Group to liberate iPhone from AT&T
118940
Blog: Group claims it can unbind the iPhone from a specific carrier to "expand the functionality" of the device.
169265
A member of iPhoneSimFree, another group that claims to have unlocked the iPhone, answers some questions.
220768
Only one per buyer at AT&amp;T stores When Apple's iPhone goes on sale tomorrow evening, buyers will only be allowed to take home two of the "revolutionary" mobile telephones, the Mac maker said today. That's twice as many as AT&amp;T, the only carrier offering the iPhone for the immediate future, will allow.â¦
188037
InfoWorld - 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&amp;T to activate the phones.
170709
A teenager in New Jersey has broken the lock that ties Apple's iPhone to AT&amp;T's wireless network, freeing the most hyped cell phone ever for use on the networks of other carriers, including overseas ones.
77293
Blog: AT&T is telling customers they can only buy one iPhone per person, at least at first.
419686
(InfoWorld) - Hackers who unlock Apple's iPhone from the AT&T network and share the method with 10 million of their closest Internet friends are inviting a lawsuit from the two companies, several intellectual property (IP)Â lawyers said Monday. Apple and AT&T may have a legal case against unlockers under the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), especially if they try to sell software code or devices that unlock the iPhone, the lawyers said. But the legal landscape gets a bit complicated -- there's a legal exception to the DMCA's anticircumvention provisions that allows individual mobile phone users to unlock their devices for use on other networks. So figuring out how to unlock the iPhone yourself is not likely to be a DMCA violation, most of the IP lawyers said. But posting instructions or code online, even for free, may earn you a cease-and-desist letter from an unfriendly lawyer, and selling software or a device that unlocks the phone is inviting trouble, most of the lawyers said. But there's plenty of disagreement among IP lawyers about the interpretation of the DMCA. "It's an extremely grey [area], because I don't think the exemption was altogether clear," said Bart Showalter, an intellectual property lawyer in Dallas with the Baker Botts LLP law firm. "The idea of trying to use copyright to, in a sense, establish exclusivity in a service contract ... is going to be an interesting thing to watch." John McLaughlin, founder of Uniquephones, based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, had planned to release software Saturday that wouldÂ allow users to unlock their iPhone. But early Saturday morning, McLaughlin said he received a phone call from a man saying he was from a law firm representing AT&T. The caller saidÂ McLaughlin could be sued for copyright infringement. Two other groups have claimed to have unlocked the iPhone. Representatives of both AT&T and Apple declined to comment Monday on possible legal actions against unlockers. Showalter suggested that unlocking the iPhone and posting code or instructions for free would likely fall under the exception to the DMCA's anticircumvention provisions, thus protecting the unlocker from legal action. The exception allows circumvention of device controls "for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network," according to language from the U.S. registrar of copyrights. So if a hacker unlocks the iPhone, then posts the unlocking code for free, he's engaging in a legal activity and enabling others to engage in the same legal activity, said Michael Lewis, an IP lawyer with Fox Rothschild LLP. If that hacker is sued, he could probably argue that posting of the unlocking code is protected by free speech provisions in U.S. law, according to Lewis. Other IP lawyers disagreed. Movie studios have successfully sued Web site operators for distributing the DeCSS DVD-copying code, noted Carole Handler, an IP lawyer with Foley and Lardner LLP. The unlocker of the iPhone who posts code online could be held liable for secondary copyright infringement, she said. "I don't see that [Apple and AT&T] have a choice," Handler said. "They have to do something. If you don't protect your intellectual property, it's gone." Lewis' colleague, Gerry Norton, agreed, saying the unlocking exception was narrowly written. "The exception was just for the end-user," he said. Most of the lawyers agreed that selling software to unlock the iPhone, as McLaughlin was planning to do, would invite a lawsuit under the DMCA. "The courts seem to have less sympathy for people who are doing things to make a buck," Lewis said. But there wasn't even unanimous agreement on the legal liability of selling unlocking software. If the software being distributed targeted only the network lock on the iPhone, the developer could have a defense, Showalter said. "It does seem a little unusual to me that they say somebody can unlock their phone, but if someone tells them how to do it, that's a violation of the DMCA," he said. "If the software that's being sold is only doing the minimum amount that's necessary to allow it to interoperate with other services, you may have some support in the DMCA exception." Beyond the legal questions about unlocking the iPhone, Apple and AT&T could face their own legal challenges, Handler said. The exclusive contract between the two companies could lead to an antitrust lawsuit if a competitor or customer could successfully argue there's no other device like the iPhone available on the market, she said. "Consumers want new technology," she said. "This is the era of the consumer controlling the media. When the consumer is told he or she can't do something, they get pretty upset, and they start claiming conspiracy, antitrust, and the whole bit."
