Following on from my Considering an iPhone post I thought that as I have now ‘taken the plunge’ I would document through a series of updates the progress, process and initial thoughts (hopefully) on the iPhone.

In case you haven’t read the above post the background to this is that since the launch of the iPhone in June I have consistently said that I wasn’t interested in one for a few specific reasons:

• The form factor is not something I am keen on for a phone
• With my lifestyle I have no need or desire to access the internet 24/7

I have always admired the design and features of the iPhone, and repeatedly said that if it was an option to buy it as a ‘handset only’ I would be interested.

The introduction of the iPod Touch and the ability to unlock the iPhone have combined to bring me to the point that I am now going to purchase an iPhone from the US, unlock it and use it with my current Movistar SIM card here in Spain.

I am looking at this very much as a iPod/PDA that will allow me to make phone calls. It will be good to access the internet as and when I need to and am around a WiFi hotspot, and on the very rare occasion that I want to access it at other times I can still use the data service. I just have to pay a per minute rate.

Let me put this in context:

• My wife and I currently pay 15€ per month in total for our cell phone bill, and we exceed that with ‘extra’ calls and services maybe twice a year
• We live 10 mins walk from the marina where we do 90% of our socialising, and where there are only 4 or 5 WiFi hotspots
• I spend around 12 hours a day ‘at’ or close to my Macs so when do I go out the ‘last thing’ I am looking for is internet access etc

The current position is that the iPhone is bought and shipping to my ‘partner in crime’ in the US. As they don’t have a cell phone with a SIM card I have bought a AT&T Cingular Go Phone 3G SIM Card Pre-Paid off eBay having been assured that it will work in an unlocked iPhone. I want this so that the unlocked iPhone can be tested. The main concern at the moment is that as the iPhone will be unlocked in an area that doesn’t get AT&T coverage, testing the unlock in practice will depend on a ‘roaming’ connection.

While waiting for the above I am currently concentrating on figuring out which unlock option to go with, and how to go about it.

I have decided to try a free option, so although it is possible to by an iPhone unlocked, or ship your iPhone to be unlocked, or get it unlocked over the internet, or buy unlocking software I am going to avoid those if I can.

I have read a LOT of stuff on how to unlock the iPhone and I am pretty confident of the general process in that I will first have to make sure the phone is on version 1.0.2, Jailbreak the phone, activate the phone, install the application, and then run the application.

My current priorities are:

• Determine what to use to Jailbreak the iPhone – iNdependence or iFuntastic
• Create a installation guide and tool kit that the layman i.e. me can understand

That’s pretty much it for now. I am intrigued more than excited at the moment. I have some apprehension as to whether it will all work out but no real concerns as the way I figure it if it doesn’t work I can return the phone to Apple, unless I brick it in which case I will end up with basically a iPhone Touch, which will be better than the iPod Touch in my opinion anyway.

As ever, comments, questions and suggestions welcome. I will post an update as soon as I have more to say.

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