[freudling]

One outfit here, selling the software. There is a link to a video on their page showing the software in action. Perhaps this may be real, as people at hackint0sh are all jumping in based on a number of recent pieces of information lending support to iphonesimfree resellers:

http://unlockuriphone.blogspot.com/

[freudling]

The announcement is that the software is coming out tomorrow, one some, including the reseller linked to above, are offering a money back guaranteee if the software doesn't pan out.

[michaelb]

The iPhoneSIMfree software unlock is almost certainly genuine, as it has been independently verified by Ryan Block of Engadget (who knows his mobiles), a CNN tech reporter, and most recently Gizmodo who made a video showing the actual unlock software in action.

While not that interesting for US residents, who simply gain the ability to go to T-Mobile (or leave the contract and go on a pay-as-you-go AT&T plan, but that's been possible for a while), it is INCREDIBLY exciting for international people (or US residents traveling overseas).

There are over 400 GSM carriers around the planet. With an unlocked iPhone, it can potentially be used on any of them... So, the worldwide potential of the iPhone is about to go from a population of around 300 million to over 6.6 billion.

(The question, do Kalahari Bushmen really need an iPhone?!)

BTW, there's a "trusted" reseller list here. There's also a strong chance it will be reverse engineered by the end of the week. Although the unlockers do deserve some $$$ for their find.

[theDreamer]

With the new, and release, of the iPhone unlock software. Will you think this will help greatly in the plans to have 10 million iPhone sold?
Was this part of Apples plan to sell 10 million, even though many may not be directly tied to X account of the company who has the contract?

[michaelb]

Originally Posted by theDreamer 

With the new, and release, of the iPhone unlock software. Will you think this will help greatly in the plans to have 10 million iPhone sold?
Was this part of Apples plan to sell 10 million, even though many may not be directly tied to X account of the company who has the contract?

I doubt it was Apple's plan, they locked the iPhone up pretty well.

As to whether it will increase sales, well, I'm in Australia and I bought one, so that's a sale they wouldn't otherwise have had.

The forums I hang around have had international buyers going nuts buying them through various means - eBay, friends in the US, business trips, holiday stopovers, etc - then spending hours getting them unlocked, which up until this week was quite hard. This software unlock will certainly help.

The downside of gray importing is losing the warranty, not having a shop to go back to if it goes wrong.

Many conventional buyers will probably wait until the iPhone is officially available in their country, so that will make up the bulk of the contribution from overseas sales towards 10 million.

But this software unlock will certainly help Apple's sales figures, absolutely yes.