Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
4S will be unlocked?
- Thread starter vomer
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
If you buy it subsidized, then it will be locked to that carrier. If you buy it outright, then it will come unlocked. That's how it is for Canada, and it should be like that for the States now that they have started selling iPhones unlocked, but again, only full price not on contract.
Being a world phone just means that it has the ability to roam on other GSM networks other than your home network. The reason they are advertising this is because the Verizon iPhone 4 wasn't world phone because it was stuck on CDMA networks. The 4S can do both.
Being a world phone just means that it has the ability to roam on other GSM networks other than your home network. The reason they are advertising this is because the Verizon iPhone 4 wasn't world phone because it was stuck on CDMA networks. The 4S can do both.
No. World phone means that it's both CDMA and GSM compatible. Like the Blackberry World Edition however many years ago.
But think about if you bought one factory unlocked; it would truly be versatile. You could sign up for service on Verizon CDMA here and then when you travel to India next spring, you could pick up a local SIM card and use that instead.
There's a very, very good chance that the phones sold directly by the U.S. carrier phones will still be carrier locked. They will of course be usable in other countries, but you will be paying the crazy roaming fees to your carrier.
I'm just hoping that the Apple stores will still continue to sell the unlock version.
I'm just hoping that the Apple stores will still continue to sell the unlock version.
actually AT&T sold locked phones at full price as well, and when the unlocked ones came out from apple they where then 50$ higher :S
Yup. The U.S. carriers do not have to sell any phones unlocked. Even at full price. Again, I'm hoping that the Apple store will carry the full unlocked version.
In US, AT&T and Verizon will sell the 4S as locked. The phone will have the proper antenna for roaming overseas, but since it's locked, you'll be stuck paying over priced roaming fees, and can't use a local SIM.
I would also advise against using siri while roaming overseas, it requires a data connection, and roaming data connection costs a ton of money.
I would also advise against using siri while roaming overseas, it requires a data connection, and roaming data connection costs a ton of money.