Unlock: New Markets

The iPhone has created quite a stir in the market place in the past month. The release of the iPhone resulted in hour long lines of first-mover consumers trying to get their hands on the brand new iPhone. Controversy occurred of course because a consumer would have to turn their service over to the "not so reliable" at&t. But that didn't stop the 1 million people who did transfer their service for the first hand look at this sexy device.

Only a month after the release a report come out that a 17 year old hacker by the name of George Hotz spent only one summer to discover the secret to the iPhone. Using the network of hackers and his own tech savvy, Hotz unlocked the first iPhone in America to be used on T-mobile. Shortly after, new companies sprung up claiming to have discovered the secret as well. iPhoneSimFree.com is one such company. They are selling licenses to companies who want to use the iPhone in their business with licenses package from 50 - 5000.

Uniquephones.com is also such a company. They have been developing unlocking software for phone since 2002. Recently the John Mclaughin, founder of Uniquephones.com received a disturbing phone call from O'Melveny & Myers LLP, an international law firm, calling on behalf of at&t. The firm has worked with Apple in the past. The man informed McLaughlin that if he posted the unlock code, he could be sued for copyright infringement and for dissemination of Apple's intellectual property (IP).

Its interesting to see what the combined efforts of a the technology industry has come up with to create a new market. Although the window is small, anyone could buy 5000 iPhones, unlock them, and immediately sell them on eBay (reports have stated that unlocked iPhones are going for as much at $1500). Naturally, a flood to the market with the release of these new companies will cause dramatic price drops as the supply increases, but if you act fast you could make a quick buck (or 100's of them).

There are no guarantees, however, that these phones will stay unlocked. Much like the iTunes software, the iPhone updates whenever plugged into a computer. Its only a matter of time until Apple release the reverse update and you're back to a at&t phone :( The fight will last a while, but eventually this market will close.