Teen trades unlocked iPhone for Nissan 350Z

George Hotz, the soon-to-be college student from New Jersey who unlocked the iPhone for use on wireless carriers other than AT&T via a complex hardware method that involves soldering internal components and using a number of command line utilities, has traded the unlocked device for a Nissan 350Z and three 8GB iPhones. Hotz originally put the modified iPhone up for auction on eBay, but experienced problems with fraudulent bids as well as other issues, posting "I have had tons of problems with ebay and this auction. If you are serious about buying the phone, please e-mail me with your phone number." In the midst of the difficulties, Terry Daidone, the founder of Certicell -- a company that provides "solutions for the wireless aftermarket" -- contacted Hotz and made him an offer.

The deal calls for Hotz to exchange the unlocked iPhone for a Nissan 350Z and three 8GB iPhones, which Hotz plan to distribute thusly: "I will be sending the iPhones, unlocked if they wish, to jpetrie (the first donater), gray (the reversing genius), and iProof (who is truly amazing at finding stuff online)."

As for his future plans, aside from starting college this fall, Hotz says he may work on other iPhone initiative,s but not a software unlock. "I have a few cool ideas for things I want to do with the phone, like a cell phone tower based gps. I will detail everything on (my) blog."

Separately, hackers claim to have successfully unlocked Apple's iPhone without modifying any hardware. The iPhoneSIMfree.com team say they have cracked Apple's iPhone SIM lock system with a working unlocked handset. The unlocked phone used a T-Mobile SIM card in place of AT&T's default card, allowing the users to make calls, send text messages, and check email on an iPhone using their chosen T-Mobile service provider.

Filed under: Apple