678072
A well-known hacker claims to have overcome AT&T's restrictions on the iPhone, but the hacked phone cannot make calls.
148969
Apple Inc. and AT&T Inc. today unveiled three new service plans for the iPhone; all offer unlimited data transfers and range in price from $60 to $100 a month.
663026
A group of hackers said they will soon sell software allowing Apple&#39;s iPhone to be used with any cellphone carrier, skirting AT&amp;T&#39;s exclusive deal in the United States.
395621
According to Saul Hansell at the NY Times, Apple intends to break phones that have been unlocked.  But Francine Hardaway and Patrick Scoble both updated this afternoon, and bad things happened. Hardaway's phone was "fried," she needed a new phone, and Scoble lost all his data. Hardaway: "Trust me, I didn't hack it." Jeff Clavier: "This effing piece of s..t is bricked." Robert Scoble, Patrick's dad, updated successfully, and got the new features. Spaley's iPhone is "a useless piece of crap." Looks like Josh Bancroft's iPhone was hosed too. I would hold off on the update until we find out what's going wrong.  Sugar Attack: "It wasn't until I saw a friend tweet about the new iPhone firmware upgrade that I realized I could now access the iTunes WiFi store."
126947
A new software-based unlocking scheme for your iPhone makes it easier for those of us without soldering skills to leave AT&T. But the good times probably won't last.
533837
A hacker group has released what it says is a one-click way to install unauthorized third-party applications on an iPhone or iPod Touch. You still can't switch the iPhone to another wireless carrier.
693229
(InfoWorld) - A team of security experts in Baltimore said it has found a flaw inÂ Apple's iPhone handsetÂ that can be used by attackers to access private data stored on it. Independent Security Evaluators (ISE) said on a Web site dedicated to explaining the flaw and its exploitation that an attacker could gain access to the iPhone through a wireless access point, or through a Web site controlled by the attacker. Numerous hackers have beenÂ working to gain access to the iPhoneÂ in order to activate certain features or to allow it to be used on cellular networks other than AT&T's. However, this is the first major exploitation of an iPhone security flaw. Because the iPhone connects to wireless Internet access networks, such as Wi-Fi, by name, an attacker could create a network with the same name and encryption method as one the handset already uses. The attacker could then substitute a Web page with exploit code to gain access to the phone, ISE said on its Web site. An attacker could also use a link planted on an unedited or unmoderated online forum, or a link sent by SMS or e-mail to use make use of the flaw and gain access to the handset, ISE said. The company said its researchers had required two weeks of part-time work to find the flaw and exploit it. When the iPhone's Safari browser opens a malicious Web page, malicious code can be run on the phone via the flaw, allowing the attacker to read the iPhone's SMS log, address book, call history, and voice-mail information, which are also then sent to the attacker, ISE said. ISE said it would be presenting full details of the exploit and its procedure at the Black Hat 2007 conference in Las Vegas on August 2. Â
750997
Apple has been very quiet on the topic of unlocking the iPhone, which allows it to work with other wireless carriers. However, the company, on Monday, issued a stern warning to users that their iPhone may be permanently inoperable if they use the various unlocking software available on the Internet.
450746
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¦
358998
Apple fan boys may soon discover which UK network provider they must switch to in order to secure an iPhone. An online source has reported that O2 may tomorrow announce a deal with Apple for the much-hyped handset.â¦