iPhone users calling for class action lawsuit over firmware v1.1.1
By Ryan Block 
posted Oct 1st 2007 4:14AM
posted Oct 1st 2007 4:14AM
Angry with Apple over the absolute lockdown of the iPhone? You're not alone. Angry enough to start a lawsuit over it? You're probably in a far smaller group entirely, which now includes a number of rabble-rousers on Apple's forums, whose comment threads were killed shortly after beginning discussions of calling for a class action suit against Apple. (Really though, what'd they expect?) There's no question that users want some retribution for the sorry, sometimes even bricked state the iPhone's now in, but big talk is infinitely smaller than even minor action, so until some brave (or publicity hungry) individuals step up to the plate to test legality of disabling hacked features on personal electronics, it sounds like we'll all just have to be content with our $100 refunds or reduced-price purchases until this thing works itself out.
Stevie Jobs has gone from being a revered innovator to a lambasted, clueless executive out of touch with his customers.
Yeah, he's the clueless one. Over a million units sold in a couple of months at a ridiculous price, and he's the one who's out of touch with what people want.
I feel I need to justify my opinion.
People want storage on the iPod Touch, people want an open iPhone. This we know.
If hard drives are not an option, then at least allow the user to add their own storage via removable flash memory.
Apple only need look at the success of Symbian and Windows Mobile to see that a 3rd party friendly OS works and sells. Even Microsoft can do an open OS, and even support it very well.
Why are Apple so concerened about 3rd party apps on the iPhone?
You can do what you want with a 5g iPod and they don't seem to be bothered at all.
It just gets to me a little, as Jobs was nothing more than a glorified hacker in his early days, and now he's turning his back on his roots.
As for over a million units sold for a ridiculous price, well, that's the hype machine in action for you.
Sony could do with the Apple PR guys for the PS3.
I've got a feeling that the big issue isn't 3rd party apps here - rather, it's the unlocking of the iPhone to run on other carriers. It's the same with any mobile phone; they're locked to a single netework so that that network gets a source of revenue and subsidises the production of the hardware.
I can imagine that Apple is under a lot of pressure from AT&T, and sympathise with that. However, a better solution would be to create means for the user to actually put data on/get data off the device freely without the circumvention of software on the phone. It would also be nice if Apple would allow 3rd party applications, instead of insisting that being able to access sites through safari allows that. Ugh.
Adding an SD card will not be enough for people who have been spoilt with 30 or more GB to store music on.
If you're not happy with the storage offered, don't buy it. I can't see why people need to complain. These are not human rights issues under discussion, we're talking about a what a toy can do.
Enjoy today's gadgets today, or enjoy tomorrow's gadgets tomorrow. Just don't forget to enjoy.
@Chris
Your comments are correct.
But I'm not really complaining as such, more making an observation.
I just feel it's simply a shame that Apple has brought out this glorious looking touch screen iPod, and not given it the storage modern consumers (some, not all) desire.
I'm sure Apple have their reasons for not offering more storage, but surely they could round it up to 20Gb. It certainly SOUNDS better at least!
Ian Rendall
Windows mobile... LOL not going to even bother how that buggy POS even compares to OSX
If apple put a hard drive on the touch you'd be the first to complain about the lack of battery life ( don't forget this thing has wifi, and a huge touch screen) and the fact it is twice as thick
So an SD Slot we could add say 4 more Gigs of music of videos but there is always a cost in dimensions... its pretty packed in there as it is. Anyway in the grand scheme 4GB extra isn't of any interest of those that are used to their 80GB (or even bigger) music library not to even mention Video
Why would jobs care about the 5G ipod being hacked.. the security is alot less of and issue without wifi, bluetooth and edge networks of the iphone, the security of the iphone is a much bigger issue than that of 5.5G ipod and its intergity has alot more importance on apple's reputation.
Yes, Windows Mobile is quite buggy, but there is a huge community of users out there fixing bugs and sharing the results. Granted, they shouldn't have to fix the problems themselves, but there you go.
So maybe i'm wrong about the hard drive thing. Consider me told!
Here's a good article. Looks like it's begun...
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1160278&tstart=0
It is not that he is out of touch , he is a savvy businessman... period!
While I do agree that it was rather unfair of Apple to disable all the 3rd party hacks, do they really think they have a good case with hacked apps?
Throw it out please.
