How do the French unlock their iPhone’s? They make a law and Apple unlock them. It seems that part of the deal that comes with Orange selling iPhone’s in France, are that the devices have to be unlocked because of the rule that prevents carriers from tying handsets exclusively to their networks. Orange will now sell an unlocked iPhone in France, along side a locked on for €399 (not for the unlocked iPhone). It isn’t as cute as a 13 year old breaking it, but it is a hell of a lot cleaner.

For more info, click over to The Register Website.

By now I’m sure you have all read all the iPhone news thats come out. It isn’t even the latest device anymore with the whole new iPod lineup (for another whinge). You have heard that it can be hacked, unlocked and a slew of other unpleasant things (for Apple that is). The thing is I didn’t get a chance to bag it!
What can I say about the iPhone? Well I am from Australia, so no official release here as yet (apparently some time in 2008). I didn’t order an unlocked one online. It just doesn’t excite me at all, mainly because I have a device that can do more and is a year older then the iPhone.
I can’t bad mouth the iPhone. Apple have been genius with this device, selling over a million pieces in under 75 days. They aren’t a cheap disposable device that is the end all of mobile use and even have less features then some current mobile phones (such as 3G derr). The big selling part of the iPhone is how Apple have packaged it. From even outside the box it is a sexy looking device. The difference between the iPhone and anyone else who make smartphones (such as HTC) is arrange all the parts slightly differently.
Lets make a little more sense out of this. The device features a 3.5-inch display which acts as a touch screen (human touch, not a stylus), 2 megapixel camera, wireless B/G, Edge support for data (around 230kbit/s), bluetooth 2.x+EDR and 4-8GB flash memory. There are a couple of unique components which are probably overlooked by most people, and they are the proximity sensor, ambient light sensor and 3-axis accelerometer, which all help with the user experience and to save battery life.
Everything but those last 3 features have been on smartphones for the last few years (the memory could have been added via slot). Strip away those 3 features and you have a product Apple could have released years ago. The difference though is the OS, the operating system and user interface that Apple always seem to get on the head.
Every mobile company has something to learn from all this. If you can make a user interface that people can actually use, especially one handed or in awkward situations, then you will have a winner.
Microsoft and Symbian  have had the supreme smartphone OS for many years now, and have released some great devices. Still I have to say that their OS’s are lacking in many areas. Simply try and write a SMS with fat fingers on any of there devices, and where is the support for the extra cool little things that Apple have included, such as the proximity sensor, ambient light sensor and 3-axis accelerometer?
The iPhone OS isn’t without its faults though. It doesn’t have a true SDK (software development kit), meaning making any meaty applications aren’t going to happen. It requires iTunes to sync with a PC. It also costs you a bit of cash to buy ringtones, which most companies give you the ability to add yourself for free.
To finish I have to say that I am a little underwhelmed in whole by this device. It can do a lot of things, but not much more then a lot of devices before it. It is only a small step forward for what a mobile device is capable of, but if you are going to see a company make the next move, you can be very sure it will be Apple.

For more info, tap on over to the Wikipedia iPhone Page.