If Santa didn't bring you the iPhone 3G unlocked as you wanted it, you shouldn't blame the poor old man, I am sure he did everything possible to give you what you wanted, but I am sure he's no member of the iPhone Dev Team...so seeing the iPhone 3G unlocked earlier than previously announced wasn't something he could have any impact on. Anyway, the good news is that we can finally get the iPhone 3G unlocked!
According to The Wall Street Journal's Yukari Iwatani Kane, "A group called the iPhone Dev Team released a free piece of software called 'yellowsn0w' that unlocks the iPhone 3G. The software lets users reprogram the phones so they can work on any wireless network based on the same technical standard."
The funny part is that on the official iPhone Dev Team blog, the iPhone 3G unlock is still in a beta stage, so there's no PIN support just yet, and the "yellowsn0w" application's version is 0.9.5. To make things even more interesting, some UK guy calling himself "Jody Sanders" is trying to sell the freely available iPhone 3G unlocking tool "at a bargain £19.99," claiming that "We can now fully unlock the iPhone 3G for use on any GSM network for just £19.99 DIY (£49.99 in-store at either London or Birmingham) - just in time for the release of the iPhone 3G PAYG in the UK (available from Carphone Warehouse and o2)."
Leaving the funnies aside, here's what Kane added to the report: "An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on the iPhone Dev Team's work, only saying that Apple doesn't support unlocked iPhones in the U.S. Apple offers such phones in Germany and Hong Kong "where government regulation requires it" but they usually come at a steep price." Nothing new there, don't you think?
Anyway, it's good to see that, Beta or not, the iPhone 3G unlocked managed to get so close to perfection. After all, some people say two iPhones are better than one, while others think an iPhone that's unlocked is much better. So...what do you think, huh? ;)
