unlock

Sony Ericsson Aino gets official

Just a few months after it was first announced, Sony Ericsson has officially launched the Aino in the U.S.

This unlocked GSM beauty boasts a crisp, 3-inch, 432x240, touch-screen display, plus a slide-out keypad, a 8.1-megapixel camera, compatibility with the PlayStation 3 console (plus support for Remote Play, Media Home, and Media Go features), tri-band HSPA, and even Wi-Fi.

It will cost you $600 upfront, but Sony Ericsson is throwing in a pair of stereo Bluetooth headphones, a charging base, and an 8GB microSD memory card to sweeten the deal. The Aino is currently available in Sony stores … Read more

iPhone Dev-Team releases PwanageTool 3.1.4

The iPhone Dev-Team has released PwnageTool 3.1.4, an update to its Mac hacking utility for iPhones and iPods. The group also confirms rumors that Apple may be finding ways to block future jailbreaks.

This version of the PwnageTool was created to specifically unlock iPhone OS 3.1.2, but all generations of the iPhone are supported by this release as well as the first and second generations of the iPod Touch. (Second-generation devices must have already been jailbroken for this application to work.) Unfortunately, third-generation iPod Touch users are completely left out--no jailbreak for you with this utility.… Read more

The 411: Activating unlocked phones

Welcome to the 411, my Q&A column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have the same questions, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I'm stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at nicole.lee@cnet.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know in the e-mail.

I really don't like having to sign any cell phone contract. If I buy an unlocked GSM phone, can I just pop in a SIM card and it'll work automatically?--Siri, via e-mail

Technically, yes, but it depends on the phone. If you really want to ensure that you can use the phone anywhere in the world, you should make sure it is a quad-band phone that is compatible with all four GSM bands (850, 900, 1,800, and 1,900MHz). Also note that even though you can make calls with it, most phones require you to activate a data or messaging plan with your carrier before you can use features such as MMS or e-mail. Kent German, a CNET senior editor, recently posted a quick how-to on activating MMS on unlocked phones, and you can ask your carrier if your phone requires more detailed settings. For the BlackBerry, for example, you need to know the APN or Access Point Name for your particular carrier to access the Internet. Here is a handy guide on how to enable full Internet access on the BlackBerry along with APNs of some of the more popular cellular providers. If our readers have any more tips on other platforms, please let tell us in the comments.… Read more

Need That Latest HomeBrew App? Drag N Drop Or On Pre?

Many know that the process for getting homebrewed applications and games on their devices was not the easiest and consisted of either rooting your device (not beginner friendly)or by using the SDK back door method that I blogged about a couple days back. Now for those that don't want to do those methods there are two new ways, you can now either drag and drop or install straight from your device. Each way will need the SDK installed initially but will make the process smoother and quicker for future downloads. I cannot give enough credit and praise to Jason Robitaille and Brian Jost for all their hard work in this process. I have tested both methods and both work without troubles. For those users that have a X64 bit system or a vista machine there is a workaround for the process of getting the files to work in my previous blog from this one. I take no credit for these apps and wanted to share the ease of use with everyone and get the work out. This could be huge and I'm excited about this in many ways, not only will i be able to download and install applications and games on the go but this could also turn into an alternative app store for the Palm Pre right through Palmcentral.net. Without further ado here is the information and the tutorial on how to do so.… Read more

Unlocking the unlocked cell phone market

Nokia and Sony Ericsson are targeting the U.S. with a new set of unlocked phones. But without hefty carrier subsidies, will they ever be able to crack the U.S. market?

There's no question that when it comes to features, Nokia and Sony Ericsson's new U.S.-ready phones can easily compete against the hottest new phones on the market.

Nokia's N97, a touch-screen phone that supports both 3G and Wi-Fi, has a 5-megapixel camera and 32GB of memory. It's a clear competitor to the new Apple iPhone 3G S and the Palm Pre.

The … Read more

Dev Team shows iPhone 3G carrier unlock, release scheduled for Friday

Apple is set to release their newest iPhone firmware (version 3.0) at any moment and the geniuses at the Dev-Team have an iPhone 3G unlock ready to go.

The iPhone Dev Team blog has a video of the ultrasn0w demo running on the iPhone 3.0 software. The yellowsn0w carrier unlock will be demoed as well when Apple officially releases the 3.0 OS. The PwnageTool and QuickPwn tools continue to jailbreak all of the Dev Team's tested devices running the 3.0 OS on iTunes 8.2.

The Dev-Team does not know if the new iPhone 3G … Read more

Getting the iPhone 3G Unlock to Work

A few days ago, the unofficial iPhone Dev Team released an unlock for the iPhone 3G dubbed "yellowsn0w." The team subsequently released a 0.9.5 beta of the unlock app, which fixes several bugs in the initial iteration. However, many users are still experiencing issues, as noted in this initial report.

Solutions for problems related to or caused by the update are beginning to materialize. A poster named "IphoneEntusiast" has published a step-by-step process for using yellowsn0w, from jailbreak through unlock. His process involves verifying that the Carrier field displays (null)(null) after QuickPwn is … Read more

Why unlocking the iPhone is a waste of time

Gadget blogs were going crazy Thursday over a new application called Yellowsn0w that helps iPhone 3G owners unlock their device. The app is still in beta and, according to both Crunchgear and Gizmodo, neither one was able to get it to work properly.

I'm not quite sure why anyone cares. Sure, it's nice to say you unlocked a device that's not meant to be unlocked, but it just made so much more sense to me last year when the iPhone didn't have native apps. Today, browsing is faster thanks to 3G, more capable thanks to additional business features, and more useful thanks to the App Store. What possible reason would people have to unlock it now?

AT&T, right? I don't buy the logic. I'm not going to say AT&T is a great carrier--it isn't--but given the option of switching to T-Mobile, a carrier that offers even less service across the country or staying put, I don't see the logic in unlocking the iPhone and changing carriers. After all, if you were really unhappy with AT&T in the first place, why buy the iPhone?… Read more

iPhone 3G Unlock Video Demo Posted

The iPhone dev team has released a video demonstration of the iPhone 3G unlock, which is due to be released on December 31, 2008.

The video is embedded below, but can also be seen on the iPhone dev team blog. It shows an AT&T SIM-locked iPhone 3G being unlocked, then successfully accepting a T-Mobile SIM card and receiving a call.

The unlock process looks pretty simple, requiring only a script to be run from a connected computer (a system running Mac OS X in the video). "MuscleNerd," who posted the video, claims that a daemon will … Read more