Please could someone clarify - if you pay Apple can they revive your iBrick? If not, I really think Apple are being very very silly in this matter.
They want you to buy a new phone. Definitely very silly indeed.
The issue at hand is exactly what can you do with the items you purchased. I think that it's only natural that people would want to modify their purchases to suit their needs. But how does it go? I wonder if Apple knew how much people would have preferred an unlocked phone?
How many of the current iPhone owners actually unlocked theirs? I'm interested to read this, if you have a link. I wonder if reading about the iPhone mostly on e))) or c|net makes the actual number seem larger than it really is.
I know I for one living in the Caribbean would've bought an unlocked iPhone (as I did when buying my Treo and all my other phones). Cheaper to travel with and allows ppl in the not so technologically fortunate areas outside the US to enjoy the iPhone too w/o waiting in vain for some local carrier to get it 10 ears from now! It's why Nokia and others like Motorola are so popular globally - they always offer unlocked phones at a slightly higher price. If only Jobs had a wee bit more business sense (wrt cellular business) he could've had his AT&T mega-deal AND the rest of the world by simply selling unlocked iPhones @ $599 and locked down ones @ $399!
So let me see if I understand...
1. Users bought a phone that by contract was tied to a NW carrier. And the vendor (Apple) made no warrants that the phone would work with another carrier.
2. Users hacked the phone to bypass material elements of the contract.
3. Apple went out of their way to announce to the user community that future upgrades could render hacked phones inoperable
4. Users with hacked phones upgrade to 1.1.1 get bricked and then complain?
Come on folks... you were warned... you are adults... get over it...
I see where you may think that, but in actuality, I never agreed to ANY contract with apple at all. To unlock an iPhone, you go to the Apple Store, buy one, and come home. All you do is swipe a card and they email you the receipt. Then you send the iPhone into restore mode. You never see or touch an EULA. The only agreement Apple and I had was "I'll give you 300 bucks for this hardware." "Ok."
Does this mean Apple should support my modding ways? Of course not. BUT there is absolutely no contract involved here, so I didn't break it. If Apple forced a firmware update on me(which they absolutely did not) it'd be a different story.
Only they have not hacked it. Unlocking a phone in the UK is a legal right and the operator has to do it for free after 1 year if asked to do so by the customer. It is also perfectly legal to unlock the phone before the 1 year but a fee (around £10-£20) is normally paid to either the operator or a third party unlocking company to do it for you. Or obviously it is also legal to unlock it yourself for free. I can't believe it would be legal for a phone company to break your phone if it is unlocked especially when you have paid the full amount for it (bearing in mind almost all phones are heavily subsidsed in the uk -even the N95, which justifies locking you into a 1 year contract). Having said this it is your own fault if you bought one and even more if you bought one and upgraded the firmware after you unlocked it!
@Wii60
Ok, let's be real here. If you went through the trouble of figuring out how to get around activating the iPhone through the iTunes process, which would have shown you an EULA, then you definitely knew what you were doing was not consistent with the EULA. Even if you're an absolute n00b, practically every instruction out there that told you how to circumvent the system, told you that they are not responsible if you bricked you iPhone and that your warranty is probably void.
The real problem here is that apple has managed to create a device that not only typical early adopters would buy on day one, but also the generally cautious public. In doing this, early adopters and joe-i-don't-know-a-firmware-from-a-hole-in-the-ground got lumped together in the increasingly easy unlocking methods that were published.
Early adopters, I being one, would never cry about this being unfair and I'm going to sue. Sure they would not be happy about it, but they know what they're getting into; unlike the general public. For that matter, early adopters never cry about price drops either, as they are inevitable. I can't count how many items I've purchased an item only to see the price plummet in a few months.
Clarification:
I didn't buy the iPhone (personal usability reasons), but did buy the Touch.
But your guarantee should not be void by simply unlocking it. There is a law in the us that states this (bought in to stop car makers voiding a warranty if you fit a new steroe for example). As I said earlier, it is law in the UK that they unlock your phone when you ask them to. It seems very apparent that Apple purposefully bricked the unlocked phones in an attempt to stop more people unlocking them. I have no idea if anyone in the UK has experienced a problem with this firmware upgrade but if they have then I think they would easily win a court case.
If your new 'steroe' causes your car's computer to short out, your SOL. You're on your own if you do something yourself.
@Cagrino
Let's also get real here, Cagrino. EULAs are rarely enforceable by law. Never have companies actually used a EULA to protect themselves but other laws instead.
