Why would anyone want to unlock their iPhone?
Well, before we even consider that question there is a more crucial one for most of us!
And the crucial question is: can the iPhone be unlocked safely?
To answer this, we can look to those that devote their time to the matter over at iPhone Dev Team the people who have developed QuickPwn the tool they describe as the:
“tool we’ve been working on to jailbreak a phone more quickly and easily”
The tool is free and works for iPhones prior to the iPhone 3G. But don’t despair because they believe they are about to crack the iPhone 3G. In the meantime, they warn iPhone 3G owners:
Installing ‘2.2’ straight away on the iPhone 3G using the iTunes auto-updater could affect your chances of any software unlock in the near future (should one be found and released), so when you see an update in iTunes await our instructions first. (more details here)
And don’t worry, the iPhonegizmo team recognize that most iPhone users are not geeks. So we tracked down a tech savvy blogger at geek.com, who has explained in simple terms just how to use this software.
And has some easy to follow images to make the instructions just that much easier to follow.
Now, even these instruction may put some people off. If so, there are some commercial applications that will do all this for you. Our team is currently reviewing them and will post our recommendations in the near future.
There can be little doubt that Apple want to own and/or control everything related to the iPhone market. If you use their browser, shop for all your media through their app store, then there is little room for competition. And the recent news that Google are teaming up with Apple to sell advertising just to apple users will only add to their market control.
Consider how many iPhone developers now operate through the iPhone apps store – even when their app is free!
Consider how Apple is continuously working to develop their software so that users cannot unlock their iPhones.
(This, by the way, would be similar to Ford locking car engines and making sure that all suppliers of ANY accessories, engine parts, tires – you name it – sold their products through Ford!)
Unlocking an iPhone – as long as it is done with reputable products – gives its owner the same sort of freedom that comes with owning any other product. That means that we can have access to music, videos, TV shows, etc., that are free, or much cheaper than we can get from iTunes and that we can select from a much wider range than that decided by the Apple marketing machine.
More importantly, it means that there is healthy competition for our $. Competition ensures we get a better range of accessories, apps, software.. etc. and at a better prices!