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Apple Now Selling Unlocked iPhone 4 in U.S.

iPhysicist

iPhysicist

macrumors 65816
Nov 9, 2009
1,343
1,004
Dresden
MacGeek1993 said:
Geez, do unlocked phones usually cost this much?
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Actually its cheap. You'll pay more for the subsidized phone in the end. It has been that way since subsidiaries have been established...

In Europe its store price is the same numbers with an € at the end... at the moment real exchange course is 1,4458US$ : 1€... so from my point of view it is cheap... this will sweeten every europeans trip to the US ;)
 
chrono1081

chrono1081

macrumors G3
Jan 26, 2008
8,456
4,164
Isla Nublar
MacGeek1993 said:
Geez, do unlocked phones usually cost this much?
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Yes. Phones in the U.S. (and some other places) are usually offered under subsidy. The carriers take a big hit by selling you the phone for cheap, but they make it up on the price of the contract.

In many places the iPhone goes for much more. My friends in Brazil, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Kosovo all paid over $1000 for their iPhones.
 
F

fermat-au

macrumors 6502
Dec 7, 2009
464
521
Australia
hellomoto4 said:
So the USA is finally catching up to Australia on something! We've had unlocked phones for sale since the 3G ;)
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I was going to mark a post along the same lines: Nice to see the US catch up to us in Australia, but you beat me to it.

The main reason what we in Australia have had unlocked phones from the start if the tougher consumer protection laws here in Australia.
 
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NightFox

NightFox

macrumors 68040
May 10, 2005
3,240
4,487
Shropshire, UK
MacRumors said:
...The main advantage of buying an unlocked iPhone is for international travel...
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Whilst technically true, the use of the microSIM in the iPhone 4 means that in practical terms it's of very limited value for most international travellers as microSIMs are like gold dust at the moment because so few phones use them. Currently in most European cities you can pick up a normal SIM just about anywhere (even vending machines at airports), but you're really, really going to struggle to get your hands on a microSIM in my experience. You could of course pick up a SIM-cutter off eBay, but cutting a normal SIM to micro size seems to be a hit-and-miss affair.

On a side note, I hope AT&T do a better job of supplying microSIMs for customers buying unlocked phones than the UK telcos did when the unlocked iPhone 4 launched over here...
 
EricNau

EricNau

Moderator emeritus
Apr 27, 2005
10,728
281
San Francisco, CA
ratzzo said:
I think they have to do that by law, but I'm not sure. At least, here in Europe, it works that way (except we got 1 year contracts).
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There is, unfortunately, no such law in the United States.

haushinka said:
i'm leaving the country and paid at&t $205 in ETF fees. they wouldn't unlock it for me.
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It really seems unfair. In exchange for subsidies a carrier should either lock the phone to their network (for a disclosed period of time), or require a contract with early termination fee. To charge $200 for an iPhone indefinitely locked to AT&T with 2-year contract seems indisputably unethical (not to mention redundant).

This was never AT&T's policy with any other phone (I don't believe). I wonder what was different about the iPhone in this respect. I presume it originated with an agreement between AT&T and Apple in the beginning, but I doubt this remains the case.
 
J

jon08

macrumors 68000
Nov 14, 2008
1,885
104
About time, Apple! And just for the record, the prices are a JOKE you guys..... really CHEAP!:cool: Crazy... In Europe you won't get it below $835 (16GB), so it's a bargain!
 
Eso

Eso

macrumors 68020
Aug 14, 2008
2,032
937
The puzzle pieces are falling into place for a dual-mode iPhone 5 ;)
 
B

butterfly0fdoom

macrumors 6502a
Oct 17, 2007
847
0
Camp Snoopy
EricNau said:
It really seems unfair. In exchange for subsidies a carrier should either lock the phone to their network (for a disclosed period of time), or require a contract with early termination fee. To charge $200 for an iPhone indefinitely locked to AT&T with 2-year contract seems indisputably unethical (not to mention redundant).

This was never AT&T's policy with any other phone (I don't believe). I wonder what was different about the iPhone in this respect. I presume it originated with an agreement between AT&T and Apple in the beginning, but I doubt this remains the case.
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Based on a class-action suit in the past, the precedent that AT&T follows is phones that have 10 or more months of exclusivity are ineligible for SIM unlocking. Depending on how Apple's exclusivity agreement with AT&T was phrased, this precedent may or may not apply to the iPhone 4.
 
X

xlambodog

macrumors newbie
Jun 8, 2008
5
0
Is there a reason they are not selling the 3GS unlocked? It would alleviate the microSIM issue, and would be the first choice for people who want an iPhone that is the most compatible abroad.
 
S

SuperZeroIce

macrumors newbie
Jun 5, 2010
13
0
Bumflake said:
Here in Holland we pay the same prices in euros... so they're actually cheaper than elsewhere I think.
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If only you could bring an US iPhone in as a business expense. Now there's only a 10€ gap between prices for me due to our bureaucracy. :D
 
NightFox

NightFox

macrumors 68040
May 10, 2005
3,240
4,487
Shropshire, UK
xlambodog said:
Is there a reason they are not selling the 3GS unlocked? It would alleviate the microSIM issue, and would be the first choice for people who want an iPhone that is the most compatible abroad.
Click to expand...

I'm just guessing but it might be something to do with their original agreement with AT&T. But yes, it would be a better option for travellers.
 
ratzzo

ratzzo

macrumors 6502a
Apr 20, 2011
829
35
Madrid
jon08 said:
About time, Apple! And just for the record, the prices are a JOKE you guys..... really CHEAP!:cool: Crazy... In Europe you won't get it below $835 (16GB), so it's a bargain!
Click to expand...

It's actually a bargain for us Europeans. Especially those from the UK. Because if we go to the US, since 1 eur = 1.45$, you are pretty much buying it for 45% less just because of currency exchange. And pounds go higher.
 
E

endhalf

macrumors regular
May 24, 2011
106
0
tom613 said:
Unlocked iPhone4 cost here:

16GB CHF 769.-
32GB CHF 899.-

in USD: 916.-/1'070.-

so for us swiss, this is VERY cheap...
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In Czech Rep.:

16GB 16 499CZK
32GB 19 999CZK

in USD: 916/1052

Yep, very cheap... :/ USA has always everything cheap :/ And they think it is expensive... :D Try to living in Europe for a while, on average we have smaller salary AND more expensive stuff... Great combination.
 
Eso

Eso

macrumors 68020
Aug 14, 2008
2,032
937
Who gives a **** how much it sells for (comparatively) in other countries? A full-priced iPhone sells for $699 in the US. They are charging $50 more for the unlock - that's a rip-off.
 
N

Nejmann

macrumors member
Feb 4, 2010
59
0
Denmark (Europe)
Niiice.. Going to the us on friday, finally getting the white then. The price unlocked in Denmark(EU) is 1000$ :) but we have 10+ carriers, so great news!
 
S

Soliber

macrumors regular
Nov 6, 2009
150
0
RichardBeer said:
How on earth do they sell these devices at such high price points? The contractual ones are expensive enough.
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It's actually quite normal over here in Belgium, we all have to fork over 749€ (about 1000$) for the 32GB model.
But even though it's expensive, we can do whatever we want with our iPhones. Some people go for the absolute cheapest subscriptions with virtual providers, others have the choice to go to a provider that we know has a good 3G network for example.
And we can upgrade to a newer iPhone whenever we please, instead of having to wait for our contract to expire -_-
 
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