In wake of a US Court decision, Jailbreaking is now totally legal in the United States. This decision was a major set back for Steve Jobs after the antennagate of iPhone 4.  But this all did not stop Steve Jobs and his team from striking back against these unofficial / unauthorized use of iOS based devices.  Today, in a surprise move, Apple applied for a new patent requesting for permission to allow Apple to remotely disable any iOS based device (iPhone, iPad and iPod touch) against any unauthorized usage. This shall include all such usages that is not supported by the company, including “jailbreaking” and “unlocking”.

Apple’s plea in this regard is here:

The patent, titled “Systems and Methods for Identifying Unauthorized Users of an Electronic Device,” describes several ways a device could sense who is using an iPhone or iPad. Among the methods considered are voice print analysis, photo analysis, heartbeat analysis (!), hacking attempts, or even “noting particular activities that can indicate suspicious behavior.”

The device could automatically snap pictures of the unauthorized user and record the GPS coordinates of the device, as well as log keystrokes, phone calls, or other activity.

Once an unauthorized user is detected, the device can then automatically disable certain features or send notifications to Twitter or other services

Although Apple has not clearly mentioned Jailbreaking or Unlocking in its patent description, yet one can clearly smell what Apple is upto. This is a great strategic move by Steve Jobs and if awarded will authorize Apple to lock-out or partially disable jailbroken and unlocked Apple’s device.  [Via Redmond Pie]