Asus recently confirmed on Twitter that an official tool for unlocking the bootloader on the Transformer Prime will be made available in February. The company didn’t give an exact date for when the tool would be released, but the good news is Transformer Prime owners have just a few weeks to wait until they can unlock the bootloader on the quad-core tablet. Asus originally promised that the tool would be made available after upset customers lashed out in January. An unlocked bootloader allows Android users to install custom ROMs and kernels, but it does come with several consequences. As we noted earlier this year, unlocking the bootloader will void Asus’s warranty and some services, such as Google’s video rental application, will not work properly. 

[Via Pocketnow]

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We have just been informed that as of February 15th, Telus in Canada will be offering SIM unlocking options on almost all handsets and devices. To qualify, you will need to be an active post-paid customer with an account that has been open for a minimum of 90 days. Telus will charge $50 for the unlock code and will unlock both iDEN and GSM devices. Not a bad offering, right?

In an effort to thwart unauthorized efforts to unlock or jailbreak devices running Windows Phone 7, Microsoft took a rather unorthodox approach. Rather than sending idle threats or immediately entering into the endless loop of plugging security holes and watching new ones emerge, the company extended an olive branch to the developers behind ChevronWP7. Microsoft’s Brandon Watson reached out to the ChevronWP7 team, which recently released a Windows Phone 7 unlocking tool, and opened a line of discussion about homebrew app development. As a sign of good faith during the conversations, which could ultimately lead to some kind of homebrew support from Microsoft, ChevronWP7 has agreed to pull its unlocker tool. It seems odd that Microsoft would consider helping developers build apps with capabilities not allowed under Microsoft’s developer terms. Then again, the homebrew community will emerge and grow either way. By working with homebrew developers instead of against them, perhaps Microsoft can maintain some level of control.

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Earlier this morning, dev-team member MuscleNerd tweeted that he, and his gang of merry men, have successfully tweaked their ultrasn0w iPhone unlocking tool to working on Apple’s latest mobile iOS iteration, 4.2.1. If you read further down the twitter timeline, it looks like — for the time being — ultrasn0w is only working on iPhone 3G/3GS handsets with a baseband of 05.15.04; the iPhone 4 uses a different baseband and still needs more work. Despite not having a one-stop unlock for all iPhones, the dev-team will release the working version of ultrasn0w for the iPhone 3G/3GS in the very near future — they will not make users of said handset wait until the iPhone 4 exploit is completed. Hit the jump for the two read links.

Read [Twitter] Read [dev-team]

If you have a Windows Phone 7 device and are itching to get some OS tinkering in, listen up. Blog ChevronWP7 has released their first Windows Phone 7 unlocking tool for users running Windows XP SP2 or higher. The unlock will allows for “the sideloading of experimental applications that would otherwise can’t be published to the Marketplace, such as those which access private or native APIs.” The tool itself is a dead-simple executable file that requires three to four clicks to delivery its payload. If you’re interested, hit the read link and let us know how you make out.

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If you recently purchased — or have plans to purchase – a phone in the Samsung Galaxy S line, the folks over a xda-developers have a pretty interesting tutorial up on their forums. The instructions detail how to carrier-unlock your Galaxy S phone (e.g. Captivate, Vibrant, etc.) without the need to pay for a SIM unlocking service. The process is four steps long and looks to be a 4 or 5 out of 10 on the difficulty scale. Hit up the read link if you want to give this one a shot… and do let us know if you have any success. 

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If you have an iPhone 4, and are itching to use it on another network, the Dev-Team has got you covered. Early this morning, MuscleNerd announced that ultrasn0w unlocking software — version 1.0-1 — has been updated to work with the iPhone 4. The newer, more inclusive version of ultrasn0w will work with iPhone 4 baseband 01.59 and iPhone 3GS/3G basebands 04.26.04, 05.11.07, 05.12.01, and 05.13.04. If you’re itching to port your number (and your iPhone 4) to another network, jailbreak your iPhone, add the repo666.ultrasn0w.com repository to Cydia, install ultrasn0w and enjoy!

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Long the champion for Rural wireless carriers, the Rural Cellular Association has again championed the cause of unlocking handsets by pointing to the recent “We’re going SIM-Free” announcement by NTT DoCoMo. The Rural Cellular association took its case to the FCC in a letter that praises NTT DoCoMo’s pro-consumer decision to unlock its handsets and urges the FCC to encourage US-based wireless carriers to take similar steps. The RCA has been pushing this initiative for over two years to no avail; with the FCC a year into its  investigation of carrier exclusivity and its effect on consumer choice in the US, perhaps the time is now for this proposal to fall on some non-deaf ears?

