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Are Canadian phones unlocked'?

TurboJobo

TurboJobo

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 24, 2009
524
296
San Diego/Tijuana
sorry for the stupid question, but someone want to buy an unlocked iphone 4 for xmas and she dosesnt want to wait for the dev team or anything like that, so are all canadian phones uncloked? even if i buy it from apple.com/ca??? does anyone know when there gonna be an unlocked iphoe 4 for the american version?
 
If u buy one from an apple store in Canada for full price it will be factory unlocked. They will not ship it to a US address. You will have to go there or have someone mail it to you from Canada.
 
You probably cannot buy an iPhone from Apple's Canadian website and have it shipped to the US ... just as I cannot buy from the American Site and have it shipped to Canada.
 
Aren;t there services that will onforward packages?

So apple canada ships to a canadian service, and they onforward it to you in the US?

Though I suspect there may be tax implications for such an arrangement...
 
lucifiel said:
Aren;t there services that will onforward packages?

So apple canada ships to a canadian service, and they onforward it to you in the US?

Though I suspect there may be tax implications for such an arrangement...
Click to expand...

Wonder if that's doable. If they will ship it to a non billing address of a credit card and if I could trust a company with a $600 purchase.
 
The OP could take the significant other on a trip to Canada and take her to an apple store in Canada. Presumably, they could buy the phone in store?
 
Apple OC said:
To stop all of America from buying un-locked iPhones by the millions.
Click to expand...

You would think Apple wouldn't mind this, as it would make them a lot of money.

Why DON'T they sell out-of-contract iPhones unlocked in the US anyway? I can't think of any downsides to Apple, but plenty of upsides!
 
zorinlynx said:
You would think Apple wouldn't mind this, as it would make them a lot of money.

Why DON'T they sell out-of-contract iPhones unlocked in the US anyway? I can't think of any downsides to Apple, but plenty of upsides!
Click to expand...

The reason Apple does not do this is ... they have a contract with ATT that makes ATT and Apple a lot of money ... The contract is for a limited time and has run it's course which is why you will now see iPhones being offered by Verizon and others.

When the iPhone was first introduced here in Canada there was a similar contract with Rogers Communications ... when that expired, the other carriers Telus and Bell were then able to offer the iPhone.

The amount of money that ATT and Rogers paid to Apple was probably worth more to Apple because Apple knew demand for the iPhone was very high. Their research probably told them demand would trump choice of carrier.

Now that the contracts have expired ... Apple will now sell through all the carriers. When the iPhone is offered through several carriers in the US like here in Canada ... Americans will then be able to purchase unlocked iPhones direct from Apple. :cool:
 
funny thing is i dont think we have a carrier in Canada that doens not have the iphone available so i dont see a hugh value to buying a factory unlocked in Canada becasue your carrier has it
 
iisforiphone said:
funny thing is i dont think we have a carrier in Canada that doens not have the iphone available so i dont see a hugh value to buying a factory unlocked in Canada becasue your carrier has it
Click to expand...

If you remember when the iPhone first came out ... it was only available from Rogers.

When the product was new and a must have for some ... Rogers probably paid Apple double what Apple would get elsewhere. Companies like Rogers ATT and Telus do not care what phone you buy as long as you sign-up (some even offer a free phone)

When the market demand has been saturated ... Apple now looks for other outlets ... so now Telus and Bell are allowed in.

In the US ... ATT has just had their contract with Apple longer than Rogers did in the small Canadian market.

Like I said ... come January when Verizon also sells the iPhone ... Americans will be able to buy unlocked iPhones direct from Apple because Apple will still want to sell them and will no longer be committed to just ATT.
 
To the OP, I don't know where you live, but check craigslist. In NYC, people are selling factory unlocked iphones all the time.

They charge about $900-$1000, considering buying it from canada is about $779, it's not that bad of a price.
 
Apple OC said:
If you remember when the iPhone first came out ... it was only available from Rogers.

When the product was new and a must have for some ... Rogers probably paid Apple double what Apple would get elsewhere. Companies like Rogers ATT and Telus do not care what phone you buy as long as you sign-up (some even offer a free phone)

When the market demand has been saturated ... Apple now looks for other outlets ... so now Telus and Bell are allowed in.

In the US ... ATT has just had their contract with Apple longer than Rogers did in the small Canadian market.

Like I said ... come January when Verizon also sells the iPhone ... Americans will be able to buy unlocked iPhones direct from Apple because Apple will still want to sell them and will no longer be committed to just ATT.
Click to expand...



makes sense now
 
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