ChrisWalsh
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ChevronWP7 Labs to unlock your Windows Phone 7 handset for $9, hackers not welcome
Need a little extra unlocked WP7 incentive to keep you from buying those oh-so-distracting iOS and Android devices? Well, that official homebrew love is going to cost you -- $9 to be exact. We already knew the Microsoft-sanctioned ChevronWP7 Labs would be open for business soon, but recent tweets from the jailbreaking outfit's Chris Walsh have shed a little more light on the process. In addition to the nominal fee users will have to fork over for the official unlock, Walsh also points out that software updates to Mango and Nodo will close any security holes in the platform. So, if you were planning on getting your pirate-y hands dirty hacking away at WP7, think again -- Microsoft's still got the keys to its mobile OS' house.
Microsoft-approved tool fixes your 'walshed' Windows Phone, helps you get official updates once more
There are certainly advantages to rooting your Windows Phone 7 device, but there's a heck of a downside too -- Microsoft can't update your handset to the latest and greatest build if you've unofficially patched your phone. Good to know, but what if you've already done the deed? That's why you'll want the application above, a ChevronWP7-tested, Microsoft-approved program for pulling your phone out of Bizzaro World and setting things right. Find it at our source link, follow the instructions carefully, and don't fret if the official update doesn't immediately appear after you're done -- developer Chris Walsh says availability of the build depends on carrier approval. [Thanks, Brianna]
Visualized: the glamorous lifestyles of WP7 jailbreakers (update: Geohot crashes the party)
To be a jailbreaker means different things depending on the device that you're busy hacking preinstalled walls from. If you're fiddling with consoles, a legal team would come highly recommended, but if you're tweaking mobile code, at least Windows Phone mobile code, you're in for a much sweeter ride. The ChevronWP7 guys that brought us the first jailbreak of Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 are currently in Redmond having a sitdown and a frank exchange of views with WP7 dev experience director Brandon Watson, and the amicable nature of their discourse has been evidenced by the image above. Microsoft is clearly taking a light-hearted and community-friendly approach to handling the (now inevitable) efforts at disabling limitations to its software and we can only congratulate its mobile team for doing so. [Thanks, Tasos] Update: Looks like Microsoft's softie approach really is working. Shortly after the jolly news, notorious hacker Geohot announced on his website that he's going to treat himself to a WP7 device; but before long, Redmond's already reached out to offer him a free handset. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
