In less than 6 days the Norwegian hacker, Jon Lech Johansen who became world-famous after writing a DVD copying software and got a name of DVD Jon, has published a hack to activate the iPhone without iTunes or the two year voice and data contract from AT&T. 

In order to hack the iPhone you have to use a program called Phone Activation Server 1.0 with some “magic numbers” and the change in hosts file
Add “127.0.0.1 albert.apple.com” to c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

After the hack the iPhone can be used as an iPod, to browse the net and read mails using WiFi. You still have to activate the iPhone, in order to use it as a phone.

iPhone hack project

Following the publication of this hack, a new group has picked up the baton

The iPhone Development Project claims to have developed software to activate the device without an AT&T account, or to re-activate the kit after an AT&T account has been cancelled.

The project has set out a list of further goals including the ability to unlock the phone, run third party applications on the device, and eventually enable disk mode. These aims go well beyond what’s already been achieved. Further objectives may be added as the project progresses.

Another simple way to avoid activation is to use a SIM-card from an already activated iPhone, but you can read more about that on the Apple iPhone Hack WiKi.

Last year, the US copyright office rules that it was legal for consumers to unlock their mobile phones in order to use them with other carriers, a decision AT&T and Apple may seek to contest, but one which gives hackers some leeway in opening up the functionality of the iPhone. That’s not to say fiddling around with the software on the iPhone is without its risk, most notably invalidating any guarantees, as the hackers behind the iPhone Development Project note.