@Wii60
huh, I'm looking at my iPhone box right now...
"Requirements: Minimum new two-year wireless service plan with AT&T required to activate all iPhone features, including iPod features•Mac or PC with USB 2.0 • Mac OS X v10.4.10 or later, Windows XP Home or Professional (SP2), or Windows Vista • iTunes 7.3 or later required for activation and some features
Service plan with AT&T required for cellular network capabilities on expiration of initial new two-year agreement"
I'm afraid trying to make a legal case against Apple based on that would have as much merits as trying to make the case that you are owed compensation for your phone not working with Windows 95. To activate the iPhone you must also agree to the same terms in a checkbox with iTunes.
coolblue:
They did hack it. They modified low level firmware in a way that is incompatible with the update. Note that the paid unlock does not brick the phone, so the free version did do some damage to the phone setup.
It may not be illegal to unlock a phone, but if you break it in the process, it's your fault, not Apple's...
I've been following this issue closely for a few weeks now and I have pretty much lost all interest in owning an iPhone. I have no interest in shelling out good money for any item when the manufacturer insists said item can only be used in a manner consistent with their approval, and otherwise will cease to function entirely. Who owns the damn phone, the customer or Apple?
This is exactly the problem with everyone going nuts here.
1) You own the phone NOT the software. Apple didn't update the phone here, they updated the software, which they own. People could have not updated if they knew that they had done something wrong (illegal?)
2) "...the manufacturer insists said item can only be used in a manner consistent with their approval..." Again, this is ONLY true if the use chooses to apply updates to the software (which again, they don't own). People were free to leave their hacked phones alone. Apple isn't responsible for how 3rd party(NOT SUPPORTED) software affects a device that was never to have 3rd party things on it in the first place.
3) I'm starting to really lose sympathy for people that knowingly changed the phone and are now upset because they applied an update that they were warned about.
Can you imagine if the "official" word was still that they didn't support them but said they wouldn't intentionally try to brick phones with "extras". Of course people would interpret that as "Go ahead hack away and we won't do anything about it" despite the fact that the original statement was nowhere close to that.
Your argument is RIDICULOUS. If you go buy a brand new BMW, drive it off the lot under warranty, drive straight to a tuner shop and have a supercharger put on, then go back in to BMW to get your engine fixed... guess what?! VOIDED WARRANTY. So who owns the BMW... you or BMW?! STUPID STUPID STUPID argument. YOU own it. Did you hear that? YOU OWN IT. Which means you now own the problems you have created for yourself. Apple told you it would happen, you ignored them. Cry me a river, dork.
You were given a warranty, you were told what would and would not affect the warranty. You were given device specs. You knew what it could and could NOT do. You bought it. You screwed it up. Apple gave normal users the WiFi store, louder speakers, etc.. and they gave you EXACTLY what you deserved. A bricked phone.
Who really gives a crap anyway - the 3rd party apps were TERRIBLE.
And I don't want to hear anything about Symbian and Windoze Mobile. They only reason they had such 'success' is because there was never a player like Apple in the mobile territory. Now there is and the rules are changing. Exercise your right as a consumer while simultaneously doing normal iPhone users a favor - don't buy one.
As for me... I'll continue using the coolest device on the planet. Happily.
@ Jeremy
If you believed everything a company told you, consumer abuse would be so rampant right now. By the way, EULA's on software are largely unenforcable, you can't just sign away your rights. Companies do not sue people because of stuff in EULAs (or get away with stuff for that matter) but must use actual laws instead.
@ Jeremy
-- exactly!
Who are all these idiots who don't understand this very basic concept?
@Jeremy --- Your counter argument sucks! Let's take your BMW example here.
If you take your BMW to a garage which installs a super charged engine for you, you void your warranty. Granted.
However, the next time you take your car to BMW for servicing, it might not be under warranty, but also, BMW will NOT put water in your gas tank to stop your car from working, would they?
If you pay for the iphone and chose to unlock it, Apple should NOT brick the phone, but rather re-lock/restore the phone to it's original state.
Also, to burst your bubble, the iphone features/functionality suck compared to a lot of other smartphones out there.
there gooes the loyal applefan.
as i quote my favourite simpson-character: "HA HA!"
all apple needs to do is release a separate firmware flash utility, that both restores the OS firmware AND baseband modem firmware to a factory, un-bricked state. Hey, they released one to un-brick gen 1 shuffles (just used it yesterday), just do the same for iPhone.
