Apple's IPhone Can Work Without AT&T Service, Hacker Claims
By Connie Guglielmo
July 6 (Bloomberg) -- A Norwegian hacker who gained notoriety by breaking the copy-protection code on DVDs said he can activate Apple Inc.'s iPhone without using AT&T Inc.'s service.
``I've found a way to activate a brand new unactivated iPhone without giving any of your money or personal information to AT&T,'' Jon Lech Johansen, 23, wrote in a July 3 post on his ``So Sue Me'' blog. ``The iPhone does not have phone capability, but the iPod and WiFi work. Stay tuned!''
Apple started selling the combination phone and iPod music player on June 29 in the U.S. A two-year contract from AT&T, costing $60 to $220 a month, is required to activate the gadget, which has a Web browser, e-mail and Wi-Fi capability. Apple and AT&T may have sold 500,000 to 700,000 iPhones in the weekend after its debut, according to the most optimistic analyst estimates.
``Apple specifically designed the iPhone to work exclusively on the AT&T network,'' Mark Siegel, a spokesman for San Antonio- based AT&T, said today in an interview. ``If someone tries to find a way to go around the requirements, we can't guarantee that the device will work properly.''
AT&T, the largest mobile-service provider in the U.S., plans to ``monitor the situation'' and will take action if circumstances warrant it, Siegel said, declining to be more specific.
Apple had no comment, spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said.
Johansen, known as DVD Jon, hacked the copyright-protection software on DVDs as a teenager and then distributed the software on the Internet. He was charged in 2000 and cleared of breaking Norwegian laws in December 2003 after a court ruled that people who try to watch DVDs on their own computers don't violate copyright or anti-hacking laws when the DVD is their property.
It's not the first time Johansen has claimed to have hacked into products from Cupertino, California-based Apple. In 2005, he said he created a program called PyMusique that removed copy protection on music downloaded by Apple's iTunes software.
Shares of Apple fell 45 cents to $132.30 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. They have climbed 55 percent this year since Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs announced the iPhone on Jan. 9.

source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...a.u1w&refer=us


Haha, this is fucking great. So much for apple products being invincible.

[Sweed]

the phone doesnt work but the ipod and wifi do. so whats the point of that? once someone cracks the phone i'll be a happy man

[funkdoctorspock]

The iphone is absolute rubbish. This technology has been used by LG (prada phone) and Hermes, with as good, if not better specs.

If the phone is integrated into the AT&T network, I am very interested how someone can unlock this phone.

Not that I care personally, because there are a bunch of phones that are better than this piece of crap.

Blackberry > ifruit

[Ultimate_Red_Devil]

Good old Norwegians...

He razed/sacked/pillaged the iPhone

[dtunam]

I saw the iPhone at work. Its looks sweet and is easily class apart. I personally like it, but unfortunatly my pocket is weak and hence its not affordable.

[GocartMozart]

yeah i'd one right now, but under no circumstance am I giving up Verizon, which is fucktardedly superior (yes i make up words as i go along). The real key for me is that it doesn't do what i want to do well enough. It does email, but it doesn't dominate it. I want the best, and it isn't the best. It's buggy, crashes like a bitch on opium and comes only in 8gb. If it was 10 times larger I'd be forced into getting one, because I must say, as a media player, it is far superior than anything out there. That is I cannot argue. Is it a good phone, yes, but I'll wait for a later generation.

[dtunam]

Verizon actually is really nice, I hoping some tech freaks get the iPhone unlocked and I can basically buy a new set.

[GocartMozart]

not possible. the underlying technology is vastly different. Theyll be able to theoretically unlock it for everyone, except sprint, verizon and some of the chinese systems. everyone else on the planet uses GSM networks.

[dtunam]

Originally Posted by GocartMozart

not possible. the underlying technology is vastly different. Theyll be able to theoretically unlock it for everyone, except sprint, verizon and some of the chinese systems. everyone else on the planet uses GSM networks.

still praying, if not possible then i will get something similar for my t-mobile (gay network)

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by dtunam

still praying, if not possible then i will get something similar for my t-mobile (gay network)

t-mobile > cingular any day of the week. i effing hate cingular/att