not that i have this problem... i dont even have an iphone but thank god you guys are in europe cause where else can i get new apple news at 5 in the morning

Erica is cool
i want to marry you!!

It's 10:00pm in Sydney, I'm going to wait and see what apple does with the iPhone between now and the beginning of the year....I'd just assume wait for a 3g version "if" Jobs & Co. decide their actually worth producing. Otherwise I'm going to pick up an N95 8gb "unlocked". I really like the iPhone, but it really shits me that Apple has become sooooooo greedy, as I type away on my MacBook Pro......I used to have alot of respect for SJ, but I think in the end, he's just like all of the other CEOs......MONEY-MONEY-MONEY-....what about the comsumers who actually purchase the products....what about brand loyality? This iPhone fiasco is just enough to make me go back to MS(gulp...I can't believe I said that)...I love my apple laptops, but I'll switch if I think the big J man has lost touch with those of us who have stood by the company and support them with our hard earned $ through-out the years. You know the old rule of "8s" when it comes to customer service and brand loyality: 1 person has the ability to impact on at least 8 other individuals when it comes to influencing buying decisions...but espically powerful when it comes to "changing their minds" from bad experiences.....Apple is giving alot of people ammunition for this as we speak.

Well SJ....."you reap what you sow".....

macmanager - Steve Jobs has always been about the business end of things. Read back on the history of him and Wozniak. Woz was open source, open hardware, Jobs pushed for closed systems.

All the history aside. As a CEO of a major corporation, Jobs has no choice but to be about the money. If he doesn't give the shareholders increasing value in either the form of rising stock prices, or cash dividends, he will get ousted from the company. In terms of the iPhone specifically, with one of the most "evil" monopolies in the history of business (AT&T) as a partner in the endeavor, Jobs and crew have quite a beast to deal with and keep satisfied.

Those financial realities aside, consider that Jobs still manages to force out some of the slickest products ever under his tyranny.

As far as a lot of people - honestly, those of us who read these sites have a very distorted view of reality. We think that the whole consumer market thinks like we do in terms of unlocking phones, open source software, third party applications, when in reality the vast majority don't even know what any of that stuff means. 2/3 of the people I know with iPhones have pristine phones with no more functionality than what Apple gives them out of the box. They are very happy with the device and would never consider hacking it. It does exactly what they bought it for: makes calls, plays music and videos, and lets them surf the web for free.

Even if Apple loses the 1/3 of people (which I actually think is a high estimate) who, like you, are so quickly ready to write off some of the slickest consumer and computer products in history, they will continue to make tons of money.

Jobs is sowing great products and reaping great financial rewards for his company and shareholders. My Apple stock has tripled in value in just over a year...I've got no complaints, as either a shareholder, or a hacked iPhone owner.

Hey guys ,
it was not YOU that came up with it , actually it was KMac1985 in the Hackingt0sh Forum , so amend your article please .... you were still sitting in the dark when he told you how to do it , and then everybody called him a liar first .

So who is the liar here ?????

does this method work with newly purchased iPhone that came already with 1.1.1 firmware?

This procedure has not been confirmed. The original poster on the Hackintosh forum, PSPsully, posted that he was able to do it on one of 6 new, virgin 1.1.1 firmware phones that he hoped to unlock but that even he couldn't replicate it.

This arguing is BS. The bottom line is this:

Unlocking a phone that you own free and clear is your right.

Intentionally and maliciously bricking someone else's property is malicious and illegal. This isn't a software update that just HAPPENS to be incompatible. This is intentionally destroying someone else's property. Whatever you think of the morals of the situation, that IS NOT LEGAL.

Sorry, but SJ was an idiot this time and it will cost him in the end. The man really believes that when you install third party software on YOUR phone that YOU purchased that you are breaking in to his property and that he has a right to gun you down. Sorry Steve, there are some things that--even if you write them into a license agreement--are unenforcible. Sorry, you can't--the size of your head and ego notwithstanding. You are not the law Steve.

It is only a matter of time before Apple loses the inevitable class action suit that will result from this stupid move. Frankly, aren't there criminal penalties for this as well?

And in case anyone is wondering... no I do not have a modded iPhone.

Tom,

Imagine it is a microwave oven. Story tells a woman put her pet into it to dry it's hair. Guess what happened ? The pet got killed, obvious. Her lawyer went for the manufacturer and they won, because the manufacturer did not tell NOT to put her pet into it for drying.

2 lessons:
- comon sense tells not to put a pet into a microwave oven
- a manufacturer has to take into account every stupidity that might happen

Back to iPhone:
- Hacking a phone takes a risk of damage. This is comon sense.
- Apple in it's license tells every user not to hack the iPhone and every user agreed. Even if you bricked your iPhone, you agreed to this license before !

So, legaly speaking, Apple did not do something wrong here but those who broke the license agreement and ignored instructions from Apple.

Two additional thoughts:
- A carrier, who wants to sell the iPhone, has to invest. Infrastructure has to be provided for additional data trafic, roaming between EDGE and WLAN, the voice mail has to get a new and specialised interface, among others. For this investment there has to be some return. By unlocking the SIM the user is undermining the business model the iPhone is base upon.

- Why do you think a voice mailbox uses such a long text all the way ? Because every second you are on the line gets charged. With iPhones voise mailbox this is no longer true. So the carrier lets go of some part of it's revenue. I guess Apple had a lot of talks with ATT and the other carriers to convince them to use Apple's more friendly user interface.

Just my two cents

Now I know why Erica has time alone to "hack" the iPhone...she is not very easy on the eyes. She should spend more time with the kids and less with gadgets.

can someone please answer me this one question. i had i-switcher and app tapp on my phone. before i upgraded to 1.1.1. i down loaded a copy of 1.0.2 and restored it with that firmware and started fresh. and then i upgraded to firmware 1.1.1. if i have and problems and goto Apple. will they know I had 3rd party software on my phone???

Us Gov't has said it is legal to unlock your phone if for the only purpose of using on another carrier. People have not broken any law when they unlock their phone.

Now those that have unlocked should not update.
Apple said it would cause a brick.

if i asked apple to downgrade it for me would they know that i wanted to use third-party software?

Well yes common sence tell you not to put a dog or cat in the oven cause yu will kill it... Maytag Parts