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iPhone Freed From AT&T, Twice
Posted by
kdawson
on Fri Aug 24, 2007 02:14 PM
from the everything-but-the-visual-voicemail dept.
from the everything-but-the-visual-voicemail dept.
A very large number of readers sent in stories about one or the other of the two new claims to have unlocked the iPhone for use on other GSM carriers. A New Jersey teenager, George Hotz, posted instructions for unlocking the iPhone using a soldering gun and a lot of patience. This is from coverage in a local NJ paper: "If someone handed him an iPhone new out of the box, he could modify it in 'about an hour,' he said. A person following his directions might take 'a good 12 hours,' the teen estimated." Hotz has put up a YouTube video substantiating his claim, and is conducting an eBay auction for one of his two hacked phones. The other hack is by a commercial outfit called iPhoneSIMfree.com, whose claim Engadget has verified. The company will be selling licenses to the hack, minimum quantity 500, at a price not yet announced. These hacks are much bigger news for those outside America. Expect to see an industry spring up to meet European (and Asian?) demand for freed iPhones.
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Games: PS3 Hacked? 296 comments
Several readers have sent word that George Hotz (a.k.a. geohot), the hacker best known for unlocking Apple's iPhone, says he has now hacked the PlayStation 3. From his blog post:
"I have read/write access to the entire system memory, and HV level access to the processor. In other words, I have hacked the PS3. The rest is just software. And reversing. I have a lot of reversing ahead of me, as I now have dumps of LV0 and LV1. I've also dumped the NAND without removing it or a modchip. 3 years, 2 months, 11 days...that's a pretty secure system. ... As far as the exploit goes, I'm not revealing it yet. The theory isn't really patchable, but they can make implementations much harder. Also, for obvious reasons I can't post dumps. I'm hoping to find the decryption keys and post them, but they may be embedded in hardware. Hopefully keys are setup like the iPhone's KBAG."
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Not just in lots of 500. (Score:3, Informative)
Implications (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Implications (Score:5, Informative)
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Why do all this... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Why do all this... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Why do all this... (Score:4, Interesting)
STFU - iPhone represents the most proprietary item you can obtain, with a hardware supplier who's not letting anyone but them write software, a software supplier who's famous for not running on any hardware other than that which they created (software supplier and hardware supplier being the same company, for anyone interested in vendor lock-in), and doing an exclusive deal with a monopoly telephone provider, just to put the monopilistic cherry on the proprietary icing.
How the fuck can you compare *that* with OpenMoko, a completely Free phone with a Free firmware, Free Operating System, Free applications, and community of Free Software guys prepared to spend $450 each just to debug the hardware for the benefit of humanity, so that for the first time ever, you can buy a phone that does whatever you want
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Re:Why do all this... (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, I am all for OpenMoko and Free Software, I hope they do a great job. But it is absolutely ridiculous for you ignore the fact that for the average non-technical user, a polished, working product that exists now has a real practical value over something that is still in "pre-alpha" (again, their words) development.
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Re:Why do all this... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Why do all this... (Score:5, Insightful)
The Neo is neat and all, but you don't even have to be that open to do better than the iPhone.
The iPhone is explicitly designed to create vendor lock-in with AT&T. If you want a fully functional smartphone that is unlocked by default, you can get something like a Nokia Communicator [wikipedia.org].
In fact, there are great stacks of phones (all generally unavailable from carriers in the US) that are fully functional smart phones that run on industry-standard Symbian (some even on not-fully-open Linux; hell, even Windows Mobile is better than an iPhone) and have such amazing features as being unlocked and supporting 3rd party apps by default.
Here are some more phones to compare the iPhone to:
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Do you smell that? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Do you smell that? (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Do you smell that? (Score:4, Informative)
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Yeah, but... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Yeah, but... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Meh (Score:5, Funny)
Limited in its usefulness.... (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Also, in my opinion, anyone who honestly believes that a 17 yr "figured out" the iPhone JTag interfac
Wrong (Score:3, Informative)
Apple and AT&T won't care (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
From the engadget article mentioned in the summary:
Remember it's a simple software patch. That doesn't sound like much inconvenience. Put a nice, simple UI on it and there's nothing left preventing the "simple folk" from "hacking" their iPhones.
Actually, from what I understand, AT&T themselves did a terrible job at activating iPhones [engadget.com] during the launch. Still no problems selling, apparently.
Functionality (Score:3, Insightful)
Still... (Score:4, Insightful)
You would think...... (Score:4, Interesting)
Licensing a hack? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Licensing a hack? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
don't care (Score:5, Interesting)
Why is GPS primary? (Score:3, Interesting)
Yet almost all the time, I know exactly where I am. What I want to know is where something else is, and how to get there. Thus for me of primary importance is the map browsing, and at that the iPhone excels since it's so easy to do local searches on an area you are viewing, have it generate directions you can follow a turn at a time, and browse nearby streets to be sure exactly how to get there once you are close. Panning and zooming in and out a
Will eBay pull the auction? (Score:4, Insightful)
Hack licenses? (Score:4, Interesting)
CNBC Coverage (Score:4, Informative)
Cheers,
Dave
Someone please explain this.. (Score:5, Insightful)
You don't buy cars from the Highway Department (or equivalent)
You don't buy your TV,dishwasher,microwave or other electrical appliances from the electricity company.
