• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, October 3, 2007

Apple has again riled its biggest fans, this time by unveiling iPhone security updates that render devices nearly useless if their owners have tampered with them in ways Apple disapproves of.

The move is aimed especially at users who have gotten around the built-in restrictions that limit iPhone users to AT&T for telephone service. Apple's initial decision to require iPhone users to sign two-year contracts with AT&T angered some users, but hackers quickly figured out ways owners could overcome that restriction.

Apple's recent security update, however, turns phones that have been unlocked from AT&T into iBricks.

Of course, as could have been predicted, hackers have already found a way to get around Apple's attempt to strike back at consumers who have modified their iPhones. This week, programs surfaced online that will restore the iPhone to settings in place before users downloaded the update.

Apple's heavy-handed move with the security fixes came only weeks after Apple's Sept. 5 announcement that it was slashing the price of the iPhone by $200, angering hordes of early adopters who paid a hefty premium to obtain the gadget this summer.

A Queens resident, Dongmei Li, sued Apple last week for the price cut, alleging that the company wrongly discriminated in pricing between the first purchasers who bought the phone between its June 29th release date and those who purchased it after Sept. 5.

Meantime, Apple is facing competition on more fronts. Verizon Wireless today said it will soon start selling a phone that can browse the Web and also play music. Also, Microsoft late last night unveiled an upgrade to the Zune.