10, and an accompanying Scion campaign was running on the enthusiast website.



"Jailbreaking" is a term used to describe hacking iOS devices in order to allow them to run unauthorized code. A standard, out-of-the-box iPhone or iPad cannot run software that is unsigned by Apple, but jailbroken devices can be used to display custom themes or skins.



Toyota, with its advertising firm Velti, developed a custom theme for jailbroken devices, available for download on Cydia. The theme, which changed application icons, wallpaper and the unlock screen, promoted Toyota's Scion brand of vehicles.



Matthews was contacted by a representative from Velti who asked him to remove the Scion theme from his site's repository for the Cydia application store. In addition, the Scion advertising campaign was stopped.



While users have been able to change the wallpaper on their iPhone starting with the release of iOS 4 last year, Apple does not allow the level of customization offered through jailbreaking. And while the U.S. government has officially declared that the act of jailbreaking is not illegal, Apple has fought against the warranty voiding process.







Jailbreaking allows access to legitimate, legal third-party software, both free and paid, through Cydia. But while jailbreaking itself is not illegal, the process can be used to pirate software from Apple's App Store.



In addition to potential piracy, Apple has also cited security concerns with jailbreaking, as the process takes advantage of exploits in the iOS software. Apple has fought with the jailbreaking community, engaging in a cat-and-mouse game and plugging security holes as hackers look to exploit them.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 84
    Lame.
  • Reply 2 of 84
    kwoot27kwoot27 Posts: 30member
    I think the icons are pretty slick looking. Apple should open up the ability to change and customize the icons.
  • Reply 3 of 84
    hkzhkz Posts: 190member
    Jailbreaking isn't required to pirate apps. Doesn't ever get mentioned though, you should try it sometime.



    EDIT: Try MENTIONING it sometime. Since it's worded incorrectly I was presenting my case unclearly. I don't pirate, I was asking the writer to mention that piracy doesn't require a jailbreak.
  • Reply 4 of 84
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by HKZ View Post


    Jailbreaking isn't required to pirate apps. Doesn't ever get mentioned though, you should try it sometime.



    Try piracy? No thanks. Just because you cannot buy an app at the price you want does not entitle you to simply take it without paying for it.
  • Reply 5 of 84
    I feel like Apple is being a bit of a bully here.
  • Reply 6 of 84
    quashquash Posts: 23member
    Not a fan of the lockscreen, but those icons look sick
  • Reply 7 of 84
    jctusajctusa Posts: 2member
    Dear Mr. Apple ~



    I for one would not jailbreak my iPhone, which I consider an outstanding product with the exception that you do not permit or sell UNLOCKED iPhones within the United States, nor do you permit someone to order a factory UNLOCKED iPhone from other countries where you sell them from your Apple Stores. I site Canada and the United Kingdom as perfect examples.



    THEREFORE, I jailbreak my iPhone to enable me to utilize sims while visiting other countries rather than pay the exorbitant fees that AT&T charge. I know that it is not AT&T that prohibits the UNLOCKING, because I have had other manufacturers phones UNLOCKED by merely calling AT&T and requesting it.



    So, thanks to your stupid, ridiculous policy for iPhones within the United States, I UNLOCK my bought and paid for iPhone.
  • Reply 8 of 84
    unicronunicron Posts: 154member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kwoot27 View Post


    I think the icons are pretty slick looking. Apple should open up the ability to change and customize the icons.



    Customization worked out so well for these guys:



    http://fuglyandroid.tumblr.com/
  • Reply 9 of 84
    mbarriaultmbarriault Posts: 237member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by astrubhar View Post


    I feel like Apple is being a bit of a bully here.



    A big name corporation is endorsing jailbreaking. Apple didn't force them or demand or anything like that - they asked politely and Toyota complied.
  • Reply 10 of 84
    chiachia Posts: 713member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by HKZ View Post


    Jailbreaking isn't required to pirate apps. Doesn't ever get mentioned though, you should try it sometime.



    Are you one of the three suspects who broke into the San Diego Apple Store the other day?

    It seems piracy didn't work out as planned, especially for the guy now in the morgue.
  • Reply 11 of 84
    rkprorkpro Posts: 28member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jctusa View Post


    Dear Mr. Apple ~



    I for one would not jailbreak my iPhone, which I consider an outstanding product with the exception that you do not permit or sell UNLOCKED iPhones within the United States, nor do you permit someone to order a factory UNLOCKED iPhone from other countries where you sell them from your Apple Stores. I site Canada and the United Kingdom as perfect examples.



    THEREFORE, I jailbreak my iPhone to enable me to utilize sims while visiting other countries rather than pay the exorbitant fees that AT&T charge. I know that it is not AT&T that prohibits the UNLOCKING, because I have had other manufacturers phones UNLOCKED by merely calling AT&T and requesting it.



    So, thanks to your stupid, ridiculous policy for iPhones within the United States, I UNLOCK my bought and paid for iPhone.



    You may have better luck emailing Mr. Apple directly.
  • Reply 12 of 84
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by astrubhar View Post


    I feel like Apple is being a bit of a bully here.



