TECH: About those missing iPhones...

Having read reports here and here about the volume of iPhone's that weren't registered to 'official' networks I decided to find out just how difficult it was to unlock, activate and jailbreak a UK iPhone. The answer, as it turns out, is 'surprisingly simple'. Having performed the process, I am surprised there aren't actually a lot more 'unlocked/grey' iPhones out there and I would imagine the likes of AT+T (US), Orange (France) and O2 (UK) may amend the registration process in the near future to curtail the simplicity of this process:

1. Enter 02 or Carphone warehouse shop (not an Apple store, I had an unconfirmed rumour they activate it in store before you leave), purchase iPhone of choice, stump up the £269 (I chose the 8GB model), sign the agreements and leave.
2. Download ZiPhone for your PC/Mac. You can get this as a Graphical User Interface version or as one that runs from Terminal (Mac) or Command line (Windows). Also download the standalone 1.1.3 iPhone firmware. UPDATE: There is a new graphical version which cuts out the command line business below. Head over to http://iphone.unlock.no/ for more info.
3. Put your own simcard in the iPhone (paper-clip in the top and push down until the sim card pops up). This can be done after the hack completes also.
4. Connect the iPhone, via the cable and USB cradle to the PC/Mac. Boot the iPhone into recovery mode (hold down power and home buttons on the iPhone, release power button after around 10 seconds) and iTunes will detect the phone and tell you a restore of the software is required. Hold down 'shift' (PC) or 'Option' (mac) and click the restore button in itunes to allow you to browse to the 1.1.3 firmware you previously downloaded.
5. Once the restore is complete, shut iTunes but leave the iPhone connected in the dock.
6. Run Ziphone. I opted for Command Line (Win) option, which I had extracted to the root of my laptops C: drive so it was a matter of the following in Command Line:

c:\
cd ziphone
ziphone -u -a -j -v

The parameters of the ziphone command are that -u is for 'unlock', -a is for 'activate', -j is for 'jailbreak' and -v is for 'verbose'

Then anxiously sit back for 3-5 minutes whilst the hack does its thing. Once completed, I strongly recommend turning automatic updates off. Otherwise, installing a future iPhone update could potentially 'brick' the phone. The great thing about this software hack is that it is very simple to restore the phone back to its original state. Simply follow point 4 above and you will be able to activate the phone officially with the O2 simcard in (should you wish).

As it turns out, as incredible as the iPhone is, and besides the new found freedom of using the iPhone on my chosen network (Orange UK), practically, it just isn't my bag. I find the dimensions inconvenient (too big for the pocket) and due to inheriting a clumsy gene from my father, I'd be sure to smash the screen within days. Furthermore, I also found it uncomfortable, morally, to use the phone in this manner. I'm not a fan of copied material/hacked programs and the like and I hated the feeling every time I connected to iTunes that somehow I was up to no good - the benefits of a morally rigid upbringing! So back to Carphone Warehouse it went.

Needless to say, it is small wonder so many iPhones are out and about on unofficial networks. If the lion's share of revenue for the phone companies is for the network plan (almost certainly the case) I can imagine some hard negotiating before iPhone 2 is released.

Note: This may not apply to v1.1.4 of the iPhone software. For more info on software unlocks of the iPhone, head over to http://iphone.unlock.no/

TECH: Have Apple and O2 done enough to tempt you yet?

Since this post we've already seen talk plan increases for the iPhone: both extra minutes and extra texts. Also any user grumbles about the 8GB storage size of the iPhone have now also been addressed (you can stump up even more cash for the 16GB model). However, it still seems likely that once the effects of those strategies starts to wane there will be an inevitable price down (whether subsidised by O2 or not).

With Apple's self imposed '10 million sold world wide' target to meet, Apple and its partners will have to stimulate purchases each and every month along the way to hit that figure.

Sadly it isn't just cost that is limiting uptake. There are well documented reception complaints and no real alternatives to the glacial surfing speeds of Edge/GPRS. However rumours circulating at present suggest Apple and its partners may opt for country wide Wi-Fi rather than 3G to solve this problem.

The iPhone - beautiful and revolutionary as it is, still suffers from a few thorns in its side. Thorns that would be easier for users to suffer with a choice of contracts/providers or a cheaper handset price?

TECH: UK iPhone: Something's got to give.

Almost a year ago to the day, Apple head-honcho, Steve Jobs revealed the iPhone publicly for the first time. The Macworld crowd was largely astounded seeing the iPhone in action for the first time. However, a year on, as impressive as the iPhone was and is, something perhaps still needs to change to see it widely adopted in the UK.

I don't believe the technical shortcomings of the iPhone are a problem. It's never possible to make a device that is all things to all people. The iPhone 'niggle list' is well documented and usually includes these minor grumbles: poor camera specification (2 mega-pixel), no MMS messaging, lack of voice recording, no 3G support and no GPS. Whilst some of these problems are set in stone (camera quality for example), others are easily addressed in a future software update; don't be surprised if tomorrow's Macworld keynote address by Mr Jobs doesn't cater for some of these issues.

Nor is the iPhone's UK problem one of desire. The device itself is revolutionary. Virtually anyone can pick up an iPhone and browse through the features in genuine wonderment. It's usable; the interface, for a mobile phone, is light years beyond the clunking, ugly and intuitively convoluted experience of Symbian (and the like) phones. The feature set and its execution, even without the promised 3rd party application support, is also hugely impressive. It would take an extremely cynical person indeed to spend a few hours playing with an iPhone without being in the least bit impressed. And that is without mentioning the slender chassis of the iPhone and its genuinely usable touchscreen technology.
Nor is the UK iPhone problem one of availability or marketing. Apple has done a great job of getting the iPhone 'out there' and into public consciousness. You can also play freely with one in any Carphone Warehouse or O2 store throughout the UK. I would venture anyone with a passing interest in the device has managed to get their hands on one.

The problem is more fundamental. It is price. UK customers simply won't put their hand in their pocket and shell out £269 for a phone with a £35 per month, 18 month-long contract. Speak to any O2 or Carphone warehouse representative and they'll tell you the same thing. People want the device, they just won't pay for it. I spoke to Carphone Warehouse staff at the weekend and the message was clear "Most people have already got iPods so people would rather get a free phone". And whilst competitive devices like the Nokia N82, N95 8GB etc fail in the slick execution stakes, they more than make up for it in feature set. Such devices boast 5 mega-pixel cameras, GPS built in and 3rd party applications and unlock potential without the threat of 'bricking'. What's more, these other devices, on like-for-like tariffs are free. Is Apple arrogantly ignoring the most essential feature for the UK market - value?

Regardless of personal opinion, the next few months will be telling. Will Apple/O2 concede on iPhone/tariff price in the UK to gain some market share and installed user base? Or steadfastly refuse on principle? It certainly presents an interesting conundrum. Especially as Apple stands to make as much back, revenue wise, in related sales (music and film downloads from iTunes for example) as from the margin of the device itself.