iPod converted to iPhone

John Chan | Aug 21, 2007

OK, we admit that title is slightly misleading. But think about it, that's what an iPhone is outside of the US--a really expensive iPod. Well, a certain Singaporean owner wasn't too happy with that, and bravely attempted the Turbo SIM hack to unlock his AT&T-activated iPhone. And as you can tell from the image, he didn't end up with an iBrick.

More on what it cost him, the process and a larger picture, after the jump.

The first problem he faced was getting a Turbo SIM. After news broke that it could be used for that purpose, the company had to shut down its online store temporarily because there wasn't enough stock to go around. Fortunately, Mr LOL (he prefers we don't use his real name) managed to sneak in one order before that happened. One Turbo SIM cost him just 59 euros (US$79.50), but he paid a whopping 80 euros (US$107.80) to get it shipped by the fastest way possible to Singapore.

SingTel iPhone

According to him, everything works as it should except for Visual Voicemail, an AT&T exclusive. Data connections worked fine after keying in his GPRS settings, and even YouTube remained fully functional.

It took him a whole sleepless night to finish the task, but he says the next time it will be easier. Yes, he needs to unlock more iPhones for others, too. So there we have it, conclusive proof that the Turbo SIM will at least work with SingTel SIM cards, so we won't be surprised that some enterprising locals are already calling friends in the US to grab one of those discounted refurbished iPhones for use in Singapore. If you are in Malaysia and have successfully done what Mr LOL did, especially if you got it working with the EDGE networks there, let us know.

As much as we admire the heroics displayed by Mr LOL, we are not saying that you go do it too. So don't come back and blame us if your own iPhone becomes your most expensive paperweight.

Filed under: Mobile Phones
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low6375

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low6375 says...
oh man... sooooo cooool~~.. i wish i could have one...

Aug 22, 2007 01:04

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pie

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pie says...
this is definitely an act of yet another Apple/Steve Jobs worshipper. Who's in a solid state of mind would pay that extra amount for a phone that has weak 3rd party apps and security flaws?

Aug 22, 2007 10:33

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Pointdexler

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Pointdexler says...
Rich man's son

Aug 22, 2007 15:54

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cheewee

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cheewee says...
Give me a Windows Mobile phone any day! The iPhone costs so much and doesn't even support 3G. And no keyboard is a big no no for me.

Aug 22, 2007 10:40

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xtrememorph

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xtrememorph says...
hmm GPS functions?

Aug 23, 2007 11:01

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vin8tan

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vin8tan says...
WM6?? Windows can't figure out their desktop counter part OS after 20 years, what make you think they can get WM steady for just a mere 6 versions, OSX on the other hand is a huge success. The most successful OS upgrade/change in history says it all, who has Vista ? but everyone (that has a mac) has OS. X and all windows users can only dream about it.

3G ?? WIFI will do, it's faster, more steady and most importantly, much much cheaper. much!

Security issues ? give me a break, Windows have always been plagued with security problems, not a mac, it's no where near any version of windows, at least not all 114 000 viruses.

Keyboard??? come on screen space is valuable. i'd vote for a larger screen space than a physical keyboard that can't change. can you have a www. button or a .com button on your WM6 device's tiny tiny keys ?

Sep 02, 2007 12:28

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