GeoHot shows interest in WP7, Microsoft offers him a device

Hacker George Hotz, also known as GeoHot, is known for helping crack the iPhone and for releasing the PlayStation 3 root key and custom firmware. Understandably, he is fed up with both Apple's and Sony's stances on jailbreaking (Apple wants to make jailbreaking illegal while Sony is suing GeoHot). According to his website though, he likes Microsoft's approach on homebrew and wants to try Windows Phone 7:
GeoHot seems to prefer Microsoft's more humane treatment of hackers. After hearing that GeoHot was interested in Windows Phone 7, Brandon Watson, Director of Developer Experience for Windows Phone 7, posted the following on his Twitter account: "#geohot if you want to build cool stuff on #wp7, send me email and the team will give you a phone - let dev creativity flourish #wp7dev."



With GeoHot onboard, Microsoft has an even bigger chance to push Windows Phone 7 to geeks. If the company can successfully build a homebrew community, it will be able to build a niche for itself in the mobile phone market. From there, the company will be able to grow Windows Phone much more quickly.



"Brandon Watson and GeoHot exchanged a few notes following Brandon's Twitter posting yesterday. They discussed providing GeoHot with a device," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement. "Microsoft is deeply invested in sustaining strong relationships with a wide range of developers and enthusiasts and are always interested in what we can learn from those communities."