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iPhone Unlock Mania

Submitted by Michael Johnston on August 24, 2007 - 8:42pm.
in

In case you haven't been keeping up with the flurry of news today, there are now two companies claiming to have the magical software needed to unlock the iPhone. As good as that sounds, it comes at a price. Neither one of these groups intend to give away the crown jewels for free. No, they're going to make you pay to use the method, which they claim to have developed independently. I'm not too sure about that.

iPhoneSIMFree, the first group with the magic software unlock, announced their ability today by unlocking Ryan Block of Engadget's iPhone. The software they use requires no hardware modification and should hold up through software updates and restores. Impressive.

The second group, Uniquephones, announced this afternoon that their unlocking software will be available tomorrow between 12 and 2 PM EST at iPhoneUnlocking.com. Uniquephones has no intention of giving this software away either. According to Engadget, the service will be priced somewhere between $25 and $50, with a discount being offered to customers that have already signed up.

So this is great, right? The mighty AT&T has lost control over the iPhone and consumers now have the ability to choose a carrier.

I have just one question: Where did the magic unlocking software come from?

Just yesterday George Hotz, the 17-year old who worked all summer unlocking the very first iPhone, gave unlocking step-by-step instructions and software on his blog for all the world to see. He previously mentioned that, although the hardware hack works, a less riskier software method is likely soon to follow. A day later, (today) iPhone SIM Free shows up with a pure software method.

Now, just because one company cracked it in the same time that it took George to doesn't mean that it was related. For me, the red flag went up when Uniquephones announced their software later the same day. I'm not saying that these two companies are ripping off George's work and selling it for their own gain. I have no evidence one way or the other, but it does seem a little fishy.

I will say this, if by some chance what George Hotz's hardware unlock method can be easily made software-only, it won't be long until the real heroes make it available free of charge. Gizmodo suggests donating to the iPhone Dev Team, and I second the motion.

My advice to anyone looking lustfully at those two unlock sites is to wait.

[Image courtesy of Gizmodo]

Submitted by t0mmy (not verified) on August 24, 2007 - 11:36pm.
I totally agree with your post. Very fishy indeed, and I hope that people dont support those two sites. If so, someone needs to buy their software and reverse it to figure out the method and publish it for free.

Major props to George for giving away the info on how he did it for free. Really a great young guy for doing that..

tommy
www.thememyphone.com

Charging for unlock

Submitted by Unregistered (not verified) on August 25, 2007 - 10:00am.
I dont have a problem at all with paying for unlock software. People put in the time and effort to make this happen and they should be rewarded.

Submitted by fractured on August 25, 2007 - 10:51am.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
I dont have a problem at all with paying for unlock software. People put in the time and effort to make this happen and they should be rewarded.
i think the issue is the suspicion that most of the work was done by George and his friends, not by these companies. If those companies can quickly turn around the hardware/software hack and make it software only, then why not wait for those who wish to make it free, in the spirit of the original hackers?

I just sent a paypal donation to the iphone team

Submitted by Unregistered (not verified) on August 25, 2007 - 8:52pm.
Kudos to free software development. I too find it suspicious that these companies have come up with a solution so soon after george and his team did their work. Also, people are building on the work of others, and acknowledgments SHOULD be made. I wonder how the people who have spent MANY sleepless nights feel about someone capitalizing on their work AND not acknowledging them (a good example of acknowledgment is the developer of ifuntastic saying UPFRONT that he did not do the work, he merely made someone else's work easier to use. Thank you, iphone alley, for reminding all of us to appreciate what has been done and contribute what we can (money, time, applause).

- Janet