Unlocking the iPhone could invite a lawsuit
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The secret to unlocking the iPhone may be available, but the legal waters are murky, experts say.
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The iPhone Dev team said it will fight any attempt by Apple to "brick" iPhones that have been unlocked by owners using its anySIM software.
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A company that insures laptops and smartphones may save the day for iPhone owners worried about their pricey handsets getting stolen or damaged.
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Really: we can unlock an iPhone Belfast company UniquePhone has reacted to accusations that it can't really unlock Apple's iPhone by posting a four minute video showing someone apparently doing just that.â¦
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Hackers who unlock Apple Inc.&#39;s iPhone from the AT&amp;T Inc. network and share the method with 10 million of their closest Internet friends are inviting a lawsuit from the two companies, several intellectual property lawyers said Monday.
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Hackers claimed significant progress Monday in the race to unlock the iPhone, but some say that some egos in the scene are getting in the way of getting the work done.
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InfoWorld - Two claims of unlocking Apple&#39;s iPhone have surfaced in recent days, and a third is set to be announced Saturday.
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Hackers have already succeeded in cracking the iPhone's activation process, a step towards unlocking the iPhone.
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Apple Inc  said on Monday  that programs available on the Internet to unlock its iPhone  and enable it to work with service providers other than AT&T's  Cingular network could cause irreparable damage to the device.
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(InfoWorld) - Hackers may successfully unlock an iPhone in as soon as three to seven days, according to a representative of one effort that aims to unlockÂ Apple's new handset. "We believe it will be easy. We are privately aware many of the iPhone engineers came from other handset manufacturers, and we understand their design techniques fairly well," said gj, speaking in an interview conducted using IRC (Internet Relay Chat). He requested that his real name not be used. "Easy to us means inside one week," he said, offering an estimate of three to seven days. Unlocking the iPhone means users will be able to use the handset with other service providers, not just AT&T, which has an exclusive deal to sell the phone in the U.S. By Tuesday night, U.S. time, hackers succeeded in cracking the iPhone's activation process, a minor step towards unlocking the iPhone but a significant technical challenge. The activation process uses a software token that is sent from the phone via iTunes to Apple, which signs the token and returns it to the phone. When that process is completed, iTunes tells the phone to activate. Hackers developed tools for both Windows and MacOS that allow users to activate their phones without iTunes. But users will have to use a token from an activated iPhone, which can be used to activate multiple phones. The hackers are not providing a token with the tools. "If you don't have a known token (which does contain identifying information) you won't be able to use the tool," gj said. At least one other hacker found a way to activate the iPhone without using iTunes. Jon Lech Johansen -- better known as DVD Jon, a hacker who helped develop the DeCSS tool for decrypting DVDs -- released a tool that can activate the iPhone without iTunes on his blog. "The iPhone does not have phone capability, but the iPod and Wi-Fi work," Johansen wrote. Cracking the activation process brings hackers one step closer to their goal of unlocking the iPhone. The phone requires iTunes to activate functions such as its camera and music player. But the process also requires signing up for a two-year data plan with AT&T. "Activating the phone really just makes the device more 'usable' for those who want to use it as a Wi-Fi device, for instance," gj said. With the activation process cracked hackers turned their focus to unlocking the iPhone, a challenge that is expected to be easier than cracking the activation process. "Unlocking is a function of the radio and the radio's interaction with the SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) logic, and these are mostly standards based," gj said. A rumored software update for the iPhone, expected to be released on July 5, could undo some of the progress hackers made towards unlocking the phone. "If Apple releases an update on July 5th that includes 'fixes' for our efforts so far, it will be a setback," gj said. "I don't know if it will be a permanent one." Hackers working together to unlock the iPhone don't belong to a specific group, and don't plan to claim credit for their work, gj said. "We just want to see the hardware freed. We accept that others will exploit those works but hopefully it will be a lesson to Apple," he said. "They're such a great company, it's a real shame for them to lock everything down like this. The design is top notch," he said. "They would win far more business by setting an example for the industry."
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Unlocked and loaded Efforts to open up the functionality of Apple's iPhone to users disinclined to sign up to expensive two year contracts with AT&amp;T are growing.â¦
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Walls come tumbling down A UK firm that specialises in unlocking mobile phones reckons it's close to developing an application that would allow iPhone owners to use the device with carriers other than America's AT&amp;T.â¦
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Late yesterday afternoon, Apple Computer issued a single-paragraph statement reminding its iPhone users that their warranties would not be able to cover damages to their phones caused by the use of unlocking utilities. The company used a carrot and stick approach, reminding users that an iTunes Music Store update was on the way, but that attempting to install it on a cracked phone could render it useless.
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A well-known hacker claims to have overcome AT&T's restrictions on the iPhone, but the hacked phone cannot make calls.
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Have iPhone customers won the freedom to tinker with their cool new handsets? Maybe, if you have the skill to do it yourself. But we don't yet know if you're legally entitled to get help.
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The country's largest provider of pay-as-you-go mobile services is suing the federal government over a recent ruling that allows people to disable the software that locks cell phones to a particular carrier.
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By Associated Press  SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Apple Inc. has a few more days to respond to Cisco Systems Inc.'s trademark infringement lawsuit that threatens to keep Apple from using the name "iPhone" on its much-hyped cell phone-music player.