Digital Journal — It has a bland name but a powerful consequence. The iASign tool allows iPhone owners to use any Cingular or AT&T SIM card to make phone calls, a useful application to avoid hefty long-term call plans.
Earlier this week, hackers on an IRC channel released a code to break into the iPhone’s guts to free the device from AT&T’s shackles. Essentially, this means “you can buy an iPhone and activate it using a disposable Cingular SIM,” as one blogger put it on a
popular Apple fan site. He went on to say:
None of the non-AT&T built-in iPhone features are affected by this hack. You can still use WiFi. You can still use your camera. You can still write notes and use your calendar. Phone-wise, you can place phone calls and send and receive SMS. If your data plan supports EDGE, you can use it to connect to the Internet.
The hack has stormed across tech forums for a simple reason: One of the main drawbacks to buying an iPhone is signing an exclusive two-year contract with AT&T. Even
U.S. Congress has attacked the AT&T contract, claiming provider exclusivity and the $175 US termination fee causes "unquestionably [diminishing] consumer choice."
As much as the hack seeks to open the iPhone to more choice, it doesn’t come cheap. According to the Apple fan site, you still have to buy a Cingular prepaid card. Data charges range from $2 to $10 US per MB. And there’s a couple downsides: the YouTube app doesn’t work when you’re out of Wi-Fi range, and visual voicemail isn’t functional.
A Wired blog post also notes the hack isn’t for amateurs:
You'll need some knowledge of the command line and also how to replace files on the iPhone.
The implications of this iPhone tweak are enormous. When the most hyped product of the year can already be freed from its carriers expensive contract, the public will take notice. After all, in a year where
HD-DVD codes are released, isn’t an iPhone hack practically expected?
Always on the lookout for tools to make gadgets more accessible, the altruistic hackers out there simply want to play with their new toys. Sometimes, it’s as simple as that. Then again, it will be interesting to see how Apple reacts to the iASign tool. Will the company freak out and start summoning their lawyers? Or will Apple turn a blind eye to a geeky homage to iPhone’s utility?
