“A company that unlocks cell phones in Europe said it is close to having an application that will allow customers to unlock their Apple iPhones so they can use SIM cards from carriers other than AT&T to activate the phones,” Elizabeth Montalbano reports for IDG News Service.
“In an interview this week in New York, John McLaughlin, founder of Belfast, U.K.-based Uniquephones, said he has engineers working around the clock in several countries who are close to cracking the complex security system Apple has set up to ensure customers can only use iPhones with AT&T Wireless service,” Montalbano reports.
“The race by hackers to unlock iPhones has been on since the phone was released last Friday. Currently, AT&T Wireless has an exclusive deal with Apple to provide service for iPhones, and customers must agree to a two-year service plan with the company. However, customers have complained that the carrier’s wireless service is slow, and according to McLaughlin, there has been tremendous interest in the ability to unlock the phone,” Montalbano reports.
Montalbano reports, “By Sunday night, he said, more than 150,000 inquires had come in through the Web site he set up to request IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) numbers from customer iPhones. While not everyone would volunteer their IMEI numbers, they still expressed interest in learning how to unlock their iPhones, McLaughlin said.”
Full article here.
There goes Visual Voicemail not to mention everytime Apple updates the iPhone firmware / software- the scheme will most likely change. They’re dealing with Apple- not Microsieve.
What about features like visual voicemail?
Messaging?
Will they work with other carriers?
Yep this is Definitely 100% legal. Apple wont bother filing a law suit one bit.
“extreme sarcasm”
Why would a company waste its time.
What about whipping the drive and loading windows moble 6!
“However, customers have complained that the carrier’s wireless service is slow, and according to McLaughlin, there has been tremendous interest in the ability to unlock the phone,”
Then Mclaughlin, you and everyone who says this is a reason is a MORON. iPhone has EDGE, EDGE is EDGE. Tmobiles EDGE is not magically faster then AT&Ts;.
And in my own personal use, 90% of the time Edge on Att is pretty quick. enough to allow browsing the web and an occasional you tube.
“However, customers have complained that the carrier’s wireless service is slow”
I think it will be even slower on another carrier, since there is no 3G chip in the phone, and therefore will not be able to access a 3G network.
It would be nice to have an iPhone even without some of the AT&T specific stuff. Just a simple phone, Wi-Fi and iPod would satisfy me. It sure would beat the hell outta the crappy phone I have now. And I bought it unlocked, too! Although 8GB is pretty thin memorywise for music, never mind video, especially since the iPhone’s OS uses around 700MB. Then what does an 8GB drive give you formatted?
Makes one wonder, if they do manage to crack the iPhone if Apple will go after them.
If they make it, download it FAST! It’ll probably be gone quickly.
Unlocking cell phones is not illegal.
I believe the DMCA protects anyone in the US who wants to unlock their phone from penalty from ATT or Apple.
I am hoping for an unlocked version!!
Mexico has not even been mentioned for iPhones, but Telmex is GSM, even if it will not have all the features
we just got the Razr last December, but I am using one from the States, that I got unlocked and popped in a TelMex simm card
As soon as it is available I intend to unlock mine. I travel often to Europe and Asia and buying low cost pay as you go cards is the way to roam.
http://www.uniquephones.com/
and of $1.99 you can beat it
visualmail is not worth the hassle of a locked phone tome
“Unlocking cell phones is not illegal.” -joooop
hey joooop,
Unlocking a cellphone may not be, but to break Apples Security measures is almost definitely illegal, and if its not breaking the law, its definitely violating Apples or ATTs ToS, which is stated on the plastic covering the iphone. you must agree to the terms before you use the device.
iPhone Phreak,
Yeah, you would have to whip the drive – into submission – in order to install Winblows mobile on the iPhone. That would be like putting a Gremlin engine in your BMW.
WHO CARES about Visual Voicemail. I don’t even use voicemail anyway. I use e-mail and SMS and MOST of Europe does too.
This sounds like a profiteering scum.
You pay to have your iphone unlocked,
You open your iphone to crap since you have just handed over your IMEI number.
Apple release an upgrade, you miss out!
Apple release new functionality, you miss out!!
Developers release new software, you miss out!!!
You have enough of missing out so you pop into an Apple shop to request the geniuses fix your iphone.
You find out that you have invalidated your guarantee and therefor have to pay a lot more to have it fixed and reset to the factory mode.
You discover that you really are a nonce because you are back to square one having spent a fortune trying to be clever!!!
I imagine that nonce’s comprise people new to the Apple platform and are therefor are either still windoze brainwashed or thinking differently on planet Zorb time! there logic has been Zorbed up!!!
@ Jooop
yes unlocking phones is legal, in europe, it’s a right.
It is illegal in many European countries to sell a cell phone locked to one carrier.
Apple should have sold the phone unlocked to begin with, but if they wanted edge and visual voicemail( the last is the only feature I want) then you have to sign up for AT&T. I would love to have my normal phone contract without data and be able to use the iPhone. that way I can use the wi-fi when in range and wonn’t have to pay $20 bucks a month for data rates barely faster than ISDN.
until then no iPhone for my Mac’s.
Mr. Reee said:
>It would be nice to have an iPhone even without some of the AT&T >specific stuff. Just a simple phone, Wi-Fi and iPod would satisfy >me.
And me too… for me, the wireless internet access in a phone is enough to make me want the iPhone…
It doesn’t surprise me to read the posts above. Socialists are often thieves by nature, as socialism is the philosophy of theft.
to the whiners of the world…all things come to those who wait
This is the first version assholes! The second is already in the pipline. Apple will evaluate all the compaints and incoporate what falls in line with their overall strategy.
@BustingTheSkulls
“It doesn’t surprise me to read the posts above. Socialists are often thieves by nature, as socialism is the philosophy of theft.”
That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard, typically the opposite is true, you must be some kind of RWer dolt.
In Belgium it’s illegal to sell a cell phone locked to a phone company.
To BustingTheSkullsOfIdiots:
It doesn’t surprise me to read the posts above. Capitalists are often thieves by nature, as capitalism is the philosophy of theft.
Without capitalism, there would be no:
iPhone.
Apple.
MDN.
Profit is not a sin.
<< WHO CARES about Visual Voicemail. I don’t even use voicemail anyway. I use e-mail and SMS and MOST of Europe does too. >>
When you get 20 calls a day- and some of them are extended support calls- Visual Voicemail is the cure. Especially when family members think nothing of calling you during work hours.
A few months ago near the initial announcement of the iPhone, Rogers was quoted as saying that they too will have the iPhone at launch. They soon retracted that statement, denied it, and gave a “no comment” there after. Why? Apple told Rogers off.
I don’t know about an official unlocked phone coming out anytime soon, but I would imagine that Apple is eagerly hacking away at the EDGE component and replacing it with CDMA? Why, because Rogers has a monopoly in Canada on GSM technology and won’t agree to Apple taking a percentage of the user fees (which are coincidentally also the highest in Canada). This will also enable the iPhone to enter CDMA dominated markets such as Canada, Australia, Brazil and others. Having greater choice means Apple can be more selective about who they “let” market their iPhone.