iBricks
Latest
iPhone SIM Free announces 1.1.1 SIM Unlock, iPhone Unbricking
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_SIM_Free_announces_1_1_1_SIM_Unlock_iPhone_Unbricking'; Following up on the iPhone 1.1.1 jailbreak, iPhone SIMfree--they are the commercial unlock folks--have announced a 1.1.1 upgrade and a 1.1.1 unlock solution. Moreover, they believe their unlock solution will restore and repair iBricks: "This now means that SimFree v1.6 release, is now capable of completely restoring/repairing software unlocked "bricked" iPhone". TUAW has not had the opportunity to try this out ourselves, so for now we're just passing along the link to the iPSF site. Let us know in the comments if you were able to unbrick and/or update to 1.1.1. iPhoneSIMFree is available from various vendors around the world and costs about US$60-$100. Update: TUAW Reader Matthew Fliegle writes: I am on AT&T, and I installed the IPSF 2.6 using WiNstaller (on 1.0.2 with 4.01bb). It took about five minutes with no error messages. Then I restarted the phone and a error popped up saying invalid sim. I connected it to iTunes and clicked update. That took another 5 to 10 minutes, and then it made me reactivate it with AT&T. The only thing bad is that it made me renew my contract for another 2 years, but I called AT&T and they said I shouldn't have had to renew it and they were putting it under review.
Man to sue over 1.1.1 iBricking
ComputerWorld reports that Timothy Smith, an iPhone owner in California, plans to sue Apple for violating antitrust law. His claim rests on the fact that Apple forces consumers to use AT&T as their sole wireless carrier and that the 1.1.1 update bricked phones that were unlocked for other carriers. This sole agreement with AT&T is, according to his suit, anticompetitive, forcing customers to pay more for their phones and for the cell phone service than they would in a competitive market. The suit goes on to add that Apple knew that the probable result of the update would brick unlocked iPhones. If you're feeling in a litigious mood or if you just want to rubberneck to see what the fuss is about, check out this website set up by the Law Offices of Van Smith and Fernandez. It's got some spiffy photos at the top with a guy on a phone (it's probably not an iPhone) and a couple of lawyers talking (probably neither Van Smith or Fernandez).
