As posted here, the DevTeam, responsible for bringing us the idiot-proof version of the software used to “jailbreak” our iPhones (so that we can install any application on it, not just those deemed worthy by Apple), will be releasing a software unlocking tool for the iPhone 3G, codenamed yellowsn0w, on the 31st December 2008.
A member of the team has put up a video showing the unlocking in action, using the tool. Good news indeed, and this should bring the prices of locked and unlocked iPhone 3Gs closer to each other. Currently, if you buy a locked iPhone, with “locked” defined as operator locked, ie. you can only use the iPhone on the operator’s own network, the only option to use a SIM card from another operator would be through a hardware SIM “proxy” solution which tricks the iPhone into believing that a valid SIM from the “valid” operator has been inserted and thus “unlocks” the iPhone for use. Unfortunately, firmware (ie. phone operating system) upgrades often break SIM proxy solutions, so they are unpredictable at best. With the software unlocking tool, anyone can buy a locked phone, checking first that the firmware already on the iPhone is a supported version, and unlock it using the tool, for free! Nice.
Here’s the video:
