unlocked

Apple wins design patents for slide-to-unlock, original iPhone

Apple was granted design patents today for the contentious slide-to-unlock user interface asset and the design for the original iPhone.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office approved Apple application No. D675,639 for "ornamental design for a display screen or portion thereof with a graphical user interface," which includes illustrations of the familiar horizontal bars with rounded corners found at the bottom of locked iOS screens since the original iPhone's debut in 2007.

Slide-to-unlock functionality has become a major sticking point with handset makers. Apple, which was granted a patent for the feature in 2011, has … Read more

Want to unlock your phone? Fix the DMCA

This week, a new federal mandate kicked in that makes it illegal for you to unlock a phone that you bought locked from a carrier. The rule states that unauthorized unlocking of a phone you bought -- even if you paid full price for it, minus a carrier subsidy -- is a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Specifically, it violates a portion of the law enacted in 2000 that makes it illegal to bypass technology designed to restrict access to a certain product. And that provision has bedeviled consumers, researchers, and lawyers for 12 years -- it's … Read more

Petition to decriminalize smartphone unlocking gains steam

This past weekend, the Library of Congress officially put down the hammer on the practice of unlocking smartphones without a carrier's permission, but now the people are standing up for their right to violate their wireless contracts.

In case you missed it, a new rule handed down by the Librarian of Congress (the office in charge of setting the rules to execute the recently updated Digital Millenium Copyright Act) went into effect on Saturday. It makes it illegal to unlock a a smartphone purchased after January 26 without permission from the carrier that locked it.

Naturally, plenty of folks on the Internet are none too happy with the government telling them what they can do with their devices. A petition on the White House "We the People" site asks "the Librarian of Congress to rescind this decision, and failing that, (the administration should) champion a bill that makes unlocking permanently legal."… Read more

The 404 1,196: Where we get locked up for unlocking (podcast)

Microsoft assumes you probably haven't used an Internet Explorer browser since the mid-1990s, and the company's latest commercial for IE10 takes us all back to those awkward times with a montage of '90s nostalgia that includes slap bracelets, Oregon Trail, LA Gear Lights, and Tamogotchis. We're not sure how any of those items are supposed to lure us away from Firefox or Chrome, but check it out anyway.

We knew it was only a matter of time before a 6-second clip of hardcore porn made its way to the Twitter Vine, but we never expected it to come from Twitter itself--a nasty clip was featured for a short time on Vine's "Editor's Choice" pick list. Granted, it's not the first instance of adult content on the new social video service.

With Vine's TOS giving users creative freedom to access its service, an unfiltered stream of dirty hashtags is already building out on VineRoulette. Then again, who the hell wants to watch porn for only six seconds?… Read more

Friday Poll: Will you unlock your phone when it's illegal?

It looks like today is the last day for smartphone-unlocking freedom in this country. A new federal mandate kicks in tomorrow saying that carrier-locked phones are not allowed to be unlocked without the carrier's permission.

The feds figure there are enough unlocked-phone purchasing options out there. If you want the sweet, sweet sugar of a fat carrier-sponsored discount, you'll be stuck with a locked phone. Unless you want to go outlaw.

I could see the United States descending into a new version of the Wild West. Roaming packs of smartphone-unlocking outlaws will defend their hideouts against raids from … Read more

Unauthorized unlocking of smartphones becomes illegal Saturday

For all you polyamorous types out there who don't like the long-term monogamy demanded by most American wireless carriers when it comes to smartphones, I have bad news.

Starting this Saturday, it becomes illegal in this great land to unlock a new smartphone without the permission of the carrier that locked it in the first place.

This all goes back to a final rule issued in late October by the Librarian of Congress (PDF) -- the Library of Congress handles the rulemaking for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which is the specific law we're talking about here. The … Read more

How to sell your phone for cash (Smartphones Unlocked)

In last month's Smartphones Unlocked, I shared what happens to your smartphone when it ceases to be yours.

Although I listed resources for getting rid of your phone (and took a poll of what CNET readers usually do with their old handsets,) it's high time I offered up some tips for how to go about selling your phone...or any other consumer electronic, for that matter.

Don't count on a Hawaiian vacation for your efforts, but depending on how much you hoard or how savvy you sell, the dollars could really add up.

1. Raid the closet … Read more

Apple sacks two-per-customer rule for iPhone 5

The "limit two per customer" rule became conspicuously absent from the iPhone 5 order form on Apple's Web store today.

It seems that supply has finally met up with demand and the tech giant is letting people order the device willy-nilly.

Not only has the two-per-customer limit been removed, but the 10-phone per lifetime limit has also been lifted, according to MacRumors. Now, MacRumors reports, customers are limited to ten devices for each transaction and no lifetime limit.

Apple started selling unlocked iPhone 5 smartphones last week, which frees users from being tethered to a network. Users … Read more

Your smartphone's secret afterlife (Smartphones Unlocked)

A blue mat, a fine-tipped screwdriver, and a dozen itty bitty screws. This is Titus Green's workspace, set within a warehouse that processes 2 million pounds of unwanted electronic waste each year.

Green, 22, and his team at San Francisco Bay Area e-waste collection center Green Citizen, refurbish 30 cell phones a day to put back into customers' hands.

If you don't chuck your electronics down the trash chute (and please don't,) the most likely cycle is that the phone will be refurbished and resold, one way or another.

Of the appliances that come through Green Citizen'… Read more