

The iPhone unlocking software in action  (Source: Engadget)






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I'm no lawyer...
By pauldovi on 9/10/2007 5:05:08 PM , Rating: 3
But something tells me AT&T / Apple will look for legal ways to get this off the market.

RE: I'm no lawyer...
By AMDfreak on 9/10/2007 5:24:45 PM , Rating: 2
They could probably get the US based company, and maybe the Australian one, but I doubt Apple will get anywhere in Saudi Arabia.

RE: I'm no lawyer...
By DestruyaUR on 9/10/2007 9:29:09 PM , Rating: 1
Interesting point - how soon until Apple and AT&T commission a story that the Saudi Arabian store "might" be somehow funding terror?

I'd like to say they'd be above this...but we're dealing with lawyers and corporate entities that have a history of shady tactics.

RE: I'm no lawyer...
By carl0ski on 9/11/2007 6:48:08 AM , Rating: 2
Since AT&T and Apple do not sell the iPhone in Australia
Australian courts will throw such a case out since if an Australian owns a iPhone (they wont be able to use AT&T) obvious fair usage laws will allow users to make use of a product.

The land mark case for this was Legal Console modding and DVD multi region since to allow full usage of a product otherwise not completely functioning (eg NTSC DVDs that were not released in Australia)

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By oab on 9/10/2007 5:27:25 PM , Rating: 3
They can't. Cellphone unlocking is allowed under the DMCA.

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taken from Wikipedia...


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By KristopherKubicki (blog) on 9/10/2007 5:31:21 PM , Rating: 2
True, they can't hit them with the DMCA, but I would be surprised if AT&T and Apple couldn't come up with something though.

RE: I'm no lawyer...
By gramboh on 9/10/2007 5:40:53 PM , Rating: 2
My roommate has an iPhone (here in Canada) and is excited about this. He made the point that this might not be a bad thing for Apple as it could increase sales of iPhones for enthusiasts willing to do the unlock.

My concern would be what about iPhone OS/firmware updates? I'd imagine the exploit that allows the unlock might be closed and your phone reverted to a factory state but such updates.

Either way it's pretty cool, and those companies are going to make a lot of money the next few weeks.

RE: I'm no lawyer...
By TomZ on 9/10/2007 5:46:50 PM , Rating: 2
That's right, Apple wins with the unlock - they can have their cake and eat it too. They get paid by AT&T for exclusive access, then design in primitive security figuring it will quickly get broken, and then voila, the iPhone can be used on other networks without Apple technically violating their agreements.

In my view, AT&T should go after Apple, since Apple is, through lax security, violating the spirit of the exclusivity agreement. Whether that idea can survive AT&T PR calculations in another question.

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I personally don't think Apple cares too much about the unlocking.

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Because they get a cut of the bill


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By rninneman on 9/10/2007 5:41:52 PM , Rating: 3
Unlocking is allowed under the DMCA; selling unlocking tools for a profit is not. AT&T and Apple will most certainly go after the US company and try the Austrailian and German companies. When a company copies Slysoft's model of selling DMCA circumventing software from someplace where there are no DMCA like laws, it is goodbye to locked iPhones. I'm sure by the end of September, there will be several out of Apple and AT&Ts reach.

Apple probably doesn't really care because no matter what, they're selling an iPhone. They just have to appear interested because of they're contract with AT&T. (Although, what if any kickbacks from AT&T on the service plans has not been publicly disclosed.) In the end, even at the new lower price, Apple is still making money if the phone is used on another network and I'm sure Steve Jobs would love to have as many out there as possible regardless of whose network they are one.

RE: I'm no lawyer...
By Christopher1 on 9/11/2007 3:00:42 PM , Rating: 2

Where are you getting that from? I can find nothing in the DMCA that says that selling unlocking tools for profit is illegal or not allowed, and I've been through it about 5 times now.

I might be missing something, but it doesn't appear that you cannot sell an unlocking tool for profit.

Apple Security



Again, popularity.

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iPhone for other networks?

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Yes, when hell freezes over.


1. iTunes Activation - Verizon said no way in hell


I"m really confused...
By Souka on 9/10/2007 7:03:13 PM , Rating: 2
But you're still signing a 2-year commitment with AT&T right?

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Not very much useful for US
By clnee55 on 9/10/2007 7:43:50 PM , Rating: 2
Changing from ATT to T-Mobile doesn't improve much. Verizon doesn't use Sim so it can't be done. Probably outside US will like the unlocking option.


By SiliconAddict on 9/10/2007 9:07:22 PM , Rating: 2
Yah it doesn't improve much...other then going from a shittastic carrier to one that isn't. You couldn't fucking pay me per month to go back to Crapular.

By ChristopherO on 9/10/2007 9:15:11 PM , Rating: 2
Are you kidding me? At my house I get excellent T-Mo coverage but can only get AT&T if I'm upstairs in the master bedroom. Not to mention with MyFaves I use a crazy number of minutes and pay $40/mo (I'd be on the $129 plan with any other carrier). Sure they are both EDGE capable networks, but I don't really care about data. And if I did, the plans are still cheaper than AT&T.

Not that I want to be a shill for them, but I'm just surprised they don't have a bigger chunk of the market.

What the...
By Polynikes on 9/10/2007 6:47:00 PM , Rating: 2

That's ridiculous. A little patience and it'll be available for free.

RE: What the...
By helios220 on 9/10/2007 7:10:43 PM , Rating: 3
I agree.

While I would not necessarily outright brand the developers of the unlock software as pirates, it still never ceases to entertain me when hackers or pirates think that people will not do the same thing to their software as well.

I may be wrong, but I think in general people are even less inclined to be bothered by using hacked or pirated versions of software of questionable legality than your standard main stream developers. What goes around comes around...

I wonder
By JonnyBlaze on 9/10/2007 6:22:42 PM , Rating: 2
How long until iPhoneSimfree is on the web for download.

RE: I wonder


By isorfir on 9/11/2007 10:09:24 AM , Rating: 2
In less than two following the release of

Small typo, but can't hurt to point it out.

RE: ...months?
By xphile on 9/12/2007 9:11:24 PM , Rating: 2
Probably can't hurt to point out either that if you are going to be pedantic about English spelling mistakes, it might help if the person has actually made one. All the words are spelled correctly, so there is actually no typo at all.

On the other hand, there could quite possibly be an omission of a word - but the author may well feel that it was a deliberate gap left to stimulate the readers imagination. I couldn't possibly comment:-)

How will AT&T respond to this?
By steven975 on 9/11/2007 12:04:43 PM , Rating: 2
Right now, AT&T subsidizes EVERY iPhone to the amount of $200 or so.

Since this unlocking is legal, AT&T will lose $200 for every phone unlocked (they make back the $200 if you use their service, though). How is AT&T to respond??

I bet you that they will soon revoke the subsidy and the iPhone will be $599 again, except that you will get $200 back when you activate a new contract. This is the only way AT&T and Apple can avoid a fight.

Going to be pricey...
By EGBTMagus on 9/11/07, Rating: 0

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