I don't understand why they can't just put some kind of flash-writer or whatever into every store, and then sell 'unbricking' (or iPhone Factory-default Restoration, whatever they want to call it) for a nominal amount (say, $50...enough to deter casual users), which would restore the phone to the original, supported condition. I realize that the warranty doesn't cover this and all, but wouldn't it be a nice PR move to at least bend a little bit?
Ha! How comical. All Apple has to do is to show the fact that all they did was alter the authentication procedures of the phone in order to improve user security and data safety and that stupid case is closed. It wont even reach the ears of a real judge. People need to realise that this isn't a game that is played by amateurs. Its the big leagues... and anything that Apple does is without a shadow of a dought legally sound.
Good luck to the people that choose to go ahead with this in any case... although by undergoing with these proceedings they are in actual fact crippling the community that they claim to defend. The more people that wasn't Apple times and money with unwarrented court actions the less time Apple has to push the industry to innovate and expand.
Thats my two cents.
I agree with the guy who said that this is a vocal minority (engadget and Gizmodo editors included) trying unlock the phone and are not willing to either be patient or heed the myriad warnings apple gave. 90 percent of the buyers don't give a shit about unlocking the phone and know that unlocking any locked phone is a tall and risky order. I know people hate ATT and the 2 year contract, but thats the price of admission, so don't complain when you buy the phone and don't use it as it was designed and intended and bricks. Att and Apple are under no incentive or obligation to keep your unlocked phones working and you knew that when you unlocked it, especially since its mostly just geeky loud mouthes who are making the noise.
As for apps, yeah it sucks they were broken, but no one held a gun to your head when you ignored the BOLD TEXT THAT SAID IT MIGHT BRICK YOUR PHONE and clicked OK to update (I did a restore on mine, no problem at all, except for the lack of apps of course and having to wait an extra ten minutes for it to sync from scratch). I knew the risks so I made sure I did a fresh restore with 1.0.2 first before I re-restored with 1.1.1.
Apple has made several allusions to opening the phone up to 3rd party apps, so if we could just be patient, someone, maybe even apple themselves, will bring us our apps back. Unlockers need to realize what a geeky niche they are and wake up and take responsibility for the risks they knew they were taking. We knew the risks when we hacked the phone in the first place and could have even opted out of the update, and now that the shit hit the fan we have no right to complain.
I couldn't agree more.
The problem is that stupid people buy into hype. Stupid people also hate personal responsible and thus love lawsuits. I think it was inevitable that the most hyped phone in history would be followed by lots of lawsuits.
Its more of Aple's fault of not able to find a less restrictive service provider, AT&T probably forced apple to re-lock the iphones due to their exclusive deal, then again who didn't see that from miles away? If Apple has done deals with many operators at once, this won't happen, AT&T won't have this monopoly, and though they want to keep it that way.
I hope a class action lawsuit does get started and finally challenges cell phone providers on this very questionable business model. Since the DMCA act was changed recently and not being able to unlock a phone is no longer protected and basically illegal for carriers to refuse to unlock a cell phone. (http://www.wired.com/politics/law/commentary/circuitcourt/2006/12/72241)
simply put the purpose of locked phones (supposedly) was to keep lower prices and discounts on hte handsets. but if you purchased the phone at its full retail price, it was unnecessary.
Forget about 3rd party app's right now, just worry about the unlocking portion. the rest will follow. and support for 3rd party app's may not hold up in court.
i totally agree with that, dude..
don't know how people there could be so conservative and blind! god bless you, america.
It is not illegal for a carrier to refuse to unlock your phone in the US.
Wahhh, wahhh Apple and that ... that ... that MAN IN BLACK SMOCK BROKE MY iPHONE. WAHHHH, WAHHHH.
Never laughed so hard! Really. So many victims. Ahhh, maybe mommie will come with her teat for you to suck so you will feel better. There, there you are little baby. That should sooth you.
You decided to play with fire, and got you little victim eyebrows singed. And for those of you threatening to leave Apple ... do us a favor and CARRY IT. APPLE DOES NOT WANT, NOR NEED YOUR BUSINESS, CRYBABY.
