Even well before it was officially released, the Apple iPhone was raising controversy and expectations worldwide. But now that the iPhone has been readily available for some time, the euphoria surrounding its release has died down somewhat.

But really, what else could Apple expect? The public relations Blitzkrieg that introduced the iPhone to the world was unprecedented in the world of cell phone technology. In fact, expectations ran so high before the launch of the iPhone, that there was really only one way for the iPhone to go — down.

To say that the initial iPhone hype has “settled down” would be the understatement of the year. And while overall, the iPhone has received positive reviews, there is little doubt that Apple’s breakthrough cell phone hasn’t resulted in the kind of sales Apple would have liked, and it certainly hasn’t been the competition-killer that many in the cell phone industry feared it would be.

One of the chief complaints about the new iPhone is not about the phone itself, but in Apple’s choice of a cellular network partner: AT&T. Critics have charged that the iPhone’s Internet capability is something of a letdown, and that Apple could have chosen to use a faster mobile Internet network provider.

Sprint, for example, has a much faster mobile Internet network than AT&T. And when you think about it, it’s odd that Apple would not insist upon a fast Internet connection for the iPhone. After all, Apple is a computer and Internet company. Doesn’t it make sense that Apple’s breakthrough cell phone should use only the best Internet technology?

Using AT&T as the network provider for the iPhone has prompted many consumers to seek out an unlocked version of the iPhone that can be used on the network of their choice. Predictably, computer hackers have already unlocked the iPhone, prompting Apple to issue a new firmware update for the phone which is designed to disable unlocked versions.

But Apple’s mistake was to label this newest update the “bricked iPhone,” a term that sounds like a challenge to any self-respecting hacker, and has prompted a whole new wave of iPhone unlocking codes to appear on the Internet over the past week. Basically, Apple seems to be entering into a game of one-upmanship with the hackers, a position they surely do not wish to be in.

The fact is, any security code that can be engineered by an Apple programmer, can also be reverse engineered by hacker. And because the worldwide hacking community tends to stick together, Apple can count on a massive and organized effort to defeat its efforts to lock the iPhone to any one network — particularly AT&T.

Related Internet Directory Categories:

• Security and Encryption
• MacOS
• Consumer Goods and Services

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