Locked IPhones
I’d heard stories of IPhones be locked and turned into “bricks”, usually after downloading an operating system upgrade on an iPhone running software not approved by Apple. Bricking is a derogotory term for an IPhone that has locked up or frozen up. Lots of reporting was devoted to this subject in the months after the IPhone’s release in 2007.
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Before the IPhone, I used a Motorola Rokker on a plan from Cingular. I was okay with Cingular (and liked the Rokker) but wondered if AT&T’s “buy out” of Cingular would change some things (like service). After a month or two, the level of service had not changed, so I decided to stick with AT&T and with the Rokker through 2006 and 2007. The Rokker used ITunes and I collected lots of ITune downloads. I collected so many ITunes downloads that my next phone would need to be ITune compatible to avoid losing the investement. Eventually, the Rokker died due to unnatural causes; e.g. a bad recharger connector (how lame). However, by this time, Apple had reduced the price of an IPhone so it became the best choice for a replacement mobile phone. I bought an IPhone and stayed with AT&T and was careful not to modify anything because I didn’t want to be “bricked”.
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I don’t have much first hand experience with bricking or locking but did find these links:
See iPhone 1.1.1 Harder to Hack? for more on measures being used by Apple to prevent hacking of the IPhone and IPod Touch.
