Jailbreaking an iPhone is essential. Without all of the jailbroken apps the phone would be severely limited in functionality and usability compared to most other smartphones. Apple’s restrictions on what you can install is THE major problem with the iPhone. Jailbreaking is the solution around their limitations. There are many apps available now through Cydia or RockApp. Some are free, and some are paid. I have used everything. Everybody has their own ideas on what is useful, but here is my opinion on the best jailbroken apps:
I’ve jailbroken my iPhone several times in the past, but I currently have the stock firmware running. Personally I think it’s exaggeration to say that jailbreaking the iPhone is essential. I am doing just fine running the stock firmware, and I know what I’m missing out on. The jailbroken apps that I ran, while quite convenient, were not what I considered to be essential, so restoring my iPhone was not a big deal. At any rate, seeing some of the apps in this list has gotten me kind of interested in jailbreaking my iPhone again. 
But for now, I’ll leave it. I’m curious to see what is coming in iPhone 4.0, and those changes might be announced sometime next month.
However, if you are looking for reasons to jailbreak your phone, quite a few of the apps in this list make it seem worth it, so hit up the link above and enjoy.
