Will Apple sell an unlocked 3G iPhone?

[robhon]

What's your opinion?

[BBGT2]

I got my money on NO !

[robhon]

I think yes. Double the price of the subsidized phone.

Here's why.

1) Because of all the reports that came out about "missing iPhones." Now everyone has hard data on how much revenue is lost to unlocked phones. It'll be an attempt to recapture some of the revenue. (Especially in a down market, to help stem losses from slowing iPod sales.)

2) China. China Mobile is not going to do revenue sharing. No way no how. But Apple needs the iPhone in that market without them going through black market channels. China is the largest market in the world for cell phones. There is a huge pent up demand there that Apple needs to capture soon before the opportunity slips away.

[IphoneTony]

wow good point

[patrickj]

I think yes also, in the markets where they're not tied to an exclusivity agreement like the US with AT&T. Their CFO has been making it more and more clear they are not married to any specific business model - seems likely they can adopt a 'horses for courses' strategy pretty soon ...

[Youngbinks]

Definitely not in the U.S. but it's quite likely elsewhere.

[Hayesimus]

there's a flaw to your logic. The iPhones we bought weren't subsidized. That was just the ONLY price. :P

[jslappa]

Well, it looks like Apple is going to be selling unlocked phones in Italy, since most of the users buy prepaid contracts with fully unlocked phones. My only question is this....If the Dev Team and the rest of the community can unlock the new iPhone, why buy one for $800, when you can get it in a locked state for $400, and unlock it in under 2 minutes?

Most of the readers here at EIC are not going to buy a high-priced unlocked iPhone when we can get it unlocked 2 weeks after it releases.

So my answer is.....who cares who they sell unlocked phones to, unless there is no price difference.

[styfle]

Well, it looks like Apple is going to be selling unlocked phones in Italy, since most of the users buy prepaid contracts with fully unlocked phones. My only question is this....If the Dev Team and the rest of the community can unlock the new iPhone, why buy one for $800, when you can get it in a locked state for $400, and unlock it in under 2 minutes?

Most of the readers here at EIC are not going to buy a high-priced unlocked iPhone when we can get it unlocked 2 weeks after it releases.

So my answer is.....who cares who they sell unlocked phones to, unless there is no price difference.

lol so true

[psylichon]

If they do, it will be great boon for those with the Ziphone/Pwn/Liberty "know-how" and basic Ebay skills.

I think they will overseas, but it won't do all that great.

[Hayesimus]

yeah, the U.S. is pretty reliant on contracts and locked networks for some reason...

[acosmichippo]

i thought there was a "contract" for exclusivity for 5 years with ATT...

is that inaccurate?

[psylichon]

i thought there was a "contract" for exclusivity for 5 years with ATT...

is that inaccurate?

U.S. only .

[Hayesimus]

i dunno. that seems like quite a long time for exclusivity. i was thinking more along the lines of a year or two.

[Youngbinks]

There is definitely a 5 year AT&T only agreement.

[Hayesimus]

hmmm not that it matters anyway, being that people unlock them... lol

[psylichon]

There is definitely a 5 year AT&T only agreement.


Indeed. Many would say it was a bad move on Apple's part... but from who else were they going to get monthly residuals from every iPhone purchase?

I'd say both companies won out there.

But yeah, overseas it's open territory.

[acosmichippo]

well, then that makes it pretty simple.

no US unlocked iphones.

[psylichon]

ACH, that's not what's in question. There are rumors of unlocked iPhones overseas... in china in italy i think. That is, legit ones from Apple.

[Youngbinks]

I wonder how long it will take to unlock the new iPhone once it's released. You'd think that after the latest firmwares have been unlocked with relative ease Apple would step it up even more to make sure it remains locked.

[adseguy]

I wonder how long it will take to unlock the new iPhone once it's released. You'd think that after the latest firmwares have been unlocked with relative ease Apple would step it up even more to make sure it remains locked.

the 2.0 software IS going to be the software for the new phone IF it comes out very soon after the SDK. We have already seen the chipset it's going to use in that software.

Come on guys. I see some of you on the boards all the time. It's pretty much a done deal. Another 2 year ATT lock and the phone will pretty much be the same with a few hardware tweaks here and there. Absolutely no unlocked version will be sold due to the ATT agreement for the next 4 years..

[patrickj]

the 2.0 software IS going to be the software for the new phone IF it comes out very soon after the SDK. We have already seen the chipset it's going to use in that software.

Come on guys. I see some of you on the boards all the time. It's pretty much a done deal. Another 2 year ATT lock and the phone will pretty much be the same with a few hardware tweaks here and there. Absolutely no unlocked version will be sold due to the ATT agreement for the next 4 years..

Did you glance at any of the posts above yours? I don't think anyone has said they expect to see it sold unlocked in the US. The poll / discussion is mostly about whether it will be sold unlocked in other countries, where there are no carrier agreements in place ...

[themanofthedark]

its pretty safe to say that very few people in Russia will do a contract type thing.

prepaid plans are the way to go for Russia, thats how they do it.

[jslappa]

I think the writing on the wall is pretty clear here.

1. At least the first 200,000 May production iPhones will be 2.0 FW
2. Phones will still be locked to AT&T here in the US
3. Regionally unlocked abroad where consumers demand such

Historically, it has been relatively easy for Apple to keep a tight seal on new hardware. Heck, it wasn't uncommon for knowledgeable "geeks" to buy a Mackbook when a new model released days later. As Apple's products gain market share, it will become exponentially more difficult to keep testers and suppliers from spilling the beans on new products and software. It's also clear that the FCC has roughly a 5-week turnaround (at least) from the time patents show up on their site to the time those products reach the market. Some companies don't have as efficient of a supply chain as Apple, so many take longer.

With Italian sources claiming a late June release for the 3G iPhone, we should realistically see FCC documents sometime between now and May 21st. While the FCC affords companies the right to have their proprietary data shielded from the public, the majority of new product info will be posted online.

After Ebay'ing my iPhone 2 weeks ago, I can't even stomach surfing the web on my Nokia N95. Other than taking 5mpxl pics and shooting video, I just use it for calls. Man, I miss that 3.5 glossy touch UI! Hurry up with that new iPhone, already.

[Youngbinks]

the 2.0 software IS going to be the software for the new phone IF it comes out very soon after the SDK. We have already seen the chipset it's going to use in that software.

Come on guys. I see some of you on the boards all the time. It's pretty much a done deal. Another 2 year ATT lock and the phone will pretty much be the same with a few hardware tweaks here and there. Absolutely no unlocked version will be sold due to the ATT agreement for the next 4 years..

I know full well that Apple isn't going to SELL an unlocked phone, I was referring to how long it might take hackers to get the new FW unlocked. After iDay it took that kid 500 hours to get the phone unlocked and with 1.1.3 and 1.1.4 the FW was unlocked in practically no time at all. My question was wether the new FW would be immensely more difficult to unlock than the recent releases.

[Hayesimus]

i Doubt it. Now that people know what they are doing.

[themanofthedark]

I repeat this.

iPhone 2.0 will come with iPhone firmware 2.0 which has already been unlocked.

[jslappa]

themanofthedark

iPhone 2.0 or 1.2 (whatever) have been unlocked, but only on BL 4.6 and/pr 3.9. We have to assume that Apple will have a new bootloader or the next iPhone. So, while your logic is good, you have not taken into account the possibility of a new bootloader.