SAO PAULO, Brazil - A Brazilian company said Tuesday is has already found a way to unlock Apple's new 3G iPhone, freeing users from having to sign up with exclusive carriers.
Desbloqueiobr.com.br says it is the first company to unlock the phone, which was released last week in 21 countries in North America, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
The company's website showed videos of the phone activated and working in Brazil with a chip from a local carrier. The iPhone is not expected to be sold in Brazil until later this year.
"We downloaded the software that was available to everyone, stdied it and worked on it until we could get the phone to work here," said 25-year-old Breno Masi, the company's founder.
Desbloqueiobr.com.br has not yet set a price to unlock the iPhones in Brazil, but Breno said that it likely won't cost more than US$250.
An eight-gigabyte iPhone costs US$199 in the United States and the 16-gigabyte version costs US$299.
An email sent to Apple spokespeople asking for comment was not immediately answered.
Apple Inc. said Monday it sold one million iPhones in the first three days its newest model was on the market.