:: Deepquest ::

A British firm’s plan to sell software that could open the iPhone to non-US networks has been put on hold following legal threats.
Last week, Belfast-based UniquePhones joined several others in claiming it had cracked the code which locked iPhone into AT&T’s network.

But a middle-of-the-night phone call from AT&T’s lawyers has forced the firm to rethink its plans.

It will now take legal advice to assess the ramifications, the firm said.

According to UniquePhones, it received a 3am call from a lawyer claiming to represent AT&T and warning it that selling unlocking software could constitute copyright infringement and illegal software dissemination.

“A substantial delay caused by any legal action would render the unlocking software a less valuable commodity as well as creating unforeseen security issues for the company,” UniquePhones said in a statement.

Interest in the iPhone, Apple’s first foray into the mobile world, has been intense since it was launched in the US in June.

On Friday it was reported that a 17-year-old US hacker had unlocked the iPhone and used it on rival T-Mobile’s network.

George Hotz said that the method he used took two hours and involved both tinkering with the software and some soldering.

A website called iPhonesSimFree also claimed to have cracked the code with a software solution that it would begin selling imminently.

more from [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6966600.stm]BBC[/url]