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New Firmware Fixes Previously Bricked iPhones
drcagn writes "Ars Technica reports that Apple's new 1.1.3 firmware update unbricks iPhones damaged from unlocking and updating the firmware months ago. In September, users who hacked their iPhone's firmware to unlock it found their iPhone bricked when they updated to new firmware, creating a massive upset and internet furor. Although Apple claimed this was not an intended effect of the update, it held the stance that it is not their responsibility to ensure that updates work with users' warranty-voiding hacks, and many cried foul. This update, which provides new features Jobs showed off at Macworld, while not officially unbricking the iPhone, has restored iPhones from Gizmodo and a reader of the Unofficial Apple Weblog."
And how nice of Apple to give out the update for free, instead of charging $20 to unlock the new features on an iPod Touch. You have to buy that even if all you want to do is rearrange your icons on the home screen or use "Webclips" in Safari, an application already included on the Touch.
The ridiculous thing is that the 1.1.3 update for the Touch includes all of the applications & updates to the iPod, but they just sit on the Touch, wasting space until you give Apple $20. And then they send you an 8 kilobyte PLIST file that unlocks them. So even if a Touch user doesn't buy them, the apps are sitting on the drive, wasting space on that teeny flash drive. Awesome.
This just gives Touch users further excuse to Jailbreak their iPods.
As for the iPhone, the previous firmware bricked some iPhones that weren't even hacked. They probably should have released a revised firmware a lot sooner than they did.