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Unsubsidized iPhone 3G Still Locked
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This might clear a few feathers, or ruffle them.
Linky
The prices were pulled after about an hour of being online. No mention if they are unlocked, but most likely, they are. 02 have a 5 year agreement for the iPhone so until that day, they will most likely remain locked.
However, you need to consider that 02 ALWAYS sell their contracted phones unlocked, except the iPhone. (No news on iPhone 3G)
Something like that. Keep in mind that with the iPhone 3G ATT in no longer paying Apple a chunk of each subscription each month and that the 3G data rate is essentially $360 more over the life of the contract than the EDGE data rate (which included 200 SMS), so ATT isn't "losing" that $400. As the saying goes, you gotta spend money to make money.
Yea, but then you have to write software for it, test it, design it, have a reserve on each one sold to cover warranty replacements.... I mean the average poster on this board will return 3 of them for some stupid reason.
Oh yea, shipping form the point of manufacture. What cracks me up is people who don't understand how much it really costs to build a product.
Somebody call the cops!
This needs a legal challenge. You've already been forced to subscribe to AT&T to subsidize the lower cost of the phone. It's anti-competitive to force the phone to stay on AT&T's network after you've paid up.
Strangely, AT&T's normal policy is to unlock any of their other phones for you, for free. You just need to ask. Sounds like Apple is the bad guy here.
This needs a legal challenge. You've already been forced to subscribe to AT&T to subsidize the lower cost of the phone. It's anti-competitive to force the phone to stay on AT&T's network after you've paid up.
Strangely, AT&T's normal policy is to unlock any of their other phones for you, for free. You just need to ask. Sounds like Apple is the bad guy here.
Yes, it was very easy to unlock my last AT&T phone. All you have to do is be a customer at least 30 days, I think, then give them a call and they send you the unlock code via email.
Alright, I did not go to a school for geniuses, I was never in an honors program, but here we go...
"Out ragios?" Spell checker??
Pay attention, don't try to sound intelligent if you're not so sure of yourself. 2G phone? What is a 2G phone? 3G network iPhone is a second generation phone. Edge is 2.5G. So what is 2G?
"Out ragios?" Spell checker??
Pay attention, don't try to sound intelligent if you're not so sure of yourself. 2G phone? What is a 2G phone? 3G network iPhone is a second generation phone. Edge is 2.5G. So what is 2G?
It sounds so illegal that they made the frequency bands for the 3G to not correspond with T-Mobiles. Sounds like they are indirectly breaking the unlocking law.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A93 Safari/419.3)
The report says that contract and contract free phones can't be used. Is that because you now cannot enter the 3G network settings of a different network into the phone??
The report says that contract and contract free phones can't be used. Is that because you now cannot enter the 3G network settings of a different network into the phone??
Remember that there are some places in the US - some very large places - that don't get AT&T service, and so the only way to use the iPhone (original or 3G) at all is to unlock it.
Many people on the forums have mentioned the contract between the two is exclusive for five years. In that case, it's not tied to a particular generation of iPhone. If Apple tried to break the contract, then AT&T would've been able to sue them for breach of contract law--and rightfully so.
(I'm not a lawyer, but I did stay at a holiday inn express last night
) Verizon and Sprint would still have to agree to Apple's terms (e.g., keeping their store off the iPhone, etc.), which they might not be willing to do. AT&T was willing to do that; hence, they got the iPhone.
Esther
Sigh, technically EDGE is 3G. So when I say iPhone 2G I am referring to the fact that it only has a GSM radio in it. Whereas the iPhone 3G has a UTMS radio in it as well. That was all. I guess I could have said iPhone OG as in original. The point was still made. The new phone is more expensive unsub'ed than the old phone's "corrected price". The cost falls in line if you look at the first month 599 price though. So I guess I can't complain too much.
I don't see what the attraction of the contract-free model is if the monthly cost of service is the same. Let's say you're not sure you will like AT&T. Wouldn't it be cheaper to get an iPhone 3G with a contract and then pay the ETF if you decide that you don't like AT&T after 30 days?
I do see that this would allow AT&T to sell iPhones 3G to people whose credit isn't good enough to qualify them for a contract.
The attraction would be adding the data plan to your existing voice plan without extending your contract. As it is now they restart your contract. Some people would rather not have that happen (I guess).
Well, how much will used first-gen iPhones be going for when contractless iPhones 3G hit the market? Depending on the difference in hardware cost, someone may find the warranty on a new iPhone attractive enough to pay for a new iPhone 3G. (They'd have to be confident they won't brick it, though.)
Because some countries (maybe just a handful) have laws that require unlocked models to be sold.
Which countries? Not heard of any so far, Germany tried it but it lasted a week and the iphone was once again locked.
Because they may require you to give back the phone, no?
I thought I heard something about Belgium. Can anyone add any insight?
Exactly. Pay for the unsubsidized phone, and AT&T, the one who made the agreement with Apple to be the exclusive carrier, doesn't make a guaranteed 2 year profit from your contract. I always assumed that to buy the iPhone outright, I'd have to pay more than the unsubsidized price. I'm surprised that so many people are surprised. I'm not saying it's a good thing for myself and other consumers, but from a business standpoint, I'd certainly want to recoup the profit from any lost contracts after signing with the Devil (Apple) on this phone, where Apple initially had everyone by the balls.
I thought I heard something about Belgium. Can anyone add any insight?
Exactly. Pay for the unsubsidized phone, and AT&T, the one who made the agreement with Apple to be the exclusive carrier, doesn't make a guaranteed 2 year profit from your contract. I always assumed that to buy the iPhone outright, I'd have to pay more than the unsubsidized price. I'm surprised that so many people are surprised. I'm not saying it's a good thing for myself and other consumers, but from a business standpoint, I'd certainly want to recoup the profit from any lost contracts after signing with the Devil (Apple) on this phone, where Apple initially had everyone by the balls.
Why should they lock a phone when you're under contract anyway and the ETF roughly approximates the subsidy you're given? The lament is the same for *any* phone sold by AT&T.
Not to mention software development. Kind of like calculating the component cost of a Mac and saying it's overpriced because there's a huge delta between price and manufacturing cost. There's a sizable fixed cost of development that doesn't change the cost of building each phone -- 1 or 10 million, same cost. Apple is entitled to recoup those costs.