Buying no-contract US iPhone 4, intending on unlocking

[this is funah]

Hello macrumors posters, i was looking for some help.

I'm thinking of buying a no-contract iphone in the US at full price to use in Germany now that the new unlock is out. Is it possible to do this without ever having AT&T?

I talked to an Apple store employee and he said in order to activate it there needs to be AT&T service.

I was wondering if I could use the iPhone as an iPod touch til i go back to germany and buy a SIM there

 

[doctapeppa]

Hello macrumors posters, i was looking for some help.

I'm thinking of buying a no-contract iphone in the US at full price to use in Germany now that the new unlock is out. Is it possible to do this without ever having AT&T?

I talked to an Apple store employee and he said in order to activate it there needs to be AT&T service.

I was wondering if I could use the iPhone as an iPod touch til i go back to germany and buy a SIM there

Just like they told you. You need an ATT line if you buy it at a store. Try Ebay or Craigslist.

 

[maturola]

You can get pay as you go plan and cancel it later, however i think the minimun is 90 days, don't quote me.

 

[illutionz]

It's not worth it to get a locked iPhone from the US and unlock it to use in Germany. Have you tried buying in other EU/Canada/Asian countries where they sell the REAL factory unlocked iPhone officially?

See below for the price chart... it looks like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Canada are the top 3 cheapest place to get official fully unlocked iPhone. These phones won't have any problem upgrading firmware and such as it is officially unlocked by Apple as opposed to the fake ultrasnow unlock.

Price of No contract iphone 4 is around US$599 for 16GB and you can get the Factory unlocked one in Canada for CAD 659 or so...