A well-known hacker claims to have overcome restrictions on Apple鈥檚 iPhone, allowing highly technical users to bypass AT&T鈥檚 network activation and use the phone as an internet browsing and music device.
In a post dated July 3, Jon Johansen, 23, a prolific hacker of consumer electronics gadgets since he was a teenager in Norway, writes 鈥淚鈥檝e found a way to activate a brand new unactivated iPhone鈥� without signing up for the AT&T service.
鈥淭he iPhone does not have phone capability, but the iPod and Wi-Fi work. Stay tuned!鈥� Johansen writes on his long-running blog provocatively called .
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The post also contained technical details for other hackers, and links to software necessary to complete the process. One potential use would be for an iPhone user to access the iPhone鈥檚 music player and internet service over Wi-Fi connections without using a cellphone network.
AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel says it is still necessary to activate the iPhone on AT&T鈥檚 network to ensure optimum performance. Using the phone without AT&T鈥檚 two-year service contract is also unauthorised under the phone carrier鈥檚 exclusive contract with Apple, Siegel says.
鈥楢ppropriate action鈥�
鈥淎ny other use of the device is not authorised and we can鈥檛 guarantee the device will perform as intended to. We will monitor situations like this and, if necessary, we will take appropriate action,鈥� he says. 鈥淥ur terms and conditions are very clear.鈥�
Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to comment on Johansen鈥檚 claims. Apple has yet to reveal network operator deals in markets outside the US, but the iPhone is a quad-band GSM phone and will work in many parts of Europe and Asia with international roaming deals arranged by AT&T, Kerris says.
Neither Apple nor AT&T have disclosed sales figures since the iPhone went on sale in the US on June 29, but some analysts estimate sales of up to 700,000 units for the first weekend on the market.
Johansen became known as 鈥淒VD Jon鈥� for helping to reverse engineer the code used to protect DVD movies against copying in 1999. He says he did so in order to play them on his Linux computer. He has also bypassed copyright controls on various Apple products, including QuickTime, iTunes and Apple TV.
