Tuesday, 28 August 2007

US Teenager Unlocks iPhone

A New Jersey teenager has unlocked Apple’s iPhone using software that he and his friends edited after the launch of the phone. Now there's possibility of using iPhone outside the US...

A New Jersey based teenager has unlocked Apple’s iPhone using software that he and his friends edited after the launch of the phone. If this news turns out to be true, then there is a possibility that the phone can be used outside US and on on AT&T networks in the US.

George Hotz, 17, said he had hacked into the phones software and used the phone on T-Mobile, one of the largest US mobile operators.

Hotz, said it takes about two hours, coupled with software skills and some soldering to unlock the phone after which it can be used on any other network.

Meanwhile two Israeli researchers too claim to have found out a way to sneak into iPhone’s software making it virtually work on any carrier.

Now that the news of hacking is out, it should not take much time for Apple to release a patch before its European launch later his year. Hotz had shown how to unlock the phone on his blog and has also put a small video on YouTube showing how he hacked into the iPhone software.

Hotz said he collaborated with four online hackers to unlock the phone. Two of the hackers were from Russia. He also said his next step was find a non-soldering way to unlock the phone using only software.