Comments on: iPhone unlocking hacks possibly cause irreparable damage

By: All Night Coder - Today’s Top Blog Posts on Programming - Powered by SocialRank

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 12:11:58 +0000

[...] iPhone unlocking hacks possibly cause irreparable damage [...]

By: Apple Fever - Today’s Top Blog Posts on Apple - Powered by SocialRank

Apple Fever - Today’s Top Blog Posts on Apple - Powered by SocialRank — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 10:23:02 +0000

[...] iPhone unlocking hacks possibly cause irreparable damage [...]

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 07:19:55 +0000

Here’s a video interview of the 17 y.o. kid that started the iPhone hack that I found tonight on Webcastr.com.

or this link:

http://webcastr.com/index.php?option=com_seyret&task=videodirectlink&Itemid=27&id=594

Worth watching!

By: Lordmike

Lordmike — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 13:14:23 +0000

@ Billy Halsey
But doesn’t hacking break the contract? Could be a variation between different service providers.

By: IPhone: minacce da Apple by Strategic Planning

IPhone: minacce da Apple by Strategic Planning — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 13:07:44 +0000

[...] Apple con questo intervento ha aperto una voragine: come scrive theAppleBlog, che si tratti di puro terrorismo o di una minaccia fondata, è un’azione un po’ [...]

By: Billy Halsey

Billy Halsey — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 10:49:37 +0000

@ Brandon — Good point. I know of very non-technical people who have hacked their iPhones. That’s probably more what Apple is trying to curb, and I would imagine they’re also feeling the heat of the FCC too.

Allowing people to continue hacking telecommunications devices is not something that the feds (or AT&T) would be very happy about: masquerading ESNs, altering the outgoing caller ID, who knows what else. These things are already possible, but unabated hacking on the iPhone makes them not only possible but trivial.

@ Lordmike — I don’t own a phone either, but typically, when you purchase a phone on a service plan, you receive a reduced purchase price. You do own the phone, but if you cancel your service before the end of your contract, some service providers will require you to pay them back the amount the phone was discounted. For the iPhone, that could be several hundred dollars, in addition to the cost of breaking the contract.

By: Lordmike

Lordmike — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 10:16:33 +0000

I haven’t got an iphone myself so I haven’t read what you agree to when you buy it.
But my guess is that apple can lock the phone completely if they want to and there is nothing you can do about it. If you violate a contract you won’t have anything to say about it in any court. It could be that you don’t own the phone to do what you want with it until the end of the contract which is 2-3 years?!
This is just a guess.
Anyone who can confirm or deny this?

By: Honza

Honza — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 08:07:35 +0000

I think whether Apple gets bullish or not will be partly down to whether they get pressure from ATT along the lines of lost revenue, or broken contractual agreements etc.

By: Brandon Eley

Brandon Eley — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 03:58:00 +0000

I don’t think Apple has any problem with the hackers that are putting ringtones or other applications on the phone. Apple doesn’t allow “official” development because of stability issues. By allowing the “underground” hacks, it’s effectively limited to the people who REALLY want those applications anyway, and will expect and be fine with bugs and instabilities due to hacks and poorly written applications.

I’ve hacked my iPhone (and my wife’s) and don’t think there will be any problems at all. I’m still a Cingular customer and have no intentions or desires to switch carriers or unlock the iPhone at all.

The only thing I care to do is install and maybe develop some cool applications for my handheld Mac :)

By: in.tuyo / micronauta

in.tuyo / micronauta — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 02:24:18 +0000

What a mess. I was considering buying one but there is no chance I will now. My almost obsolete V3i can do things that the current iPhone can only do when hacked, so Apple is effectively driving me to get an HTC, which I know will not become a brick when I try to use it as a phone where I live.