Communications Technology

An Apple software update is disabling iPhones that have been unlocked by owners who wanted to choose which mobile network to use.

Earlier this week Apple said a planned update would leave the device “permanently inoperable”.

Thousands of iPhone owners hacked their expensive gadget in order to unlock it for use with other mobile carriers and to run a host of unsupported programs.

There are also reports of the update causing issues with unaltered iPhones.

On Monday Apple issued a statement in which it said many of the unauthorised iPhone unlocking programs caused “irreparable damage” to the device’s software.

The company said this would “likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed”.

That warning has now proved correct as many owners are reporting their phones no longer work following installation of the update.

Apple requires iPhone owners to take out a lengthy contract with AT&T in the United States but there are a number of programs on the net that unlock the device for use with other networks.

Some owners are reporting on technology blogs and Apple’s own forums that the update is deleting contacts information, as well as photos and music, on iPhones that have not been modified in any way.

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A Thai teacher faces prosecution after cellphone footage showed him beating a pupil and slamming the boy’s head into a whiteboard for forgetting his textbook, officials and reports said Tuesday.

The video, shown on local television stations, showed the male teacher at a privately-run Thai-Chinese secondary school in Bangkok grabbing the 12-year-old by his throat and hitting him around the head several times.

The 29-year-old teacher snapped when the boy responded using rude language after being reprimanded for failing to bring his schoolbook to class, the Bangkok Post newspaper said.

Education Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said the teacher had resigned from the Kwongsiew Thai-Chinese school but could still face charges.

“Although he has quit, the authorities can still prosecute him if the boy’s relatives file a complaint with police,” Jurin told Channel 3 television.

There has been concern in Thailand in recent weeks after several video clips of student brawls filmed on cellphones were posted on the Internet.

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Verizon Wireless isn’t known for great smartphones, but the carrier will get at least one nice-looking phone in a few weeks, with the HTC Imagio set to arrive on October 6.

The Windows Mobile 6.5 phone was previously codenamed the HTC Whitestone, and has a 3.6-inch WVGA touch screen, a 528-Mhz Qualcomm processor, 512MB ROM, 256 MB of RAM, and support for GSM along with Verizon’s CDMA/EV-DO network. There’s also a 5-megapixel autofocus camera and GPS, according to Boy Genius Report.

Spec-wise, the phone’s a lot like HTC’s Touch Pro 2, released for Verizon customers in July. Still, the Imagio’s boost to WinMo 6.5 could correct the sluggishness we felt with the otherwise solid Touch Pro 2.

For the Windows Mobile haters, there may also be some good news ahead: BGR says the Android-powered HTC Predator will come to Verizon later in October, though we haven’t seen photos and know nothing else about it. Given HTC’s track record, it’ll probably be some variation on the touch screen phone theme.

Any sign of slick smartphones bodes well for Verizon’s captives. Earlier this week, it was all doom and gloom, with Wired’s Gadget Lab running a story on why the carrier’s phones are lame. Most telling was a quote from Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Raney, who said the company would rather focus on its network than its stable of phones.

“Keep in mind that for Verizon Wireless, it isn’t so much about the device as it is about the delivery,” Raney said. In other words, while you may enjoy great coverage on the carrier’s 3G network, you may not particularly love using your phone.

Will the HTC Imagio change all that? Probably not. I can’t imagine any Windows Mobile 6.5 phone having the buzz and desirability of Palm’s Pre or, dare I say it, the iPhone. But any phone with solid hardware and a nice, big touch screen is a step in the right direction for Verizon Wireless.

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