Warranty story

[senorFunkyPants]

Right, the software doesn't come with any warranty (i.e. they're under no obligation to repair or replace an iPhone because of a software issue), but how do you interpret that to mean that only hardware modifications void the warranty?

The warranty is defined as a hardware warranty in the first two lines:
"Apple’s warranty obligations for this hardware product are limited to the terms set forth below:
Apple Inc. (“Apple”) warrants this Apple-branded hardware product against defects...."

They explicitly exclude software from the warranty:
"The Limited Warranty does not apply to [....] any software...."

The warranty is clearly defined as a hardware warranty and therefore exclusions relate solely to the hardware.
This is further reinforced by excluding the software from the warranty.
Apple cannot use software modification for voiding the warranty because the software isn't actually warranted.

show me the law that says a company HAS to offer a warranty on a product? plenty of products require you to register in order to obtain an (extended) warranty.

the canon L lens i just bought has a one year warranty and if you register with canon it's 2 years. i don't see how that's any different.

I would imagine that somewhere in US law there are some consumer protection statutes. In the UK we have the "Sale of goods act" which basically boils down to any retail item bought must be fit for purpose, of satisfactory quality and durable for a reasonable period. A warranty is usually just a recap of your rights under local laws relative to the product and is always superceded by those laws.
Extended warranties are a seperate contract between you and the company and are usually stricter than the original warranty as they are not governed by local laws except perhaps "unfair contract terms" legislation.

 

[jeffmc]

you also may want to re-read the software license agreement we've all agreed to the first time we plugged the phone in via itunes:

you may not copy, decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, attempt to derive the source code of, decrypt, modify, or create derivative works of the iPhone Software, iPhone Software Updates, or any part thereof. Any attempt to do so is a violation of the rights of Apple and its licensors of the iPhone Software and iPhone Software Updates.