    Yeah. I understand that they want to control the "user experience" so that everyone--even the technophobic--can enjoy the iPhone experience. They don't want Joe Bonehead to jailbreak, have issues and then complain on Twitter about how his iPhone is unreliable. Just look at the stats reported earlier today about Apple's 98% satisfaction rating. Clearly this is partly a function of Apple's fanaticism with providing a consistent interface and reliability...



    Still, I always hope that, privately, deep in Cupertino, they think jailbreaking is cool. All they have to do is fight it just enough to create barriers that keep those who don't really want to mess with their phone from casually jailbreaking it. Make it sketchy enough that the timid stay away.



    I'm probably deluding myself, but I don't see what the issue is if hobbyists want to fiddle with their phones...
  • Reply 13 of 84
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kwoot27 View Post


    I think the icons are pretty slick looking. Apple should open up the ability to change and customize the icons.



    Right... You want the ability to customize your OS as much as you want?? That's what Android is for.... oh..wait... nevermind.
  • Reply 14 of 84
    ivkivk Posts: 46member
    I can customize/add functionality to my device as much as my heart desires. You can stick with your stock software, I laugh whenever someone says "if you want to customize your phone, use Android". There is so much blind devotion in those statements its sad. iOS is far from perfect, lets all acknowledge it. There's things Apple still has YET to improve that are just common sense. I'm just going to copy and paste from the last thread.



    Quote:

    I always recommend people who want to expand the functionality of their phone to jailbreak. iOS is great, but it's far from perfect and thankfully there's a large community to solve the flaws Apple clearly refuses to address 5 versions in.



    Activator: You can program functionality by just setting behaviors. For example:



    Hold volume up/down for a second to play/pause

    Hold volume up for next track

    Hold volume down for prev track



    ---



    LockInfo: Anyone who thinks having to unlock is an elegant solution to view SMS, mail, missed calls, voicemails, calender events has an interesting idea of whats intuitive. With LockInfo, I can respond to text messages, mail, twitter, facebook (last two using plug-ins) from my lock screen. Also if there's one feature about Android I'm jealous of, it's the notifications. LockInfo addresses that, simply swipe the status bar down to reveal all the stuff that was on the lock screen.



    http://www.lockinfo.net



    ---



    biteSMS: Quite honestly this makes the Messages app look like it was written by a 5 year old.



    Emoticons

    privacy (blocking unwanted messages)

    quick compose (I can compose a SMS ANYWHERE by just hitting the volume button, when I'm done, it's right back to the task. Sorry Apple, your multi-tasking solution is not elegant and is a band-aid solution to this)

    Quickreply, basically I can reply from anywhere without leaving the app.

    Cancel sending (delays sending so you can cancel if you see a typo, which lets face it, happens all the time with this lousy dictionary built in)



    Tons more of features



    http://www.bitesms.com/main/more_features



    ---



    Snappy: Take a pic/record a video/access library ANYWHERE by holding the status bar for 2 seconds. Camera loads way faster than the stock app for some reason.



    http://www.topiphoneresource.info/ta...-any-open-app/



    ---



    iBlacklist: Block unwanted text messages or callers, simple, perfection.



    ---



    Barrel: If you've used compiz for Linux, you'll understand.



    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1Q5_Tvzvyg



    ---



    There are so many other examples. I've yet to pirate an app, why? Because I can afford them. But I have no qualms against those who do, that's their decision. But there is an amazing array of functionality, themes, unapproved apps available on Cydia.



  • Reply 15 of 84
    sheffsheff Posts: 1,407member
    I give this a bad apple.



    I gotta say though, that cydia has apps like lockinfo, which are already paid apps, and so guess does not need ads as much as android for example.



    And of couse SB Settings is free, and is probably the main reason I jailbreak in the first place.
  • Reply 16 of 84
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Unicron View Post


    Customization worked out so well for these guys:



    http://fuglyandroid.tumblr.com/



    That's just proof that Androidians have no taste.
  • Reply 17 of 84
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mbarriault View Post


    A big name corporation is endorsing jailbreaking. Apple didn't force them or demand or anything like that - they asked politely and Toyota complied.



    Just because Toyota has an app in Cydia doesn't mean Toyta is 'endorsing' jailbreaking. Just like people going to gas stations and buy gas from the Middle East, doesn't mean they're 'endorsing' the dictators there.



    Another point is, nobody has to jailbreak to get this Toyota App if iOS allows sideloading of apps in the first place, or if Apple allows the kind of app Toyota creates.
  • Reply 18 of 84
    ivkivk Posts: 46member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    That's just proof that Androidians have no taste.



    Still looks a million times better than Windows Phone. =)
  • Reply 19 of 84
    bstringbstring Posts: 104member
    Why did Apple make the request in the first place? I think it's because they fear the impact of a big company legitimately offering an ios app through an alternate channel. Others may follow!



    You can be sure that the app will soon be available through the appstore, only slightly modified, as a result of the 'agreement'.







    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mbarriault View Post


    A big name corporation is endorsing jailbreaking. Apple didn't force them or demand or anything like that - they asked politely and Toyota complied.



  • Reply 20 of 84
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mbarriault View Post


    A big name corporation is endorsing jailbreaking. Apple didn't force them or demand or anything like that - they asked politely and Toyota complied.



    The article makes it sound like Toyota felt pressured to pull it. It's like telling a friend to buy you something or you wont be friends with them anymore. Does Apple really need to police everyone?
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