Having a network locked device can really hamper how you use it, especially if the network isn’t of your choice. While most of the times, the operator in question would let you unlock your device for a small fee, not everyone might be that lucky. Imagine a scenario where you’re travelling abroad and want to use another network’s SIM card, only to discover that you cannot thanks to a carrier lock. Unlocking can really save you from quite a few hassles and tight spots.
One of the perceived downsides of the smartphone industry is the monopolization of devices through carrier locking. At point of sale and when you sign up to a contract with a carrier, it's understandable, but thereafter, getting a handset unlocked can be a trying, if not impossible process. If you want to check whether your device is unlocked for use on any network, a nifty online service completely has your back, and not only is the website incredibly easy to use, but if you're on Android, there's also an app available to download over at the Google Play Store. More details after the break.
One of the biggest hindrances with buying a top-of-the-line smartphone, is the premium price that you have to pay for it. There are usually two ways of how high-end phones are sold; either you pay the full price to the manufacturer and get an unlocked device, whereby getting the freedom to go with whatever network fancies you. Or, you may opt to buy the phone through a wireless carrier, where you pay a much subsidized rate for a big trade-off: getting stuck with that carrier for the term of your contract. In the latter case, the carrier pays the full price to the manufacturer but sells you the device at a much lower rate, and in turn, locks down the smartphone to their network, so you cannot use a SIM card from another network just like that. That’s a generally agreeable rule for most users.
Apple's iPhone 5 launch has to be considered a great success, despite initial launch sales figures falling somewhat short of expectation. The Cupertino company's ability to sell the device was naturally hindered by yield constraints, and with Foxconn struggling to churn out the numbers required by Apple, Tim Cook's company had to place limitations on how many unlocked devices individual customers could grab at any one time.
There are plenty of dev-teams and individual enthusiasts spending the majority of their time looking for new loopholes and gaps missed by Apple's security team, and as well as often highlighting potential threats to users, the work is also done for the purpose of jailbreaking and unlocking.
The 4.3” One S is HTC’s mid-end offering of their One series of smartphones. It hasn’t been as favorably reviewed as its stellar bigger 4.7” brother because of its Pentile display compared to the Super LCD display on the One X. Still, those who looked past the display got in for a very nice experience. The One S offers fast performance, the next-to-latest version of Android and reasonably good battery life.
The cat and mouse game between Apple's security team and the many hackers of the jailbreak scene is never more obvious when a new iteration of iOS is released. Only hours ago did the fruit company seed iOS 5.1.1 to the end-user, and already the various dev teams are bringing updates to their respective unlock and JB utilities.
With Apple pushing out the latest version of iOS, taking the current release to 5.1.1, users are once again split right down the middle, thinking whether or not they should update to the latest firmware. On one side of the fence are the everyday users who use their iPhone without any modifications, but on the other side are the jailbreakers and unlockers who are always understandably hesitant when the update notifications come through.
Apple has reacted quickly to rectify the issue with their activation servers that allowed iPhone owners to unlock their devices, anyone who didn't get involved when the process was first announced will unfortunately be left with an iPhone restricted to a single carrier. However, if you are one of the enterprising few who jumped into action right away, then read on to see just what you can do with those saved activation tickets.
The phrase "the early bird catches the worm" rings true frequently in various areas of the tech spectrum, and since Apple has begun stepping up the security of its activation servers, it is important to remind you all to backup your unlock activation tickets before it is too late.
