Apple To Prevent Hacking with the iPhone 3G

Permalink: Apple To Prevent Hacking with the iPhone 3G by Franz Bicar

Ok, I know I’ve done reviews for Camera-core most of the time. But after reading this article, I knew I had to post and share it here. I have been a fan of the iPhone ever since it was released. If it were available in my location, I would’ve bought one. Instead, I bought the iPod Touch - the iPhone without the camera and the phone.

Well, with the upcoming release of the 3G iPhone, this news might be of some interest. Apple is taking necessary steps to prevent the unlocking of their new 3G iPhone. Before the 3G version, iPhone units were unlocked and used with a different service provider (not AT&T). Now, it could be a little bit harder.

A memo sent to AT&T and Rogers (Canadian iPhone service provider) employees alerts them of a special iTunes unbricking utility that is going to be used for unbricking iPhone 3G devices during the activation process. This means that there is a special software needed to activate your unit and you can only do this by going through the proper and legal way. This also means that 3G iPhones will be released as bricked and could only be used when it is physically connected to and activated by the in-store computer.

Previous iPhones allows users to conveniently activate their units at home, but I guess now that is out of the question. It appears that every iPhone 3G will have to be activated in the store at the time of purchase, and all buyers will have to sign a two-year contract before it can be taken home. However, beyond the activation process, no news have been released in how Apple will try to prevent users from unlocking the iPhone and running it on a different GSM network from the one it was intended.

Certainly, unofficial iPhone development teams are going to have a hard time bypassing this process. But hey, I don’t think it’s impossible. We’ll all just have to wait and see.

Source: AppleInsider