Rogue Reseller Market Springs Up for Unlocked IPhones
By Michael Calore
09.14.07 | 2:00 AM
Almost overnight, a booming market for unlocked iPhones has mushroomed in the United States and Europe.
This week, hackers released the first software for unlocking the iPhone, freeing up the device from AT&T's network and enabling it to be used on any GSM network in the world.
(((("Welcome to the iPhone Dev Team Wiki." There they go, hackers, just industriously beavering away with their global collaborative software, releasing the results free of charge:)))
http://iphone.fiveforty.net/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page
((("Other people's information wants to be free.")))
In the United States, sellers on Craigslist are hawking unlocked iPhones for between $450 and $700, a significant markup on the $400 devices. An eBay search returns listings for dozens of auctions, with high bids between $500 and $600. Budding entrepreneurs are also selling their services, offering to unlock iPhones for fees between $25 and $50.
(((Information also wants to be expensive.)))
And as Apple prepares to launch the iPhone in Europe on Tuesday, hackers in the United States are already busy selling unlocked devices across the pond.
A Craigslist seller who goes by the name Ash is selling an iPhone he unlocked using the software method described on various websites.
"I've gotten a lot of international calls from places like India, Singapore, Dubai," he said. "They're all really excited about getting an unlocked phone." (((Yeah, the idea of locking out the moneyed inhabitants of Dubai doesn't sound too realistic. They could buy hacker talent by the metric ton.)))
EBay's U.K. auction site shows prices on unlocked iPhones ranging from $750 to $2,000, many of them shipping from sellers in the United States. EBay sellers in Germany are demanding prices between $800 and $1,100. Similar prices can be found on French eBay.
As of Friday morning, iPhone hackers have reported successfully unlocking the phone for use in more than 45 countries in Europe and Asia. (((Including Serbia, I note with interest.)))
The process, which requires software-hacking experience and an intimate knowledge of the command line, is not for the faint of heart. But hackers with the proper skills have been able to quickly translate their knowledge of the iPhone's guts into cold, hard cash....
