Feb 12, 2008

So much for AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity

BBC News reports that one fourth of all iPhones have been ‘unlocked’ so they can be used on other networks.

The iPhone was designed to be used only on Apple's exclusive partner AT&T.

One million iPhones, or 27% of those sold last year, have been adapted to work on other networks.

Apple recently admitted that the number of unlocked iPhones was "significant".

The iPhone, which was launched last summer, is tied to a single phone network in each country it is on sale.

While AT&T is Apple's chosen partner in the US, in the UK the iPhone is only officially available through O2, while in Germany it is tied to T-Mobile.

The first iPhone ‘unlock’ in the U.S. was soon after the phone was first released last summer.

A college student hacked his iPhone and put it on a T-Mobile network

At that time Apple announced that iPhones would stop working if tempered with. Apparently the Apple iPhone lock is not very secure.

Link