Amen!! F***ing Hilarious! Greatest day #1 was when they dropped the price $200, greatest day #2 is now this. Apple users are getting spoonfed the same diarrhea they've dished out so many times before. Was it worth saving all that hard earned cashed and waiting in line all this time??? Maybe its time to wake up and grow a brain - Jobs and Apple aren't God and they don't give a rats ass about you. Meanwhile I'll enjoy the cash in my pocket and my vastly superior and less expensive Sprint Mogul.
Pointless law suit which won't lead any where. You all knew what you were in for when you bought the phone. Unlocked, AT&T only and no support for 3rd paty applications.
By unlocking it or installing 3rd party applications on it you violate the user agreement, SO YOU LOSE!!
Apple 1 - rebellious consumers 0
I know it sucks but this time I don't feel sorry for the affected ones, you knew what you were in for.
When will you iFanboys ever learn? You all b*tch about Sony and DRM (like Apple doesn't have any, but I digress) yet this company asks a fortune for a product then dictates to you how it should be used.
Guess you'll all need to sell a few of those Star Wars toys to pay for the suit.
GET OVER IT.. APPLE produced the iPhone. You either do or don't update the device with Apple software. Accept the consequences of upgrading/updating. You can't sue for backwards compatibility.
When you buy the iPhone you have to sign some sort of contract with apple and at&t. Im sure somewhere on that there will be something about hacking it and opening it up to other networks, or modifying the firmware. So if you breach the contract, apple has every right to block off your phones! If you have a problem with at&t, then you shouldn't have bout the iPhone.
Stupidity has repeats its own history.
I think Apple would have been fine if users were unlocking their iPhones using some underground pirated firmware tools. But what might have pissed off Apple is when these guys started comercializing these tools. Like iPhoneSimFree.
idiots!
I've been using a Mac for 2.5 years and I'm hooked. A fanboy? Well, maybe. However, anyone who bought an iPhone who is upset with the storage should have known what they were getting. To say Apple SHOULD have provided insertable memory is a good observation, but they chose not to and you should have known when you bought it. If you are upset that Apple is taking steps to prevent you from hacking your device, then you are out of touch with reality. They have every right to protect their products. If you don't like it, then don't buy it. Unreal....
i don't own an iPhone.
Well, I think we can agree on one thing. The iPhone IS a piece of crap if you compare it to most other phones out there... Yes, the inteface is sooooo smooth and oh, it's shiny, but come on, really!
As it has already been pointed out, unlocking a phone is mandatory in the EU at the request of the owner. No hacking needed.
I can certainly see a time where an individual will take Apple to court in the EU for bricking their entirely legal unlocked phone. And to the Apple fanbois who bleat about the T&C forbidding unlocking their iPhone let me just say that T&C are not laws. In fact, T&C have to abide by the host countries laws otherwise the T&C themselves are illegal. In the EU Apple cannot take the T&C into a court room and use it as a defence as the Judge will point them in the direction of EU mandatory legislation expressly allowing consumers to unlock their mobile phones. Apple will then find themselves in court for trying to strong arm consumers into illegal T&C.
Despite all the fanbois protests you do not have be a hacker to have an unlocked mobile in the EU, this is something that Apple should have been aware of before it brought its product to market. Apple is not above the law and will soon discover this little gem itself.
Also because it is mandatory to unlock a phone in the EU, you would be getting authorisation from both the network provider and the manufacturer to do so. Apple cannot then go ahead and brick or relock those legally unlocked phones in ANY update.
finally one working brain.. couldn't say it better!
i'm european too. anyway, i don't really know if united states has this same rule in the telecommunication free market.
Well said.
Apple should have sold iPhones sim-free from the start, like Nokia, HTC and every other phone manufacturer on the planet.
Oh i hope this class action lawsuit happens and it wins. I really would like some precedent set that protects the consumer against all this b.s. locking down of phones and controlled platforms, to ensure artificial revenue streams.
I would be interested in those stats as well (how many people did unlock).
I for one did. Why? Because in the area where I live there is no AT&T coverage.
I have to drive app. 15 minutes to get into an area with coverage.
I tried AT&T for 2 weeks - it just does not work ...
So do we need to talk to Apple for locking their phone (like others do as well)?
Or should we beat the crap out of AT&T for discriminating in the way they "mapped" their coverage?
These people knew exactly what would happen. Apple even told them basically what happened. But yet they still updated there phone. Guess who's fault that is?