[Via Information Week]

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Kudos to the iPhone dev team as member @Planetbeing has successfully unlocked the iPhone 4. The proof is in the picture above, which shows Bell Canada as the carrier for the iPhone 4, an impossible situation made possible by a successful carrier unlock (as the iPhone 4 has not been released in Canada). Eager iPhone 4 owners looking to duplicate this task themselves will have to wait, as the tools for the unlocking are not yet available for public consumption and most likely won’t be until after Apple releases it impending “antenna fix” update. Stay tuned and we will let you know when the unlocking tools finally drop.

Thanks to all who sent this in!

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The AP reports that a California federal judge has given the go-ahead to a monopoly class action lawsuit, against both Apple and AT&T, over several aspects of the iPhone. The suit claims that Apple, in making AT&T its exclusive partner, drove up prices and stifled competition in the smartphone market. The suit seeks to, “keep Apple from selling locked iPhones in the U.S. and from determining what iPhone programs people can install.” Naturally, the suit also seeks “damages to cover legal fees and other costs.” Apple has yet to release in an official statement in regards to the suit, but did say that it had not hurt competition. Unlocked iPhones and the ability to install applications from third party sources (Cydia!) sound pretty good to us.

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Dev-team member MuscleNerd gave an update — via Twitter — on the carrier unlock progress of the iPhone 4…and so far, things are looking up. The baseband-unlocking code used by the dev-team on the first, second, and third generation iPhones (ultrasn0w) needs to be completely rewritten for the fourth generation model — thanks to a new baseband employed by Apple. MuscleNerd quips:

Next step is to keep the task backgrounded like we did for 3G/3GS http://is.gd/dh7Jh. Backgrounded task is the unlock.

Things are looking up for those iPhone 4 owners who want an unlock. Those of you who use Twitter — and would like to stay up to date on the latest dev-team happenings — go ahead and give @MuscleNerd a follow.

[Via Redmond Pie]

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As if there weren’t already enough reasons to get excited for the arrival of Bell’s HSPA network and the amazing handsets that it will bring with it, one of our Bell connects stepped up to the mound and delivered us this slider of a tip. It seems that Bell is really serious about having its customers love them, because it is going to issue unlock codes for its branded devices. Of course caveats apply, but they’re not all that out of the ordinary: your account must be active for at least one month, only phones purchased from Bell need apply, you won’t be able to ditch your contract, and you will be charged a fee. We’re not exactly clear on what the feel will be, but we’ve heard it might be as high as $250 dollars per handset. Obviously the cost of the official unlock doesn’t even begin to compete with third-party unlockers, but at least it will keep your warranty in tact. And no, we’re awfully sorry, but we’re not 100% sure Bell will unlock your iPhone. Hit the jump for a larger pic.

P.S. Yes, we did notice that it looks like Bell will be carrying an HSPA-flavored Omnia II.

Up until now, most folks have had to resort to using Turbo SIMs or walking into shady back alleys to get their iPhones unlocked. The Dev Team has been hard at work so you can enjoy carrier freedom with your iPhone 3G (not the iPhone 3GS!) and, you know, wander off to T-Mobile (or anywhere GSM is available if you’re a travel junky). As usual, ultrasn0w is made to be easy enough for grandma to use. Just follow the simple few steps that the Dev Team has laid out and you should be good to go! We’ll remind you once more not to do this on the iPhone 3GS — S support is still forthcoming where jailbreaking and unlocking is concerned. Oh and as always, perform these hacks at your own risk.

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The iPhone Dev Team updated its blog to include full instructions on jailbreaking your iPhone OS 3.0 device using redsn0w — the multi-platform, multi-device jailbreaking and unlocking tool. Redsn0w only supports the iPhone 2G (original iPhone), iPhone 3G and the iPod touch (first and second generation) for the time being. The latest iPhone 3G S is not yet supported for jailbreaking or unlocking so don’t try to use it on your brand new phone! Jailbreaking is supported across all devices running OS 3.0, except for the 3G S, and unlocking is only available for the iPhone 2G. 3G owners need to wait for the upcoming ultrasn0w to be released in order to unlock their OS 3.0 devices. Head over to the dev team blog for the appropriate torrent files and instructions.

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PhoneNews is reporting that Verizon Wireless has approved a firmware update for the xv6850 Touch Pro. As promised by Verizon Wireless late last year, this firmware update will unlock the GPS on the handset, allowing owners to use Google Maps or Windows Live Search instead of the proprietary and costly VZ Navigator. The firmware update also adds Visual Voicemail support to the phone, a feature that requires a $3 monthly fee and EVRC-B codec support which improves call handling. The update is not available through Verizon Wireless or HTC yet but it is being offered early by Phone News. For those Touch Pro owners who have not already hacked their phone to unlock the GPS, hit the read link to obtain the firmware update — at your own risk of course. Samsung Saga and Samsung Omnia owners – hang in there and hopefully a similar update for your crippled handset is right around the corner, too.

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