iPHONE TURNS TO iBRICK AFTER SOFTWARE UPDATE

From The New York Times:

Since the iPhone hit the market in June, tech-savvy owners of the phone have been busy messing with its insides, figuring out how to add unauthorized software and even “unlock” it for use on networks other than AT&T’s.

But the Web was filled Friday with complaints from people who had installed the latest iPhone software update, only to see all the fun little programs they had been adding to their iPhones disappear — or, still worse, see their phones freeze up entirely.

Since Monday, Apple officials have been warning iPhone owners that using unlocking software could cause the phone to become “permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed.” But in many cases those warnings went unheeded.

People who had unlocked their phones to use them with another carrier ran the greatest risk of, in techie terms, having them “bricked” — rendered about as useful as a brick. Most of those who committed the lesser transgression of installing programs not authorized by Apple simply had those programs wiped out.

People have created dozens of programs for the iPhone, ranging from the useless but entertaining (a virtual popcorn popper) to the decidedly practical (a screen-shot capture program).

But for anyone who upgrades the iPhone’s system software, a routine process that adds Apple’s latest fixes and improvements, those programs can no longer be used. The update has made the iPhone “almost impervious to any third-party hacks,” said Erica Sadun, a technical writer in Denver who has created more than a dozen programs for the iPhone, including the screen-shot program and a popular voice recorder.

Jennifer Bowcock, an Apple spokeswoman, said that when people went to update their software with their computer through iTunes, a warning appeared on the computer screen, making it clear that any unauthorized modifications to the iPhone software violated the agreement that people entered into when they bought the phone. “The inability to use your phone after making unauthorized modifications isn’t covered under the iPhone warranty” Ms. Bowcock said.