iPhone Hacked!

The iPhone is definitely one of the most interesting developments in technology in recent years. As a combination phone, iPod, and web browser, it really is the equivalent of a small computer in the palm of your hand. It’s like one of those tiny computers you’d see on Star Trek, perpetually keeping you connected to the rest of the world – but with one drawback. You are limited to being an AT&T subscriber, thanks to a five year exclusivity deal between Apple and AT&T.

That hasn’t stopped seventeen-year-old George Hotz, a New Jersey teenager who has managed to hack the iPhone, allowing the device to be used on competing networks. Hotz spent 500 hours figuring out how to hack his iPhone, which in the end required taking a soldering gun to the iPhone. I guess I’m not gutsy enough to be a hacker. The thought of spending $500 on Apple’s latest and then taking a soldering gun to it makes me a bit queasy.

The proof of Hotz’s accomplishment comes in the form of a YouTube video which shows his iPhone working on the T-Mobile network. He makes a call from it to his landline phone, then removes a T-Mobile SIM card as the final piece of evidence. True to form from the hacker community, Hotz acknowledges the help of other hackers in his achievement and has put up a ten-step gude on his blog (http://iphonejtag.blogspot.com) showing how to hack the iPhone, although he acknowledges the steps aren’t necessarily easy. It’s an interesting move to share the steps so openly, since, according to The Chicago Tribune, others have reported unlocking the iPhone utilizing software that they plan to sell. Then again, paying for a software solution (if it does exist) does remove having to use the soldering gun.

Of course, the only word from the companies affected is questioning the validity of the hack. Hotz doesn’t seem too concerned with defending that validity. He’s already placed an unlocked iPhone on eBay, where bidding has moved into five figures.

This is just additional proof that technology users don’t want to be limited in their selections. It’s always things like this (iPhone exclusivity with AT&T, adding Linux to a Pocket PC or even an X-Box, etc) that tend to be the focal point for hackers. Companies are going to have to start recognizing a need to make things as flexible as possible, or hackers will keep adding that flexibility for them.