Nearly two months after the phone's release, hackers have finally unlocked Apple's iPhone. Seventeen-year-old George Hotz of Glen Rock, N.J., posted on his blog last week the procedure for unlocking the most-talked about gadget of the year. According to reports by the Associated Press, Hotz brought in an unlocked iPhone to the AP's headquarters, placed a reporter's T-Mobile SIM card in the iPhone and the reporter was able to make calls over T-Mobile's network using the iPhone.
AT&T has an exclusive deal with Apple to carry the iPhone and though hackers initially boasted they would have the handset unlocked by the end of the release weekend, it has taken nearly two months.
T-Mobile is the only other major U.S. carrier, aside from AT&T, to use GSM technology. GSM is the standard cellular technology in Europe and Asia, but the U.S. market is split between GSM and CDMA.
Hotz's complicated instructions for unlocking the iPhone involve both soldering and software manipulation. Hotz says he made the instructions as simple as possible, though analysts suspect unlocking the device will remain an activity for only "hardcore" hobbyists.
Technology blog Engadget reported that an anonymous group of hackers also unlocked the phone late last week, using a different method that didn't require tinkering with the hardware.