iPhone envy....hands up for those of you that don't have access to the AT&T network?

When I was in the US a month ago my American colleagues that had gotten their iPhones were excited to show the rest of us what we were missing out on.

If you don't know by now.....no the iPhone is not available to the rest of the world....and yes at the time I had severe iPhone envy.

My colleagues told me that they heard that some Aussies (go Aussie) had figured out how to crack the iPhone so they were able to go through the registration process even though they didn't have an American address.....BUT they weren't able to use it as a mobile phone (no AT&T hook-up) only as a small mobile PDA.

I was listening to several of the stories that my colleagues told of how they got their phone and then the hassle they went through to register it and get a mobile plan. It seems at the time some of my colleagues were registering only the most expensive plans were available (I think it was over 70.00 US a month). What happened to the $19.99 plans that were advertised? Sounds like the airline seat sales...."sorry we only have 1 1/2 seats available at that price and they were gone before this ad hit the web.., but we do have these seats available for 500.00 more"....

The week I was in San Francisco, the San Francisco Apple Store was sold out of their iPhones by 9am everyday.

Exploring the Apple store was interesting as they were giving workshops upstairs on how to operate your iPhone. There was a handful of people all taking notes (by pen and paper I might add) while what looked like a 20 something young man with a cap turned sideways on his head took his middle-aged audience through the wows of the iPhone they just bought on a huge wall sized projection screen. Quite entertaining.

By the end of the week I was pretty much over my iPhone envy after hearing all of the bugs and hassles that people were having. Now don't get me wrong....everyone I talked to (regardless of the hassles they had) absolutely adored their iPhone.

The darkside of the iPhone.....

The folks at APC reported there are several websites that have popped up on the web that are dedicated to "hacking the iPhone" so all may experience the iPhone joy. Hack the iPhone and the Hackintosh forum.

The one that probably has had the most press is a 17 year old named George Hotz of New Jersey. Macworld posted the story about this young man who calls himself "geohot." He has posted on his blog the 10 steps that is required to "unlock" your iPhone and how to hook it into another mobile carrier.

Here is his 15 minutes of fame.....

Quite an entrepreneur....digital style! He is auctioning this iPhone on eBay !


Now before you laugh....the first bid came in at $600 US on Aug 23 at 17:40:56 PDT.....as of Aug 24 at 11:43:53 PDT...the bid is at $2,999.00 US! Now who's laughing? The auction is over on August 30th (PT) and I will be interested to see what price this phone goes at.

Interesting....

This young man is not selling the iPhone as a phone...he is selling it as a piece of history - as the "Worlds 2nd Unlocked iPhone." And of course the phone is signed by geohot himself!

I always have people asking me why I am so intrigued with technology......I respond.....who wouldn't be. It is a live soap opera everyday!

Just ask poor Beyonce who had a wardrobe malfunction recently on stage in front of thousands at a concert in Canada. Quick mobile phone users captured the incident and it was quickly posted on the web direct from the concert. Hmmm wonder if any of them used their iPhone?

Classroom.......

Ethics and technology this is always an interesting topic for discussion in the classroom....there is so much to choose from!