Contract-free iPhones in Europe

[Giuly]

Hi,
As the Apple Store was down here in Europe yesterday, I just saw that you can buy the iPhone 4 without contract (at least in Germany) for 629/739€.

Is that new or has it been before?

Kind regards

 

[this is funah]

this is new in germany as of a few weeks ago. but other european countries such as switzerland, poland, italy, and the UK sell unlocked phones either due to a lack of an exclusive apple-carrier contract, or laws that force the sale of cell phones being simlock-free.