Its there own fault, live with it. There really wasen't a point to unlocking it in the US. Its not like t-mobiles network is faster. And on ATT you got a cheaper data rate. its there own fault and now they have to live with there mistake and shut the fuck up.
So all iphone users should "shut the f*%k up" because there is not much point in unlocking it in the US?
I would like to remind you the the US is not the only country on earth and there are many reasons including (as posted many times before) the fact that it is your right in many other countries.
I hate the way that Apple fanboys attack anyone who dares criticise the mighty Apple!
I hate the way Apple fans are always getting criticized all the time for liking their products and / or defending Apple. I can't think of a group of people that get more flak for liking a product than those of Apple fans.
@hank,
The problem isn't that people like Apple products, but that some very vocal Apple "fans" become evangelical, intolerant fanatics. If you like the consumer product you bought, great. But, don't belittle or put down another's preference in electronics.
It's the smug "I'm better than you because I bought a different brand" attitude that turn people against Apple users. I own a mac and several iPods. However, I keep both eyes open and recognize the flaws in the Apple products and acknowlege when the competition does something better. Apple is not loyal to you, just to their stock value.
I'd like to know why the ringer from the iPhone commercials wasn't actually included on the iPhone.
Out of curiosity, would that constitute false advertising?
My problem is not Apple, its AT&T.
How large conglomerates can not fix roaming is nothing short of a crime. My last roaming charge was over 3K, and that was with trying to be conservative in the phones use. I'm sure they are laughing all the way to the bank. As an American user, this problem dwarfs all of the others by a factor of 10.
Apple should have allowed full downgrade restore to previous 1.0.2 to both the OS and the Baseband. They planned well with intension to lock it. Now that's good for a lawsuit. I don't care what they say, if i don't like your upgrade just do a full downgrade restore to previous release as it was released & my purchase firmware. I was planning to buy Mac this Christmas, but not for now. Earlier before iPhone Apple controlled marketing & its technology as % of customers was low globally. Now apple has more than 1 Million new iPhone customer which will build enough negative publicity to kill its market on all other products. Steve just don't think you will win all the time.
Apple fraud marketing of $200 reduced and $100 store credit(put that back in his overpriced products) clear that proved he cheated his customer by overpricing and he knew lawsuits will follow.
My negative publicity (will expose the gimmicks) will go on which will hurt Apple Business this holidays
Why does everyone keep calling it $100 refund!?? All apple did was give everyone $100 gift card so that they could go spend it at the apple store AGAIN! Ridiculous.
Call it anything you like, but the $100 gift card is more than ANY other company has EVER given me when the price of their product dropped.
That, plus the $100 I got back from AMEX, made me happy.
Imaginary quote from the unwashed masses:
“Waaah, I paid $600/$400 for an iPhone and then voided my warranty by modifying it’s software/hardware. Then when I updated it to the 1.1.1 update and it told me it could brick my devices, I did it anyway so now I am going to sue!”
Come on, does this really make any sense? Apple said what the device can do and sold it as that. The iPhone excels in all the areas that is does do (in my opinion), but of course is far from perfect. There is no such thing as a perfect mobile device, and the iPhone is a brand new mobile platform. Please consider all this and then think about giving Apple and the developers time to make the iPhone an even better product.
- Kiteless
Oh how I love the smell of dumb ass in the morning. Advise from the Geek Squad over at my local Best Buy. Got a pretty early start considering you guys were up till 3 in the morning trying to repel hostile Covenant forces from Mombasa. Time to step up to the plate, entrepreneurs of the future. Make your revolutionary device, you know, the bestest gadget the planet will ever know, at a price that anyone can afford. The one that makes the cellular companies line up at your door to give you anything you want. The gadget that will appeal to everyone with a pulse, and be open and free to all. I’m waiting! No? Maybe after Halo 4...
bitch bitch bitch.
First of all, everyone should be grateful the iphone is running "OSX" and not some lame ass at&t OS. This is the very first cellphone from apple and the last thing they need right now is everyone installing randoms apps that could ruin the iphone experience. All you dumb ass's out there wanting to sue need to get over the fact that you do not understand contracts and the reasoning behind apple decision to lock out third party apps. If you just wait a while, i am 100% sure apple with enable third party apps sometime in the future.
