"iBrick" Owners Threaten to Sue

Peeved at Apple for their "bricked" iPhones, a group of angry users who'd hacked their now-useless phones say they're going to court. Do they have a case?

According to InformationWeek's Alexander Wolfe, a number of incensed iPhone users posted messages (now removed) on the Apple discussion forums, looking for others to join them in a potential class-action lawsuit against Cupertino. The message calls for anyone who "installed 3rd party software" or "unlocked their iPhone to allow for its use on networks other than AT&T," although as Wolfe points out, the message isn't serving notice of an actual lawsuit (yet).

The message post (while it was online, at least; Wolfe posted a screenshot on his blog) certainly drew out plenty of irate users, many of whom rendered their hacked iPhones useless in the wake of Apple's software update last week. "I'm afraid I'm not with Apple on this one," Wolfe quotes one poster as saying. "Seems to me that Apple's usage terms are onerous and unreasonable…What, we live in the digital equivalent of the iron curtain?"

News of the posting is just the latest evidence of a groundswell of anger aimed at Apple, which just a few short months ago was everyone's favorite tech company. Wolfe himself takes a swipe at Jobs & Co.: "Apple's stance really bothers me," he writes. "It seems like Jobs has turned the famous 'Pottery Barn' rule on its ear. In the iPhone world according to Apple, it's 'You bought it, we [might] break it.'"

OK, but does all that translate to a legal case? Consider the words of University of Alabama law school assistant dean J. Noah Funderburg, described by the New York Times as a "longtime Mac user." Is Mr. Funderburg coming to the aid of these wronged iPhoners? Sure doesn't look like it. "Anyone who hacks must know that they are taking certain risks," said Funderburg, according to the Times. "If they aren't willing to assume the risks upfront—like a brick iPhone—then maybe they should not hack the device."

But wait, shouldn't Apple be liable for essentially reaching out and breaking a product you bought and paid for? Funderburg doesn't seem to think so: "We have a free marketplace...buy a product, including using it on the terms accompanying the purchase, or don’t buy it. And learn to live with not always getting everyting you want." Ouch.

Related:
Apple Users Talking Class-Action Lawsuit Over iPhone Locking [InformationWeek]