iPhone 4S.... world phone... are all carriers offering the same "model"?

[Agent OrangeZ]

I know AT&T, Verizon and Sprint are going to have identical hardware...

Bit are they going to have different model numbers / SKUs and packaging?

The iPhones before it had the same box and packaging all around the world, but had a sticker on them indicating the carrier and the terms of service.

AT&T iPhone boxes had a sticker with AT&T info on it.

Will the iPhone 4S have different sticker/packaging for each carrier, or is it truely 1 iPhone for all with lock status being assigned to the IMEI at the time of purchase.

Will is have an AT&T SIM pre-installed as before or will it come uninstalled outside of the iPhone packaging and only if you are an AT&T customer.

It would be kinda weird (and wasteful) for Verizon and Sprint customers to have a virgin AT&T SIM card installed in their phone for no reason.

 

[yAak]

Dunno... my 16GB Black 4S in U.S. for VZW preorder has this..

Part Number: MD276LL/A

 

[dave006]

...Will the iPhone 4S have different sticker/packaging for each carrier, or is it truely 1 iPhone for all with lock status being assigned to the IMEI at the time of purchase.

Will is have an AT&T SIM pre-installed as before or will it come uninstalled outside of the iPhone packaging and only if you are an AT&T customer.

It would be kinda weird (and wasteful) for Verizon and Sprint customers to have a virgin AT&T SIM card installed in their phone for no reason.

Each Carrier selects their own configuration. So only AT&T iPhone 4S units will have AT&T stickers and an AT&T pre-installed Micro-SIM.

I would expect Verizon and Sprint to have a Micro-SIM with their badging or that of their GSM roaming partners pre-installed.

Only the Unlocked iPhone 4 is shipped without without a Micro-SIM for the US market. We will have to wait until next month to know about the US Unlocked iPhone 4S that is only GSM Unlocked and will not work on Verizon or Sprint...

My Apple ordered AT&T iPhone 4S 64 GB has the following Part Number: MD269LL/A

Dave

 

[mackmgg]

Dunno... my 16GB Black 4S in U.S. for VZW preorder has this..

Part Number: MD276LL/A

My 16GB Black 4S for AT&T is model MC918LL/A

 

[yAak]

My 16GB Black 4S for AT&T is model MC918LL/A

Weird, I really did not expect the model numbers to be different between Carriers ... do Carriers pre-load apps onto iPhones?

Other than that possibility, I thought they were supposed to be identical products.

 

[dave006]

Weird, I really did not expect the model numbers to be different between Carriers ... do Carriers pre-load apps onto iPhones?

Other than that possibility, I thought they were supposed to be identical products.

No preloading of apps but there are differences in the packaging.

The AT&T iPhone 4S will have an AT&T Micro-SIM pre-installed, the Verizon and Sprint units will have a different Micro-SIM pre-installed with their badging. Also expect a different sticker on the back based on the Carrier.

Also, based on the region of the world, the power block / prongs will be different in the packaging.

Note: Yes, in a pinch Apple can swap any physical device between carriers by updating their Database. That's how they sometimes help traveling customers with a warranty replacement and yet the replacement gets locked to the customers carrier if required.

Dave