Danny Gorog03 September 2007, 11:01 AM
After two long weeks back in Australia with my WiFi only iPhone I'm pleased to say I've finally got it working on an Australian GSM network.
After two long weeks back in Australia with my WiFi only iPhone I'm pleased to say I've finally got it working on an Australian GSM network. And it works perfectly (albeit with no visual voicemail - but I'll survive).
There are now no fewer than four different ways to unlock the iPhone, and it seems more are being released each day. Software solutions are just around the corner, however I chose to go theTurboSIM method, as I felt a hardware based unlock was more update-resistant than the software solutions. This is a hunch, and I'm comfortable if I'm proved wrong -- the TurboSIM still works for me!
The hardest part about getting the iPhone to work wasn't actually programming the TurboSIM or jailbreaking the phone. It was actually getting my hands on a TurboSIM. I wrote to Alex Voevodin from Votech, the exclusive supplier of the TurboSIM in Australia who kindly sent me one to trial.
While I was waiting for the TurboSIM to arrive, I spoke to Alex and he gave me some interesting insights in to the demand for the TurboSIM, and as a proxy, demand for unlocked iPhones.
 Horrible moire effect: but if you look closely you'll see my carrier is Optus. No AT&T here baby. |
Votech has been selling TurboSIM's for over three years, and in that time they would sell a handful each week, Alex's rough estimation was 200-300 hundred per year. The orders would trickle in from users around the world interested in taking advantage of theTurboSIM to do things like send encrypted SMS's and Kill SMS's (that allows you to define a special “Killing SMS” that blocks or resets the mobile phone in the event that it is lost or stolen). This was completely manageable for Votech, a company that specialises in hardware and software interfacing solutions.
Suddenly, news broke that the TurboSIM was capable of unlocking the iPhone and things started to get busy for Votech. Within five days of the discovery both Votech and Bladox were completely sold out, and Alex had orders for over 1500 units from around the world, with a constant barrage of emails and phone calls asking when the product would ship.Votech had no choice but to close their store.
After Votech closed the store Alex set up a newsletter for people still interested. At last count there were more than 4000 people on the list, waiting for aTurboSIM to unlock their iPhone. Traffic to Votechs website has also spiked dramatically, from an average of 500 visitors per month in July to 12000 in August. And the demand hasn't slowed yet either.
 You have three new messages: I've never been so happy to hear the Optus voicemail woman's voice before. |
With AT&T threating legal action on those attempting to sell a software unlock for iPhone demand for the TurboSIM doesn't look likely to abate in the near-term. However, a software crack (probably free) will inevitably slow down demand for theTurboSIM. Even so, my hunch is that the TurboSIM hack may be more resitant to firmware updates from Apple, and is therefore a better long term solution.
It's also worth considering that when the iPhone gets a worldwide launch and consumers from any country can buy one 'officially' the demand for these hacks may abate, until then, this episode goes to show that global iPhone demand remains strong and reinforces the notion that Apple will indeed sell 10 million iPhones next calendar year, as predicted.