Jon Lech Johansen, aka “DVD Jon,” says,
I’ve found a way to activate a brand new unactivated iPhone without giving any of your money or personal information to
AT&TNSA. The iPhone does not have phone capability, but the iPod and WiFi work.
Link to post, which includes download for “Phone Activation Server v1.0” (zip archive).
The point of Johansen’s coding exercise, as he explains it, is that there are many potential iPhone purchasers who do not want to enter into a 2-year contract with AT&T, but do want to use the device for WiFi, web, email, video, music, calendar, contact management, and other features — basically, treat it like a bomb-ass iPod, forget about the phone part.
The Unofficial Apple Weblog and other sites have pointed out that it is also possible to activate iPhone using a prepaid plan with AT&T, then cancel the plan: Link.
UPDATE: In related news, the Washington Post reports that…
Deutsche Telekom’s (DTEGn.DE) mobile phone unit T-Mobile clinched a deal to bring Apple Inc’s iPhone handset to Germany, according to a report in a German daily.
Without citing sources Rheinische Post said in a preview of a story to be published on Wednesday that T-Mobile is expected to sell the iPhone exclusively with a T-Mobile contract for around 450 euros ($612) starting Nov 1.
Link (thanks, KN!)
Previous iPhone-themed posts on BB: Link.