Don't have an iphone, but wanted to mention two things-
1. Out of curiosity, I went to some of the forums on phone hacking such as jailbreaking and is seems to me that while this opens up new features, it also has a habit of breaking others that I may want to use.
Nope. Everything that is standard can still be used
2. With iphones, it seems to me those who are most happy with iphones are people who like the phone as is. Jailbreakers are those who are always in constant battle working the OS and fixing bugs, waiting for the next jail break, testing and suffering anxiety over what Apple will do next are those who jail break. Bottom line- MOST all people just want a communication appliance, not a not a programmable gadget that they will spend hours and hours hacking.
First, it only takes a few minutes.
Second, it is true when a new update comes out you will have to wait to update until the next JB comes out. Most of the time the new updates do not bring anything more than what the JB can already do. If one was able to wait a few months to over a year for a new iOS, they are still able to wait a few more weeks to a few more months to update and rejailbreak. Where you see most of the anexiety is of those that got new phones with the newest iOS and are are unable to JB until the latest JB comes out.
Third, most do want to use their phones as is. Just as most want to use most of their items as is. There are those that like to modify their cars, bikes, house, computers, yards, ex. Modifying your phone is no different than modifying anything else. You are personallizing it to make it work best for you. If you like it as it is, then that is the best for you.
OK one more thing, a question actually- Why do some people feel a need to sell the idea of jail breaking like it is some offshoot evangelical religious branch of the Apple Cult?
I don't understand what you mean by that? Do you mean why some want to profit from JB, or why some do so simply as a means to counteract anything APPLE, or are you saying the JB community itself is also like a Cult?
OK I watched the video, pretty good for an advertisement. If I had an iphone I may want to jailbreak mine to get all those neat features I thought iphone already had. But, I will probably never get an iphone until I can not worry over the battery going dead a not being able to swap it out.
That is always a concern over any device in which you cannot remove the battery yourself. But, I have yet to have a single problem with the battery on any of my iDevices. If it does go dead APPLE will replace it if it is under warranty or if you have APPLE Care or you can pay to have it replaced if it is not