Jobs cheesed off in Tom and Jerry war?

Apple CEO, Steve Jobs announced Tuesday, during the U.K. launch of the iPhone, that the company will aim to keep one step ahead of hackers. This is the first time anyone from Apple has formally announced that hackers have yet more hurdles before the iPhone is available to any network.

On the November 9th U.K. debut, Jobs said: "It’s a cat-and-mouse game," said Jobs. "We try to stay ahead. People will try to break in, and it’s our job to stop them breaking in."

Since the US launch of the iPhone a steady stream of companies and individuals have lay claim to unlocking iPhones, thus opening up a new market within phone unlocking. Recently the iPhone Dev team posted a free hack, followed by an unlocking tool called anySIM. Prior to their announcement several companies were taking pre-orders charging up to $99 for an unlocking.

Carolina Milanesi, a Gartner Inc. analyst who attended the London presentation, wondered whether it matters much in the long run whether Apple stays a step ahead of hackers, as Jobs said it must do. "At the moment, as a consumer, you need to be very careful about unlocking the iPhone, and know how you want to use it," she said. "If you unlock it, you are not going to have a flat rate, and you will not have access to the 7,500 hot spots."

Jobs acknowledged that while it was a" cat-and-mouse game" between Apple and hackers, "I’m not sure if we are the cat or the mouse."