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Apple, carriers, AT&T
iPhone Hacked, Cracked and Up for a Fight
By Joshua S. Hill
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
It has been the biggest technological release in history, there is no doubt about that anymore. After selling 270,000 iPhone's by the end of their third fiscal quarter, and with rumors suggesting that they might hit 800,000 by the end of this year, Apple are on a role and it doesn't look like there is much that can stop them.
The only issue that has marred the release of the world's most hyped up phone was the issue concerning its relative restrictions when it came to carriers. Only available through AT&T, the iPhone surely lost sales on opening day with a total inability to use it with any other carrier.
An article at News.com suggests that the way that the deal was secured -- labeled the greatest deal ever made considering the amount of revenue garnered by Apple alone as the result of a deal that sees them get cash from not only the sales of the hardware, but also the continuing contracts -- was a way to ensure that the phone would be hacked quick smart.
Come August 24th, at 12:00 pm EDT in San Francisco, the guys at Engadget made the break through and announced to the world that with a simple piece of software, the iPhone had finally been hacked.
Previous reports had circulated regarding hardware hacks that were going to void warranties, and were only possible if you were an uber geek with far too much time and money on your hands. But the crew from iPhoneSimFree.com worked from day one to break the system, and they are the first to break it with software.
The importance of using software to break the SIM lock on the iPhone is considerable, because it allows not only geeks to open up an iPhone to any carrier, but also the common folk as well. News.com labeled the process "quick and painless", and Engadget noted that "The unlock process took only a couple of minutes. From our end it was totally painless."
Further news sees an offer of $100,000 from an unnamed source if UniquePhones and IPhoneSIMfree (UniquePhones being the second to crack the system) put the software up for free internet distribution. Whether the claim is entirely true, or just a hoax, is yet to be proven, with only an email address provided so that "negotiations" can begin.
The news continues when you hear that a legal team from AT&T has threatened UniquePhones with legal action. Apparently, "a Silicon Valley law firm" who is "slowing down the release of the software", and is forcing the team to keep their software under wraps for the time being.
The hype that has surrounded the iPhone -- from long before its official launch to now -- is something of a religious experience. Steve Jobs has, once again, managed to create a product that has swept the market in days, and will likely continue to do so as it makes its way in to the wider world, with contracts with T-Mobile, O2, and Orange as its European launch partners.
It is good news for Australians as well, with Orange being linked to Australian telecommunications giant Telstra. Could the deal with the European Orange mean a break for Australians as well?
So the iPhone is at the top of the pile at the moment, and it doesn't look like anyone is going to be able to topple it, right?
Not so quick there, with rumors surrounding Google and the long awaited GPhone. If Apple is the big hype-vendor of the industry, Google runs a close second, and the building chaos surrounding whether they will release a gPhone/GPhone anytime soon is beginning to resemble the hype surrounding the Apple announcement.
According to Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins's source within Google, who provided details on conditions of anonymity info regarding the phone, it's definitely a phone that is likely to challenge the iPhone for market supremacy. The current version of the iPhone is very low on features, and has taken a lot of heat for it. Already, the GPhone is said to be running a version of the Linux kernel and has GPS built in -- something that will run very nicely with Google Maps, to provide as you go locations.
Google apps like Gmail, Calendar and Docs will run natively on the phone, and the price for the phone is said to make it a competitor for the lower end phones, rather than trying to directly take on the iPhone. However, that said, with a low price and features that already seem to beat what the iPhone provides, Google could very well place itself as the new Microsoft in terms of hardware sales, in competing with Apple.
Google has another advantage, or at least, it could have, with the 700MHz wireless spectrum apparently something that Google is very keen to get their hands on. For the layman, this essentially would provide Google the ability to run their own service, instead of having to sell a phone with a carrier, ie, the iPhone and AT&T.
Will Apple continue to keep their dominance even with a competitor in the market? If it was anybody else, I would say yes, but with Google putting themselves out there, Apple are going to have a fight on their hands.
Joshua can be reached at: letters@canadafreepress.com
