Filed under: Software, Mods, iPhone
iPhone unlocks go on sale... and why don't we care?
Well that's it. Engadget revealed that iPhoneSIMfree's unlocking solution is up and running today, and they're now on sale (in fact, our Weblogs, Inc. brethren are giving them away as we speak). Hype, prices, and sketchy profiteering aside, what's done seems to be done. If you want your iPhone unlocked, have at it.Why aren't the Mac faithful more excited? Europeans are definitely interested-- we've already heard from a few of them, including reader Callum, who really want to use their iPhones. But from my general sense of the population, iPhone owners, especially Cult of Mac folks, aren't jumping at the chance. Gadgetheads like Engadget love it, but you TUAWers, despite the AT&T hate (which I share, and I'm not even an AT&T customer yet), aren't that into an unlock. As Engadget says, the iPhone hackers aren't going to bother to reverse engineer iPhoneSIMfree's solution. The whole community seems to be saying, "meh."
Part of the problem is the warranty, I'd expect-- that's why I'm not going to unlock my iPhone when I eventually pick it up. And the other part is the fact that I'm sticking with Apple, even if they price drop in another few months and require me to be with AT&T. I want my iPhone to do everything it can, and if this unlock breaks anything, or won't vibe with the Visual Voicemail, or who knows what else, then iPhoneSIMfree can keep their $100 offer.
But enough about what I want-- let's ask you, TUAWers. What do you think of the unlock?
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
NICK A said 5:57PM on 9-10-2007
Surely a US based poll, as Europeans prefer unlocked phones period. That way when we travel between other countries we can swap sim cards for the lowest possible tariff.
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Eideard said 8:13PM on 9-10-2007
Sooner or later it will be unlocked legit - and/or T-Mobile will become an option. When that happens, our family will acquire at least 1 iPhone..
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Fraser Drew said 6:08PM on 9-10-2007
I wouldn't personally want an unlocked iPhone, even if it meant i could get it now in the UK. How much of the iPhone is data based... you really need unlimited data. You just don't get that in the UK for any reasonable price!
So please Apple; get us a good data deal!!
I think many people in Europe wouldn't yet want an unlocked iPhone due to the fact that the iPhone does _need_ lots of data/net access. Just not worth it without it!
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WillGonz said 6:08PM on 9-10-2007
I have a problem paying $100 for a hack that can simply be turned off. You pay $100. Apple shuts them down and kills the hack. You loose $100 and you are stuck with an iPhone you can't use.
If I was going to Europe I would rather buy a pay as you go SIM card for local calls. Hence, I would desire an unlocked phone.
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Donald Burr said 6:10PM on 9-10-2007
Unlocking in the US doesn't really make much sense, as there are only two GSM carriers to choose from: AT&T and T-Mobile. (Yes, some local areas have small GSM operators, but they are definitely in the minority.) I personally am interested in an iPhone unlock because I am a T-Mobile consumer who wants an iPhone but doesn't want to switch to AT&T. We're contract-bound for another year or so. Normally I would just bite the bullet and pay the early termination fee (I think they pro-rate, so mine would be less than the full amount), but I am the owner of a family plan and I don't want to leave my other plan mates stuck. (AT&T signal turns out to be OK for me where I go, so switching carriers wouldn't matter much for me.)
The majority of the unlocking interest is coming from Europe because they have a wide variety of GSM carriers, and also because the iPhone is not yet available across the pond.
Of course, now that the iPod Touch is out, this is probably less of a need for people now. If all you were after was the cool touchscreen and web browsing stuff, and you already have a cell phone/plan you are satisfied with, and are willing to carry 2 separate devices, then the iPod Touch is right up your alley. (However, given the same situation, I would still buy an iPhone and unlock it, rather than buy an iPod touch; the phone I have right now under T-Mobile sucks mightily.)
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superberg said 6:11PM on 9-10-2007
$99? You must be joking. Turning a profit is one thing, but one can get a Nokia unlocked for FREE.
I'm all for unlocked phones from day one, as my last two phones have been. But many iPhone features need support on the back end, and no one has that (yet) except AT&T.
I'm a T-Mobile fan. I'll wait. My N90 is good enough for now.
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Dave Wood said 6:17PM on 9-10-2007
Sure, US people don't care much about an unlock, since they can use their phones. But us Canadians need to unlock it in order to use the phone.
And when (in 2013) Rogers makes a deal with Apple, I'll still use the phone with Rogers.
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SteveDixon said 6:24PM on 9-10-2007
It would be a safe assumption for me to say that Europeans, particularly those of us who dwell in the United Kingdom, have their phones "unlocked" from service providers purely because they ruin perfectly decent handsets with their over-clogged rubbish embedded within the handset's operating system.
