One of the most touted about critiques of the Apple 3G is the ‘ball and chains’ tag that is being attached to it and with due cause. The amount of restrictions that is being placed on the Apple product is galling to some while appearing downright ridiculous to others. The tips given here are not there to show you how to break the rules; rather they are posted so that you as a user can get the best out of your product without lockdown of any kind. Please note that this information is already available on the internet so please feel free to check it out.
The Apple iPhone is but a forerunner of things to come in mobile technology and many of the other mobile makers have already started incorporating the same onto their sets. Basically the Apple iPhone identifies itself with whatever mobile network you were using at the moment of its activation. Apple has identified certain mobile carriers in each country as partners and you would need to subscribe to their services in order to activate your iPhone. So if you had used the AT&T in order to activate your phone, well, from now on, your iPhone will identify only with the AT&T network. In this way, Apple is able to protect its interests, without having to lose out to their competitors.
Apple iPhone can be installed, re-installed, downgraded or even upgraded by anyone with the least amount of ‘compu speak’. It is not a mandatory requirement that you should be a developer in order to make sense of it all. As I explain some of the rudimentary steps below, some of you may feel like you are currently taking Mandarin 101. Don’t fret, in case you are not able to get the crux of it all, just google the terms and you should be able to get a grasp of what it is all about
So let us assume for the moment, that you are residing in the United States or the United Kingdom and have just managed to shell out for the latest Apple 3G. You would have to have subscribed to AT&T or O2 for activating your Apple 3G. But the catch with the Apple iPhone is that you cannot use it with any other service provider and in case you do, it can result in your phone getting ‘locked down’.
This particular problem of ‘one network – one 3G’ becomes all the more apparent if you were to take a trip overseas. When traveling overseas, it is always a good idea to use the services of a Local mobile services provider as opposed to, say, AT&T. Given the high exorbitant costs that AT&T charges for international usage, it really does not make much sense to utilize their services while overseas. But unfortunately, under the current rules and restrictions governing the Apple iPhone, you would not be able to use any other carrier with your iPhone, without repercussions of some kind.
But there is some good news for the Apple iPhone customers with several webmasters/developers announcing that they can unlock the iPhone and that they can now use it with any service provider [read GSM service provider]. The process of unlocking it may seem a bit laborious, but given the feedback, it definitely seems to be worth it.
Click here for part 2 of how to unlock your Apple iPhone…
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
techzoneX 11.26.08 at 7:43 pm
Great thing to be known is unlocking an iphone is legal if done for personal purposes
PAUL @ unlocking mobile phones 05.14.10 at 6:25 am
In a attempt to amplify profits from royalty payments, Apple has entered into ‘exclusivity’ agreements with specific cell phone service providers in every country it sells its iPhone