[29.08.2007 first posted on silicon republic]
With the catchphrase “Set your phone free from AT&T”, Belfast based company Uniquephones posted a video on its blog late last night showing how it managed to unlock Apple’s iPhone so it can be used with any mobile network.

The founder of Uniquephones, John McLaughlin, has footage of what appears to be him removing a Vodafone SIM card from his Blackberry and placing it an iPhone at which point he makes a phone call.
However, US telecoms firm AT&T has signed an exclusive contract with Apple to be the sole carrier for the iPhone.
McLaughlin has not, however, released the software as of yet that would enable anyone with an iPhone to use it with a network of their choice.
This decision was made based on a call he received from AT&T’s legal representatives advising him that should he release the code he would be infringing on copyright.
On the iPhoneunlocking.com blog Uniquephones said that “after saying they were phoning on behalf of AT&T, the law firm presented issues such as copyright infringement and illegal software dissemination.
“Uniquephones is taking legal advice to ascertain whether AT&T was sending a warning shot or directly threatening legal action. The logistics of different continents as well as it being a weekend factors into how the situation develops,” he added.
As soon as the iPhone was released for sale in the US, Uniquephones began working on unlocking it from AT&T exclusivity.
On July 2nd the company was offering US$100 to any Mac users with an iPhone in order to monitor the traffic between Apple’s iTunes and the iPhone itself.
While Irish consumers are waiting the arrival of the iPhone with bated breath it is anticipated that the European carriers will be announced at the world’s largest consumer electronics fair, the IFA in Berlin next week.
By Marie Boran