Just activated my 8gig iPhone, ported the # and had the whole thing completed (including getting the txt that my phone # had been ported) in under 5 mins!!! I am impressed, prob was good that I waited a few days before activating and not with the hordes of other people.

This is N-O-T for the technically squeamish. It involves using a hex editor, modifying your hosts file, and installing a server on your PC (yes, PC - this only works on Windows):

http://nanocr.eu/2007/07/03/iphone-without-att/

In addition, I would suspect that the next update put out will address any holes people find. So users who manage to implement the crack above will likely find themselves back at square one the next time they need to sync their iPhone, since during the sync updated iTunes will pass along an update to iPhone that will patch the hole.

If you're like me and don't sync very often, then this might work for you for a while. If you use something besides iTunes to sync it might also work.

Then it'll only be a day or so till they hack it again.

Apple is up against a lot of people with a lot of spare time here.

Yeah, true. And Apple isn't known for putting in impervious roadblocks. Generally they do enough to make it difficult to get around the EULA. They don't bother sealing holes off completely, because they know it's futile to do so. An example is that Apple clearly notes that they strongly discourage iPod users from "stealing music". The screen protector shipped on the iPod is emblazoned with "Don't Steal Music" in several languages. However, it's rather easy to move music files between iPods and other devices. 99% of users won't bother though.

The same applies here. Sure, a few geeks will continue to crack the restrictions, but 99% of users will continue to activate and use their iPhones as designed. Unless the workaround becomes too easy or catches on too much, Apple will likely continue to apply a gentle hand.

But, how will the average joe like me be able to get it unlocked again? Will we have to pay again?

Seriously, Apple has a product that they sell for twice their cost -- to a market that, for the most part, doesn't even need it, but just wants it. What do they have to lose if people don't activate it? It seems AT&T takes the hit, not Apple.

This may be true, although it has been rumored that Apple gets a cut of the ATT charges.

BTW, given the "not for the technically squeamish" nature of what is described to hack around activating, it's worth noting again that you can activate the phone and then cancel. If you cancel the plan within 30 days, you don't need to pay the $175 termination fee to ATT. If you cancel within 3 days, they also refund the ($36, I think?) activation fee. So you can buy iPhone, activate, and cancel in the first 3 days, and that may be simpler than the technical hack described. You'd be left with a small capacity, large-screen video iPod with Wi-Fi email and web surfing capability and calendar and contacts that sync with a computer. Should still work for a 911 call.

This is a hilarious video...

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a76_1183278403&p=1

Karma bit her in the back of that gaudy pink dress.

I wonder if the popularity of this thread - huge upsurge on day of release, then somewhat quiet - reflects the sales of the phone itself? ;)

Would love to know how many were sold in day 2!

According to Apple's iPhone availability tool, just two of their stores had any stock left for this morning. Nobody knows for sure how many units were in this first batch, but it appears to be somewhere around a million. Not exactly slow sales, I would think, but I don't know what a common measure would be. Still, I think it matters more how the sales go in the coming weeks and couple of months. The initial numbers reflect the pent-up demand. It's fairly unlikely so far that very many people who really want an iPhone have been unable to get one solely because of supply constraints. (I want one, but I didn't get it because of budgetary reasons. ;) My local store is one of the two that was supposed to have stock this morning.)

Some new Mossberg Q&A here, with various notes on things that might be upgraded in the iPhone software soon, including Flash playback in the browser and additional Bluetooth features. http://mailbox.allthingsd.com/200707...apples-iphone/

Interesting rumor/note (not sure) from yesterday or this morning was that European iPhone for the fall would NOT be 3G. Looks like UK, France and Germany only at first. Was going to be Vodafone in UK but now looks like O2. Orange is front runner in France. Info here http://www.macrumors.com/2007/07/04/...nge-in-france/ but much is sourced from The Times and FT (Financial Times, German edition, not FlyerTalk ;)) so may be somewhat more than just rumor. The iPhone has logos in it already for T-Mobile and Vodafone in addition to Cingular/ATT. T-Mobile may be the German partner, not sure if that was already reported.

The numbers I've read say that about 1/2 of the iphone sales are from "switchers" from other carriers. If that's the case, 500k new activations in one week is HUGE. They usually add around 1 million customers per quarter.

Yeah, if ATT signed up 500k new customers in just 3 days, then the other operators will be hurting.

I'm sure they are already looking for their own killer phone now.

AAPL stock, btw, hit $131 today. Up about $10 in the last two trading days. Not bad.

One other data point: ebay recently sold listings show the iPhones going for $70-$100 above list right now. My guess is if the supply constraints continue for much longer we'll see an uptick in the premiums people pay on ebay. Might be fun to watch.

According to the English FT today, O2 has the most subscribers in the UK so O2 gets the deal. Ditto for Orange in France and T-Mobile in Germany. And I too was surprised to see that it is 2.5G for Europe too. I guess that kills the rumor that it was AT&T that forced Apple to go 2.5G. It is either a lack of effort on Apples part or they want everyone to buy a new iPhone next year to improve access speed.

Other EU countries will get iPhones next year as will Asia. I wonder if anyone in Asia will care by then? By that time the other handset manufacturers will have built better phones.