Note: It seems that Pwange 2.0.1 does NOT unlock the 3G (removing the network/carrier lock), it only Jailbreaks it. I'm sure the site did not originally state this.

Well, the iPhone Dev Team have done it again. They have released Pwnage 2.0 (it's now actually 2.0.1) which allows you to Jailbreak and Unlock the iPhone 3G. It also works on the 1st Gen iPhone and iPod Touch, but only if they are running the 2.0 firmware (you'd probably just need to use their previous 1.x tool for pre 2.0 firmware devices, but now there isn't any real reason not to upgrade to 2.0). Read more about it here.

Right now, it's not really too much use for 3G owners, as you still have to sign a contract to get the 3G, and then cancel after 30 days and pay an early cancellation fee, plus first months usage, so it is still costing you more than just the phone. However, if another network is offering you better coverage, plans, whatever, then that might offset the additional costs.

Of course, if you want to put third party apps on the iPhone that don't come from the App Store, or do other things with the iPhone then this is your route to doing that.

 

I expect quite a few will get 'lost' in the next few weeks and very handy for using foreign sims.

 

I've done a quick google and it seems that the UK doesn't have an early cancellation fee as such. This thread seems to indicate that you'd need to pay the remainder of your contract, so the monthly fee multipled by the number of months. So if it were £30 a month you'd be looking at £540 for 18 months.

It's probably best to contact O2 and find out for sure though. I'd ask if there is a difference if the phone is lost or stolen vs you wishing to cancel the contract, it might be a lower fee if the phone is lost or stolen.

** edit **
I found this on the iPhone section of the O2 site. The "O2 TARIFFS FOR IPHONE TERMS (Feb 2008)" Item 2 states:

"If you end your contract during the 18 month minimum term, you will be required to pay the applicable monthly charge for your tariff until the end of the minimum term."

Item 4 is also interesting (Caps is their doing, not mine):

"IPHONE IS RESTRICTED TO USE ON THE O2 NETWORK IN THE UK. TO CONTINUE TO USE ALL THE FUNCTIONS OF YOUR IPHONE YOU MUST REMAIN CONNECTED TO YOUR IPHONE TARIFF. IF YOU CANCEL YOUR IPHONE TARIFF ONLY THE IPOD FUNCTION ON YOUR IPHONE WILL WORK. IF YOU ATTEMPT TO UNLOCK YOUR IPHONE AND USE ON ANOTHER NETWORK, IT MAY BECOME PERMANENTLY UNUSABLE. MAKING UNAUTHORISED MODIFICATIONS TO THE SOFTWARE ON YOUR IPHONE VIOLATES THE SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT, AND ANY RESULTING INABILITY TO USE YOUR IPHONE WILL NOT BE COVERED UNDER YOUR IPHONE'S WARRANTY."

 

whats restricted in the itouch? why do u need to Pwn it?

 

The only reason I can think of to jailbreak the Touch is to allow you to add third party applications to it, as otherwise you are restricted to the apps from the AppStore.

At some point someone is going to write an app that Apple will not allow on the AppStore, for example a voice app that uses the data connection (not sure that is possible though, as the telephony API is private and thus not given to developers) thus meaning "free" calls, or some other feature/function that Apple does not wish to endorse for whatever reason.

When this time comes, the only way you would be able to get that app onto the device is to jailbreak it.