Apple Now Selling Unlocked iPhone 4 in U.S.

[iPhysicist]

Geez, do unlocked phones usually cost this much?

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]

Geez, do unlocked phones usually cost this much?

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.

 

[jmpnop]

Great

 

[ImperialX]

Too bad it's cheaper on eBay.

 

[xUKHCx]

When I go to Sydney in the summer I'm going to use Skype over the hotel wi-fi. Surely a better option.

In this very limited example yes if you are in the hotel, but whatabout when you are not.

£395 + Sales tax in case any of you brits going to Florida/Vegas/NY/LA etc were wondering what it works out at.

That is not too bad.

 

[ThE.MeSsEnGeR]

[wishful thinking]

do u think Apple will let iOS 5 unlock all locked iPhones already purchased prior to this announcement?

[/wishful thinking]

 

[fermat-au]

So the USA is finally catching up to Australia on something! We've had unlocked phones for sale since the 3G

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.

 

[NightFox]

...The main advantage of buying an unlocked iPhone is for international travel...

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]

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).

There is, unfortunately, no such law in the United States.

i'm leaving the country and paid at&t $205 in ETF fees. they wouldn't unlock it for me.

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.

 

[jon08]

About time, Apple! And just for the record, the prices are a JOKE you guys..... really CHEAP! Crazy... In Europe you won't get it below $835 (16GB), so it's a bargain!

 

[ann713]

Too bad it's cheaper on eBay.

It is? I see them going for well over $900USD brand new.

 

[Eso]

The puzzle pieces are falling into place for a dual-mode iPhone 5

 

[butterfly0fdoom]

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.

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.

 

[2992]

Geez, do unlocked phones usually cost this much?

Geez, what planet are you coming from? Is it US by chance?!


PS: HK is still the cheapest place to buy it unlocked.

 

[ImperialX]

It is? I see them going for well over $900USD brand new.

That's not what things look like over here in eBay Australia. But then again, we've had the thing unlocked since Day 1 last year.

 

[xlambodog]

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.

 

[SuperZeroIce]

Here in Holland we pay the same prices in euros... so they're actually cheaper than elsewhere I think.

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.

 

[NightFox]

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.

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.

 

[RichardBeer]

How on earth do they sell these devices at such high price points? The contractual ones are expensive enough.

 

[ratzzo]

About time, Apple! And just for the record, the prices are a JOKE you guys..... really CHEAP! Crazy... In Europe you won't get it below $835 (16GB), so it's a bargain!

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.

 

[ratzzo]

How on earth do they sell these devices at such high price points? The contractual ones are expensive enough.

I'm guessing there are a lot of people with money who just don't want to deal with carrier bindings.

 

[endhalf]

Unlocked iPhone4 cost here:

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

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

so for us swiss, this is VERY cheap...

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... Try to living in Europe for a while, on average we have smaller salary AND more expensive stuff... Great combination.

 

[Eso]

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.

 

[Nejmann]

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!

 

[Soliber]

How on earth do they sell these devices at such high price points? The contractual ones are expensive enough.

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 -_-