Unlocked iPhones - the iPhone for the rest of us

It has been a very busy week for iPhone hackers. All week long we have heard numerous reports of hackers unlocking the iPhone so it can be used on any network. This has AT&T worried sick about losing profits. How concerned is Apple? Probably not much. Sure, contractually AT&T must pay Apple a commission for each iPhone plan they sell, and less plans means less commission for Apple. But Apple may stand to make a lot more money when consumers learn they can buy an iPhone and use it on their current plan regardless of the network. Even legal threats against these iPhone hackers are most likely all in vain for AT&T and Apple. This BusinessWeek article explains the legal arguments and concludes that for once, the law may side in favor of the hackers.