AT&T's Easter Present - Free iPhone Unlocking

Great news for AT&T customers wanting to unlock their iPhones.  Starting today, the company will give you a free IMEI unlock code straight from Apple.  This will work regardless of baseband, with no Jailbreak or SIM adapter required.

But there's one big catch to qualify - you have to be a current AT&T customer with a completed contract.  For example, you originally bought an iPhone 3GS in 2009 and upgraded to the 4 or 4S on your own without renewing your contract.


The move makes business sense for AT&T.  With the 5-year deal signed with Apple expiring soon, the company is looking to differentiate itself from competitors.  Even though Verizon and Sprint carry the iPhone 4S, both still lock it to their network and charge roaming fees when travelling abroad.  Additionally, the iPhone does not support T-Mobile's 3G network, making it unlikely that unlocked customers will leave for that competitor.

New iPad - is it worth it?

The New iPad is on the market, and as expected it offers 2X the resolution of the iPad 2, along with faster CPU, more memory, better camera, and optional 4G LTE support (subscription from AT&T or Verizon required).  Here's a comparison of iPad models:

	iPad	iPad 2	New iPad (iPad 3)
CPU	A4, 1 GHz	Dual-Core A5, 1 GHz	Dual-Core A5X
GPU			Quad-Core
RAM	256 MB	512 MB	1 GB
Display	1024 x 768, 132 ppi	1024 x 768, 132 ppi	2048 x 1536, 264 ppi
Camera	None	0.7 MP, 720p	5 MP + flash, 1080p
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 2.1	Bluetooth 2.1	Bluetooth 4.0
Cell Network	3G	3G	3G + 4G LTE
Battery Life	10 hrs	10 hrs	10 hrs
Weight	1.5 lbs	1.3 lbs	1.4 lbs

Pricing for the New iPad starts at $499 US for the 16 GB WiFi model while the iPad 2 will drop to $399 for the same The original iPads can be found on eBay for roughly $250 US.

Given the price difference, it seems like going with the new iPad will be worth it, even if you don't need all the features.  Thus, it's no surprise they are selling well thus far. Additionally, this blog claims the new iPad will be less straining on eyes, making it a better choice for book reading than Amazon's kindle. On the downside, there's already reports of the new iPad being prone to heating issues

Let's talk '4G' on the iPhone 4S

The 5.1 software update has added something interesting on the iPhone 4S.  This is the '4G' indicator, which indicates AT&T HSPA+ service.  There's 3 requirements for the '4G' indicator to be active:

1. 1. Must have iPhone 4S
   2. Must be running software 5.1 or higher 
   3. Must have AT&T as carrier

What is HSPA+ you ask?  It's a newer data protocol that offers 14.4 Mb/s download, so roughly 2-3 times faster than 3G.  All iPhone 4S models support HSPA+ regardless of software version or carrier.  The '4G' text is just a cosmetic indicator and does not activate any new features.

The large misconception is the '4G' indicates LTE service.  None of the currently iPhone models support LTE.  If you want an iPhone with LTE support, wait until later this year when the new model is released!

'Patch' that unlocks baseband 4.11.08 is actually a virus

I came across this YouTube video showing an iPhone running baseband 4.11.08 being "unlocked".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJaxIiYKaa8&feature=related

The author claims that by running a patch to RedSn0w, it does a special jailbreak that automatically unlocks IOS 5.0.1 devices with 4.11.08 basebands.  No mention of UltraSn0w or Gevey Sim.

If this sounds too good to be true, it is.  Here's 3 reasons why

1. RedSn0w does not unlock phones, so patching it would be useless.  RedSn0w only jailbreaks.
2. The patch file does not change the size of modification times of the RedSn0w binary.   
3. The iPhone in the video is model MD128TU.  This particular model is not Sim-locked.

Not surprisingly, 'patch.exe' is a trojan horse and running it will infect your computer.

When I see a proven unlock of an locked iPhone 4 (i.e. model MC319LL) with a 4.11.08 baseband, I'll test it personally and post it here.