iPhone hacking spreads

Following earlier successes in unlocking the iPhone, details of different procedures are rapidly spreading online, and aiding international sales. An Australian website is claiming to have a 10-step guide to making an iPhone work on any 2G cellular network, worldwide. The key is a Czech-made TurboSIM card, but also needed are various pieces of official and unofficial software (such as iActivator), plus physical tools for cutting and grafting a local SIM to AT&T's. Only Visual Voicemail is said to be broken in this method.

Presented as an alternative is another SIM technique, using a Super SIM adapter. This method also requires hacking of the iPhone, but can be made easier through a specialized SIM cutter, and has the option of using two SIM cards in an iPhone at once, enabling faster switching between phone networks. A single-card adapter from the company is cheaper, and eliminates any need for the cutter. The Super SIM method does break YouTube functionality, but the responsible company hopes to fix this, and begin selling iPhone kits with unlocking instructions.

An international news group reports that hacking efforts are leading to booming sales of the iPhone in China, almost a year before the device's official Asian launch. Buying one in Beijing may cost as much as $1,170, and it is also being sold in other major cities, including Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. The Associated Press notes that these phones are generally restricted, being able to send calls and text messages, but not receive any calls. iPhones can now also be bought in the city-state of Singapore, for approximately $980 US.

by MacNN Staff