Rabu, 28 November 2007

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iPhone unlocked: AT&T loses iPhone exclusivity, August 24, 2007, 12:00PM EDT

Posted Aug 24th 2007 12:00PM by Ryan Block
Filed under: Cellphones, Features

It's high noon, Apple and AT&T -- we really hate to break it to you, but the jig is up. Last night the impossible was made possible: right in front of our very eyes we witnessed a full SIM unlock of our iPhone with a small piece of software. It's all over, guys.

The iPhoneSIMfree.com team called us up to prove their claim that they cracked Apple's iPhone SIM lock system, and prove it they did. (No, we don't have a copy of the unlock software, so don't even ask us, ok?) The six-man team has been working non-stop since launch day, and they're officially the first to break Apple's SIM locks on the iPhone with software. It's done. Seriously. They wouldn't tell us when and how they would release it to the public, but you can certainly bet that they'll try to make a buck on their solution (and rightly so). We can hardly believe the iPhone's finally been cracked. No, scratch that -- we just can't believe it took this long.

Again: we can confirm with 100% certainty that iPhoneSIMfree.com's software solution completely SIM unlocks the iPhone, is restore-resistant, and should make the iPhone fully functional for users outside of the US. Read on for details and links to our video, and check out the gallery of images below.

Gallery: iPhone unlocked


Notes on the install
  • The unlock process took only a couple of minutes. From our end it was totally painless.
  • Once you put your new, non AT&T SIM in the device, you have to go through the usual activation process. This can, of course, be done by anyone anywhere with the right tools (like iASign or iActivator)
  • We tested with an active T-Mobile SIM -- after the hack was finished and we reactivated we immediately got full bars and the T-Mobile carrier info popped up in the top bar.
  • Everything is otherwise the same, except the menu system now has a couple more options. The root menu has Carrier settings where you can select your preferred network if you don't want to roam.
  • The General -> Network menu now has an EDGE network settings area where you can input your carrier's APN and username / password. We put in our T-Mobile info, and were immediately online. (Apparently these hidden menus were added in the 1.0.1 update, they tell us. How convenient!)
  • Visual voicemail isn't in the cards -- sorry. That was, of course, to be expected because it's a special AT&T network-specific feature right now. When you hit the voicemail button you are taken immediately to your carrier's default voicemail line though, and that works just like it would on any other phone.
  • Everything is confirmed as working on a non-AT&T network: SMS send / receive, internet (including Safari, Mail, Google maps, etc.). YouTube doesn't work out of the box, but that's to be expected. If you're not on AT&T you have to manually activate YouTube -- here's the guide on how to do that. (YouTube is the only app you have to activate like this.)
  • We know, it's kind of crazy, but this isn't a hoax.
  • No, sorry, you can't have our unlocked iPhone.
Restore / upgrade resistance
  • The iPhoneSIMfree.com guys claim this method is restore (though not necessarily upgrade) resistant. We have no way of knowing whether Apple will be able to disable this SIM unlock with future iPhone software updates, but we can confirm that it is restore-resistant.
  • We performed a full restore (v1.0.2) on our iPhone and successfully activated it using an inactive AT&T SIM.
  • After fake-activating our iPhone, you merely pop out the AT&T SIM, put in the foreign SIM of your choosing, reactivate, and you're done. "Boom," as Steve might say.
  • Restoring from an iPhone backup in iTunes worked perfectly despite the lock and foreign SIM. The only thing to notice was the phone number is now listed as "n/a" in iTunes. Big whoop.
  • No, seriously. You can't have our unlocked iPhone.
Video
Before you get in a tizzy claiming it's a faked video, please note that:
  • We show the T-Mobile SIM at the beginning and end.
  • The video stream does get cropped toward the end. That's actually just a crop to make sure the phone number on the second iPhone isn't shown. No frames of the video stream were removed, it wasn't a cut.
  • Just so you could be extra sure it's real, we even left in the GSM radio noise.
  • Dude, you can unlock your own iPhone soon, ok? You can't have ours.
[MP4] Download in 720p HD (44MB)
[MP4] Download in wide VGA (14MB)
[AVI] Download in 720p HD (44MB)
[AVI] Download in wide VGA (14MB)

Tags: apple, engadget video, EngadgetVideo, iphone, iphonesimfree, unlock

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Xbox 360 backwards compat update brings 84 new titles

In seemingly stark contrast to Sony, whose backwards compatibility stance is moving, um, backwards, Microsoft keeps chugging right along in adding compatible titles to the 360, today announcing an impending update that will "unlock" a further 84 games. According to Joystiq, there are now a total of 465 original Xbox discs that will work on the 360, all supposedly given new life in 720p and 1080i with anti-aliasing. Hit the Read link for the full list of newly-compatible titles, and not to ruin the surprise or anything, but we think that fans of Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee and Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball Max'd will be particularly pleased.

[Via, and image courtesy of, Joystiq]

Tags: backwards compatibility, BackwardsCompatibility, updates, upgrades, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360


Orange to sell contract-free iPhone for 649 euro plus 100 euro unlocking fee

France Telecom just announced that the iPhone will go on sale tonight at 6:30pm (18.30) at a dozen of its Orange stores across France. It will charge between €49 ($72) and €119 ($175) per month in addition to the €399 cost of the iPhone itself. Orange customers can unlock their iPhone for another €100 on the spot or free after 6 months -- though they're still locked into an Orange contract of 1 or 2 years. The iPhone will also be sold unlocked contract free for €649 ($957) or €549 ($809) with an Orange plan without a time commitment. Got it? Yeah, we're a bit confused too, but then again, it's definitely cheaper than the unlocked German iPhone.

Update: Ah, clarity: AFP reports that an unlocked iPhone will cost €749 -- €649 for phone and €100 for unlocking. See, that wasn't so hard.

Tags: apple, breaking news, BreakingNews, france, france telecom, FranceTelecom, iphone, orange, unlock


Dell's 15.4-inch XPS M1530 multimedia powerhouse available on-line -- starts at $999

Thar she blows! Dell's mysterious XPS M1530 is up live and dancing on Dell's Singapore site. With any luck, she'll be struttin' that 15.4-inch, 1440 x 900 CCFL (not LED-backlit) display, HDMI-out and optional slot-loading Blu-ray Disc and 64GB SSD Stateside by morning. This XPS powerhouse packs up to a 2.6GHz Core 2 Duo T7800 processor, 256MB of NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics, 4GB DDR2 memory, and either a 7200RPM 200GB or 5400RPM 320GB SATA disk. Rounding things out are 802.11n WiFi (with built-in WiFi catcher), Bluetooth 2.0, 2 megapixel webcam, and optional HSDPA or EVDO cards. It's even sporting a panel of touch-sensitive, capacitive controls for your media. Thing is, that rumored 4-pound weight is 5.78-pounds in reality -- more if you opt for the 9-cell battery. Still, that weight was always a bit too good to be true for a fully-spec'd, 15-inch laptop.

Update: Ooops, the Singapore site is down (gone?). No worries, the site is up in Germany, France, and the UK.

Update 2: Dell's US site is now hot. Prices start at $999 for the "good" configuration on up to $1,499 for "best." Oh my, and the display has been rolled back to just 1,280 x 800. Why so stingy with the pixels Dell?