Now that the iPhone has been jailbroken, may people are asking "So now what?" What use has the jailbreak been, especially considering the easy advantages of App Store distribution. The answer to that depends on how you use your iPhone.

If you're a hobbyist, access to the iPhone command line is a reward unto itself. Jailbreak tools offer a complete Unix install through Cydia. Users can access the iPhone command line and really take charge of their platform.

A tool chain, developed primarily by Jay ("Saurik") Freeman and Youssef Francis has introduced Apple-free iPhone 2.0 development. This compiler and linker package allows applications such as launchers and customization tools to find an audience. AppStore would not normally accept those items. Cydia (and one presumes Installer.app, should it appear on-scene) lets program creators connect with that audience. I'm told that in its first week, Cydia for 2.0 was downloaded and installed on approximately 100,000 unique platforms. So the people are there if you're willing to reach out and develop for them.

If your goal is to get a job done cost effectively on a mobile platform, the open 2.0 SDK may let you reach into parts of the iPhone OS that Apple normally walls off. With jailbreak, you can build applications around music playback, video recording, and location without being limited by SDK restrictions. For some businesses who only need a few dozen emplaced solutions, a jailbroken iPhone offers the perfect match between quick prototyping and rapid deployment.

Another area of interest is the developer who cannot or will not join Apple's $99/year iPhone developer program. It might be for reasons of age, cost or technological limitation. The open SDK offers a way to build and distribute software free of contract between the developer and Apple.

If you'd like to find out more about open SDK development, point your irc browser to irc.saurik.com and join #iphone. Another good resource is the #iphone-dev channel at irc.osx86.hu.