So why on earth do americans still meekly accept the logic of buying mobile phones from service providers?
The sooner unlocked phones proliferate, there won't be a need to jump through such hoops to unlock an iPhone, or any other phone.
Re:More Like.... (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:More Like.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Apple doesn't lose out of this, so I can't see them rushing to redesign the hardware or software.
The only loser it AT&T. And one can easily argue that if the provided a good connection product, at a competitive price and backed it up with quality service they'd have nothing to worry about.
But, of course, the only reason for all service providers all over the globe to use lock-ins is because the last thing any phone company offers is any of the above.
So, yeah, let's hear those world's smallest violins.
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Re:More Like.... (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.mobile-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?stor
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/07/19/ana
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Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Sure, they'll probably respond (and I'd wager that they'll wait until AFTER the phone sells on eBay--you know, to ensure some legal technicality ensues due to the sale) but really, if their business model relies (at least partially) on the revenue of another company, then shame on them.
Re:More Like.... (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:More Like.... (Score:5, Funny)
I'll work on rounding up the proletariat to design games for the People, so we can all play without anyone being trampled under these bourgeois capitalists who build electronics for money and orchestrate evil plots to make their products more attractive through proprietary software.
--
ZDNet's George Ou Exposed as Ignorant Microsoft Shill (Zoon!) [roughlydrafted.com]
The assault on reason isn't just a political phenomenon. Microsoft has long been developing its own cast of apologists who have eked out full time careers in the field of sputtering out ignorant, unfounded claims with such insistence and volume that the undecided simply have no alternative but to line up and applaud their seemingly convincing rhetoric. Among them is George Ou, who unsurprisingly blogs for CNET's ZDNet branded website.
Apple iPhone vs the FIC Neo1973 OpenMoko Linux Smartphone [roughlydrafted.com]
Frequently compared to Apple's new smartphone, the OpenMoko FIC Neo1973 is described as the free and open software community's alternative to Apple's officially closed iPhone platform. Here's a look at what it really is and how it compares to the iPhone.
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Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:More Like.... (Score:4, Interesting)
Depending on the balance of new customers to old (and 4GB iPhones to 8GB iPhones), Apple may just make more money by letting people buy the phone and use it with any provider, especially considering that the legal fees to try to enforce the locked phone policy would probably wipe out any difference in revenue from lost AT&T customers. That's provided that AT&T doesn't make too much of a stink with Apple about it. In any case, I'm sure the number of people who actually will end up unlocking their phones will be relatively small, so even AT&T doesn't have much to worry about, and Apple can enjoy those few extra sales that they'll get from it.
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Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Except that you're still pretty much SOL, as you're stuck with having to sign up with Rogers and pay them an arm and a leg to use the iPhone data services (outside of a suitable WiFi area, at least).
Or you could choose to sign up with Fido (which is owned by Rogers) but instead charges you a leg and an arm for the same services. And a few other appendages if you want to access Roger's "expanded network
Re:More Like.... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:More Like.... (Score:4, Insightful)
Very true, but I fear the government wants less smart people around.
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Re:More Like.... (Score:5, Funny)
Thank you Grammar Nazi.
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Re:More Like.... (Score:5, Insightful)
No, I call it really smart. He did his homework, found the DMCA provision/exemption that allowed him to do EXACTLY what he did, and announced it.... and as neither "pissing off companies" nor "screwing the warranty" is illegal in the US, he just assured himself a future job.
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Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
It`s cheaper by about 100$, with probarly the same features(ofc in the iPhone the cost of AT&T monopoly is not included)
I'm pretty interested in the OpenMoko project myself, but let's be realistic here.
1) Noone's going to know about it but Slashdot nerds. It may sell alright and be moderately succesful, but nothing like the iPhone.
2) The Phase 2 version of the phone (the one intended for mass market) will cost $450 [openmoko.org] for the base model, or $600 for the Advanced (developer's) version. That makes the base model $50 cheaper than the 4GB iPhone, and $150 cheaper than the 8GB iPhone, but there's also much less storage spac
Re:Calling all Lawyers (Score:4, Insightful)
I smell Lawsuits.
Lawyers my eye, this is probably covered by the DMCA reverse engineering, same as for unlocking XBoxes and so forth. Simply purchasing an iPhone does not convey complete ownership and the right to dismantle protections under such law. Worse, offering up the modified iPhone on eBay, which I expect to see cancelled, will not simply bring grief from AT&T, but Apple as well. (It's currently up to $15K, which I doubt will be honoured.) It's best if someone does unlock the iPhone for other GSM services to keep their yap shut and use it as they see fit. Sadly, ego must be fed, but at what price?
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Re:Calling all Lawyers (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Calling all Lawyers (Score:5, Insightful)
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