Being a resident of the UK and seeing how Apple would not dare allow any service provider tamper with the iPhone's operating system to include some absurd "Vodafone Live" button or "T-Zone" button or "Planet 3" button is a dream come true. Apple are in control of the handset and the carrier is lucky enough to have the iPhone under its belt of handsets purely due to the amount of Europeans who want their hands on the iPhone.
I am all for the iPhone and cannot wait for it. I am sure anyone with an ounce of information on the iPhone knows that unlocking their iPhone to work under another service provider is like chopping it in half and having half of the phones features. Apple have made the perfect bridge between handset provider and service provider and I am very much certain they will do the same for Europe.
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Greg G said 7:23PM on 9-10-2007
How about the poll choice "I like the idea of it being unlocked, but how long before AT&T makes Apple patch it?".
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Jools said 6:33PM on 9-10-2007
@SteveDixon
You're confusing 'unlocking' with 'debranding'.
'Unlocking' means you can use another networks SIM card in the phone.
'Debranding' is the process that removes all the network providers customised crap and re-instates the manufacturers generic non-branded firmware.
They're separate processes, and one can be done without the other.
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Kyle Johnson said 6:37PM on 9-10-2007
I live in an area that T-mobile doesn't service, and since the government definition of "competition" is pretty much a joke, that leaves AT&T as the only GSM player in my area. Not much sense in paying $100 to unlock a phone when I have no choice of another GSM vendor.
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Jools said 6:38PM on 9-10-2007
Also, forgot to say that the ONLY iPhone feature that doesn't work if unlocked and used on another network is Visual Voicemail. Hardly 'half the phones features'.
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Alan said 6:53PM on 9-10-2007
where's the "I own an iPhone but don't have a good reason to buy the unlock cause I recently sold my soul to AT&T for 2 years" button?
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Steve Simitzis said 6:53PM on 9-10-2007
I'm satisfied with AT&T on my iPhone, but I want the ability to use another SIM when I'm traveling out of the US. Hence, I've been following this saga closely.
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Mark d said 7:00PM on 9-10-2007
The author of this post should expand their mind a bit past the borders of the USA - of course there is excitement about a software unlock. There are three (four) alternatives at the moment: hardware hacking which is very scary, turbosim which can cost as much as the iphone itself due to shortages, sim cloning, which only works with a small percentage of SIMs and requires a degree of technical nouse, (and a new turbosim-alike which is US$140). Instead, for $50 you can get a program that does it for you in a nice easy way. And while one may want to support apple/at&t, that's not an option for hmm, the rest of the world.
If you think there's not much interest in, then go to this thread and count the number of pages of posts created in the last 24 hours (it exceeds 30 pages):
http://hackint0sh.org/forum/showthread.php?t=4492
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HazKid said 7:01PM on 9-10-2007
I can't believe this. How can anyone be against something like this?
I think AT&T deserves to have the iPhone unlocked. I also think Apple does for continuing this trend of carrier lock. Don't get me wrong, I love the iPhone and I love Apple, but I fully support the unlocking and hacking that people have been doing. I was thrilled when people wrote apps for the iPhone. It really shows that we, the consumers, are not going to put up with the crud that cell phone companies (and Apple, unfortunately [I never thought I'd say that!]) dish out these days.
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dragaroo said 7:05PM on 9-10-2007
The only reason I'm not interested in the iPhoneSIMFree is that it's about $50 more expensive than I'm willing to even consider. Once it hits that point though, I'll be much more interested in dropping my GoPhone plan for something more economical...
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Stoo said 7:07PM on 9-10-2007
I think it just comes down to choice. Consumers should always have the option to use any hardware with any other provider, to forbid this, I think is monopolizing.
Unfortunately, the mobile phone market is not historically set up to allow this so Apple had to cave in. I'm sure in their R&D phases, Apple wanted to do what was best for the consumers, that is to have a completely unlocked GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, etc. phone line, but the current state of the mobile phone market forced them to make a decision.
I would hope that in subsequent updates Apple does not counter this unlock hack, because in the end, isn't it better for the consumer to have choices?
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Reg Muffet said 7:14PM on 9-10-2007
Well, depending on where you are, it could be a big yawn, or the most exciting thing since January.
There are over 400 GSM carriers around the planet. Up until recently, the iPhone has been locked to just one of them.
If you were lucky enough to be located in the the US and could afford the contract, then yawn away. If you were outside the US or needed more plan flexibility, you've now being given the possibility of using the best phone ever made.
Beer or champagne, it's still a celebration!
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wako said 7:16PM on 9-10-2007
$100 bucks?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Normally i pay $10-$20 to get my phones unlocked. No way in hell am i paying $100 just to get ONE phone unlocked.
Sooner or later, the iPhone will be available to Tmobile, or AT&T will unlock the phone themselves, $100 is just too much.
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