What is technically?Is a jailbroken iPhone technically considered illegal?
If you sign a contract agreeing not to do something- ( reverse engineer ) and you then do it, you may be in violation of DMCA law. While many of us do not agree with that law, it is the law and if you violate it, that is illegal. (Criminal ) Now if you violate your contract with the carrier or manufacturer, you may also be guilty of contract violation and be liable for a court determined level of damage.
I've often wondered about the subsidized phone. It would seem to me that when your purchased phone is subsidized and you do something that the one ( company) who has it's own interest in your phone disagrees with, you are liable for damages to him as well.
I suppose it all boils down to the terms of a purchase and contract law. Most phones are sold with a contract. I think all software is sold with an agreement of terms of use some would call a license. In other words you don't own this stuff free and clear absent of any restrictions.
If this goes forward,...
The copyright office in the past has ruled that cell phone unlocking was exempt from the DMCA because it was a business model protection and not a copyright protection.
Yes, good reminder but they also stated that this was only in cases where you owned the phone. If the phone is subsidized, you still may have to pay the full retail for it. I think many were hoping to get a provider to subsidize the phone and then not use their service for the required number of years.
I guess semi-retirement and useless rhetoric go hand to hand...Are you in favor of governments dictating to private business the nature of the products they sell solely because the business wishes to design the products the way they want? I never took you for a socialist...
Apple has made a big deal about how their oversight means that you can trust any App in the store, but that myth has clearly been busted...
Ever thought about asking before giving advice?diogen- please put me on ignore.
Need- Why? Last I heard the only stateside carrier you could use would be T-Mobile and they don't have as good a reputation as AT&T, unless you live in one of the notorious AT&T trouble cities. Other reason would be if you were moving to Europe or somewhere that you could put your phone on another carrier using the same GSM channels.
My wife is gong to Russia next month...