I am right there with you, but I disagree that Apple will ever allow 3rd party apps, and not any time soon. The same thing was said about apple coming out with something like a 2 button mouse. Stevie made the mighty mouse, but it is still really 1 button. No, I see the iPhone as we know it, locked down solid for a long long time to come. If we ever did see 3rd party apps I would imagine that they would only be sold through iTunes and there would be a lengthy certification process.
One of the biggest rules in hacking something and voiding the warranty is to NEVER update until it has been CONFIRMED to not change any of the features you hacked a product for.
As for myself, I am waiting for the new update to get hacked and then I will update my phone. I don't want/need the stupid iTunes store anyway, got plenty of music as it is and I'd rather own the physical CD.
dont have an iphone, not an apple fan but i really dont understand how ppl can complain about their phones being locked and all this stuff. you know what u were getting when u bought it and they said it was an AT&T Exclusive product. so shouldn't apple do whatever they need to do to keep that exclusiveness?
I think the bricking is a mute issue. If Apple deliberately re-locked an unlocked phone, that would be sabotage correct? If so, isn't that a criminal offense?
Any thoughts?
Isn't it obvious you can't upgrade hacked devices? All Apple needs to do is give this warning to people. Or don't people who hacked their iphones already know this?
I'd sue Apple for not having the iPhone forever display a picture of a brick wall before bricking itself.
Most of you don't even get the issue. For example jeremy with the bmw comment. The analogy actually goes like this. You add a supercharger to your car(voiding your warranty), bring it in for service, and the mechanics destroy your car. This is what apple's doing amounts to. The real issue is if they had malicious intent (actually looking to see if the phone is unlocked or has 3rd party apps then bricking it) or not (bricking is just side-effect of firmware). This is issue at hand, not whether your warranty is void or not.
Wait wait wait, let's get things straight here:
Apple didn't brick the phone, YOU did.
Now that we've got that settled....
Should Apple open their phone? There's a debatable question. Proceed.
Okay, the BMW comment is the largest amount of bull ever.
If you modified the built in software, Apple released the update to modify and update the software that THEY created, from when it left the factory, not custom made for your iPhone. The second you opened your iPhone, you voided the warranty.
If you bought a XBOX360 and opened it up and the modified the Dashboard, then Microsoft releases an update and your 360 stops working, are they at fault because you wanted to change it, not had to change it, you WANTED to change it. People who unlocked their iPhones WANTED to do it. They made the decision and those who did, whether or not they knew they were voiding their warranty, did it.
Apple made it widely known WELL BEFORE the update, at least 2 weeks to a month before, that using this update would potentially brick your phone, if you were dumb enough to know this and STILL upgrade, that again is your fault. So quit your cryin and either A) Go out and buy a new one or B) Don't get a new one and just get another phone
Hey bud!
I totally agree with you. You definelty need to take apple to court after what they did. Apple and AT&T should have been smart about the iphone but now like me tons of us are having all kinds of problems with the iphone how they screwed us over. I guess "Verizon" was really smart. Infact Apple came to Verizon 1st with the iphone offer but they turned it down because Apple wanted way to much from them. Now AT&T will be paying the price. I am so glad I got my Iphone Unlocked and use it for T-mobile which they only start $39.99 a month for there service unlike the iphone are charging close to $60 a month. I use to be a apple lover now i am hating anything to do with apple or at&t.
Everyone should stop their whining about breaking their iphones. It's commonsense that sophisticated technology and software require extensive testing to get to market. Whys should Apple be responsible for testing all this 3rd party crap? Why isn't anyone suing the 3rd party software makers? If you take it upon yourself to use unsupported software or hacks on this expensive device then you are doing so at your on risk! Get over it!
ignorant people suck,you bought knowing what it had and complain about it .whos the idiot.stop your whinning .and i hope they brick your phone if you hacked it .
First off, if people break their TOS when they hack their phone, these lawsuits have ZERO ground to stand on. It's Apple's product and nobody is forcing anyone to buy it. They can do whatever the hell they want to with it.
Secondly, on the storage argument. I have a 1GB card in my phone and its my primary music player. I get by alright. Sure more would be nice, but you don't need to buy it if you don't think it's enough storage.
The iPhone, Apple, AT&T lawsuits and claim will eventually wind down and either disappear, or mold into one "all encompassing" class action.
I suggest http://www.classactionlawsuitnews.com, where you can create a case portfolio, to receive automatic email updates and alerts, to ensure you get any cash settlements (if you're an iPhone owner) that will transpire in the future.