Hacker Unlocks iPhone For GSM Networks

A well-known hacker claims to have overcome restrictions on Apple's iPhone, allowing highly technical users to bypass AT&T's network to use the phone's Internet and music features.In a post dated on his blog, Jon Johansen, 23, a prolific hacker of consumer electronics gadgets since he was a teenager in Norway, said "I've found a way to activate a brand new unactivated iPhone" without signing up for AT&T service.The site contained technical details for other hackers, as well as links to software necessary to complete the process.One potential use would be for an iPhone user living or travelling outside the United States to access the iPhone's music player and Internet service over Wi-Fi connections without using the phone.

Apple has yet to reveal network operator deals in markets outside the United States. But the iPhone is a quad-band GSM phone and will work in many parts of Europe and Asia with international roaming deals arranged by AT&T, Kerris said.
Neither Apple nor AT&T have disclosed sales figures since the iPhone went on sale in the United States on June 29, but some analysts have estimated sales of up to 700,000 units for the costly coveted phone's first weekend on the market.

Johansen became known as "DVD Jon" earlier this decade for helping to reverse engineer the code used to protect DVD movies against piracy, saying he did so in order to play them on his Linux computer.The computer activist has engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with Apple to bypass copyright controls on various Apple products, including QuickTime, iTunes and Apple TV.