In the release, Apple fakes the shock - shock I tell you - of discovering that many consumers have bought the Iphone to use off the AT&T network - like, for example, any network in Europe where the phone will see a five month release delay.

"Many of the unauthorized iPhone unlocking programs available on the Internet cause irreparable damage to the iPhone's software, which will likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed," sayeth the boys from Cupertino.

What's more accurate is that Apple is choosing to render modified phones inoperable with its new update, thus making them damaged - rather than them being damaged by the mere act of unlocking, which simply alters the baseband firmware to overlook the SIM lock.

The fruity ones have promised a new firmware before the week is out, leaving the Iphone hacking community in a frenzy as they work to subvert the latest update. µ