Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Looking to Bypass Chinese Carriers by Selling Unlockable iPhones Through Retailers?

I really wish Apple would follow this strategy everywhere. Offer the iPhone in two ways: Subsidized carrier-locked iPhones sold with a contract, and unsubsidized unlocked iPhones with no commitment. Everyone's happy :)
PinkyMacGodess said:
Just asking, not being an expert in telecommunications, but is there a way to insert a SIMM and be able to connect to the Verizon network? I know that they don't use SIMM's like AT&T, etc, but is there the possibility of using the SIMM slot to 'adapt' a phone to use the Verizon network or is their flavor of 3g that much different that it would requite hardware changes? Could that change happen through the SIMM slot?
Click to expand...
No, the current iPhone can't connect to Verizon's network. Verizon uses an EV-DO/CDMA network, and AT&T uses a 3G GSM network, and both are incompatible with one another.
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A400 Safari/528.16)

The next craze on eBay. An unlocked iPhone from China.
 
Christ all bloody might - learn some damn english will you macrumors reporters! unlockable means, something that is locked and cannot be unlocked. If you want to refer to unlocked phones then say:

''Apple Looking to Bypass Chinese Carriers by Selling Unlocked iPhones Through Retailers?"
 
iTunes activation

acidfast7 said:
Actually, I'm in Italy throughout October, so what would my options be for buying one there and using it with a EU-wide carrier like 3?
Click to expand...

The unlocked iPhones sold by the italian online Apple Store must be activated with iTunes 8, too.

They are not carrier–locked, but I don't know if the activation MUST necessarily be made with the italian iTunes, from an italian IP address.
 
avvpiras said:
The unlocked iPhones sold by the italian online Apple Store must be activated with iTunes 8, too.

They are not carrier–locked, but I don't know if the activation MUST necessarily be made with the italian iTunes, from an italian IP address.
Click to expand...

Grazie!

We'll try to arrange something at the Apple Store in Milan once it's opened (driving down from Munich.)
 
There are many issues that are probably complicating iPhone's China strategy. First of all, of course Apple enjoys exclusive deals, just look at every other country that sells the iphone (even the unlocked phones are carried by the contract carrier). Apple would probably like to sign with China Mobile first and foremost, because it is by far the largest carrier. This is complicated by the fact that China Mobile uses some incompatible 3G technology, and likes to place many restrictions on iphone's functions. China Unicom is a less desirable carrier from Apple's point of view, simply because it is smaller. Additionally, I have a feeling that Apple is finding every major Chinese mobile carrier to be a Verizon: refusing to share revenues and a penchant for blocking iPhone's features. The Chinese carriers realize their sheer sizes (in hundreds of millions of subscribers) allow them to bargain in their favor. Apple may simply have to ditch their exclusive model and play the guerrilla entry into China just like any other brands.
 
That actually makes a whole lotta sense. If they are manufacturing iPhones without wifi, to be sold unlocked, people probably won't want to export them. Who wants to buy an iPhone without wifi when you can buy one with wifi? It could act as a deturrent for the otherwise highly valued unlocked iPhone.
 
wtf Ophone?? Lol for some reason I have a feeling this new OS might turn out looking a little familiar.
 
Hey Apple.. Heres an idea. Stop manufacturing your products in China and bring the jobs back to the US where they belong.
 
Network Quality????

I don't think Apple is too worried about Network quality, seeing it renewed a deal with AT&T who can't even support MMS on it's network and other carriers can!!!!

Apple, if you are worried about Network quality, then why the contract extension with AT&T...
 
Maven1975 said:
Hey Apple.. Heres an idea. Stop manufacturing your products in China and bring the jobs back to the US where they belong.
Click to expand...

Yeah, right. That will happen. After they have gotten tax breaks and the ability to kill the middle class (and the 'New Deal'), industry is going to bring manufacturing back here out of the kindness of their hearts. The corporation doesn't have a heart... It's all 'business', and we've gotten a whole lot of it. Besides so many manufacturers over there benefit from China's lax environmental laws. I doubt they will ever come crawling back, until there are no cheap hell holes left to build things, and probably not even then...
 
j-Phone said:
I don't think Apple is too worried about Network quality, seeing it renewed a deal with AT&T who can't even support MMS on it's network and other carriers can!!!!

Apple, if you are worried about Network quality, then why the contract extension with AT&T...
Click to expand...

Because China represents more possible customers than the US does. If a quarter of the Chinese population got iPhones, they would still probably out sell the US.
 
Scooterman1 said:
Now that Apple has dealt with the Carriers and exclusitivity, I see a MAJOR problem with them selling at Retail.
I believe that they MUST deal with the Carriers.
Reason..... if the Carrier doesn't want you to use the features, they just monitor the type of phone that you're using.
Example, AT&T didn't want the iPhone users on MMS yet. They just detect the iPhone as the phone you're using, and disable the MMS for iPhones.
This tells me that a Carrier could disable MMS, Tethering, SMS, Web, Email, ALL Data, or the phone from functioning in ANY way on their network.
So, if Apple can't come to an agreement with the Carrier, and a phone is Unlocked, they could still prevent you from utilizing their network if you made them upset!
Just my take on the situation.
Click to expand...

Make the network able to block a certain group of ESN's.

But that still doesn't mean that Apple would have to deal with the carriers. If carrier 'A' blocked the ESN's and carrier 'B' didn't, then people would figure out who supported what features and phones. Like if Verizon's network was GSM, they *could* block the iPhone and any protocol for it they wanted I'd imagine. Killing features would be pretty easy I'd think but it would provide a level of competition that we don't enjoy here in the US. Land of the 'free'. Really...
 
strang said:
I agree.

The only reason why Apple is going through a retailer in China is that the eCommerce segment of China is not yet mature. Look at the Apple Store (China) for example. In every other online Apple Store you can order directly and pay directly but the China store only shows you the catalog and then you have to call to order, or visit the Retail store or a dealer.
Click to expand...

But is that a government controlled thing rather than a technology thing? Curious...
 
Can you say STOCK MANIPULATION?

I knew you could. This is BS. It's an analyst pushing the buy price of CHL down while he has clients load up. Classic.

I thought this stuff was getting investigated?? Obama, FIX IT! :confused:
 
MacRumors said:
Apple will ink a deal with a large cell-phone retailer called Di Xing Tong, which owns hundreds of storefronts in China. The chain is owned by Foxconn, the massive contract manufacturer that builds so many of Apple's products.
Click to expand...

They might as well sell to this outlet, otherwise Foxconn will just make a few extra million units that will somehow "find their way" to the shelves of Di Xing Tong. (Chinese business ethics being what they are)
 
PinkyMacGodess said:
Because China represents more possible customers than the US does. If a quarter of the Chinese population got iPhones, they would still probably out sell the US.
Click to expand...

A quarter of China's population is more than the entire USA population. So yeah, probably.
 
They're already selling iPhones unlocked, officially from Apple stores in Hong Kong. So this wouldn't surprise me at all.
 
They're being sold unlocked in China right now. Friend just came back from business and commented to me how many people had them...

They're attempting to combat piracy/fraud if they take these steps, but it's too late. The majority of the people who want and are capable of purchasing an iPhone can get one through the necessary channels.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back