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Indeed -- any iOS developer ($100/year) can install this on their own phone, and give it to friends (by using one of the limited number of test-device registrations), without jailbreaking.

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It's rather annoying to give to your friends though, as you have to re-sign the code once a month and dish out binaries to everyone again. Plus, you'll run out of device codes quickly if you use your dev account to build apps for clients (whose devices you need to register too).

You just need to give a new mobileprovision file every three months, no need to update the app unless necessary.

I've always found it to be quite weird that the App Store is so closed, but a person with a developer certificate and MobileProvision can install whatever he wants and can do whatever he wants so long as the apps are codesigned. $99/yr is less than a couple coffees a month (or a good sushi plate) and way less than your phone bill, and is quite worth it for the bored hacker who wants to keep the warranty.

Wait a second, isn't the AT&T tethering plan $20/month? That makes becoming a developer a much cheaper way of getting tethering.

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