German iPhones Unlocked via iTunes

By Nick Mokey Published November 25, 2007

German iPhones Unlocked via iTunes — Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you were wondering just how Apple would provide the unlocked iPhones necessitated by a recent German lawsuit, the answer ends up being surprisingly simple: through iTunes. Rather than stocking unlocked iPhones alongside locked models in retail locations, Apple provides a simple do-it-yourself maneuver for unlocking an iPhone when a customer is willing to pay the 600 euro ($885 USD) premium for one.

According to MacRumors.com, Apple stores that sell the unlocked phones keep track of the IMEI numbers on them, a sort of unique identifier for mobile phones. Apple maintains a database of phone IMEIs that were purchase unlocked, and when a customer with a phone in the database logs into iTunes with an Internet connection, his or her phone is automatically unlocked.

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No word yet on whether this official unlock process will open any new doors for hackers, although projects like those from the iPhone Dev Team and for-profit companies seem to already have the ground covered, if not by the same simple means.

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As Digital Trends’ Editor in Chief, Nick Mokey oversees an editorial team covering every gadget under the sun, along with…

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