Apple Sells Unlocked iPhone 4 - But Just for GSM
The unlocked iPhone 4 “arrives without a micro-SIM card, so you’ll need an active micro-SIM card from any supported GSM carrier worldwide,” the Cupertino, Calif. company announced. That proviso limits U.S. customers to either AT&T or T-Mobile. The unlocked 16GB version costs $649, with the 32GB handset priced at $749.“If you don’t want a multiyear service contract or if you prefer to use a local carrier when traveling abroad, the unlocked iPhone 4 is the best choice,” Apple explained. Locked versions of the 16GB and 32GB handset are already available for $199 and $299, respectively.
For years, iPhone owners seeking to use the handset on another carrier have relied on hacks to “jail break” the Apple device. The iPhone 4 was jail-broken nearly a year ago when the iPhone Dev Team released “ultrasn0w,” software that would unlock the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 3G.
Officially, Canadian and U.K. customers have been able to purchase unlocked iPhone 4 devices for some time. Today’s announcement brings that option to the U.S., one of Apple’s largest North American markets. Over the weekend, rumor leaked of Apple intending to offer an unlocked iPhone 4.
Although the unlocked handset is now available from two U.S. carriers, that could be cut in half if AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile proceeds without government intervention. The sale would result in just one U.S. GSM carrier.
About the author
Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.
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Well the only american carrier it would really work on is at&t, since (last I checked) no other carrier has or uses mico-sim card which the iPhone uses. On top of that you can use it on t-mobile (and possibly other american GSM carriers, if their are any) but you won’t be able to get 3G access, since the 3G antenna t-mobile uses is different than the one at&t uses.
and really there is no advantage buying the unlock version (well unless you travel overseas a lot) since at&t does not offer a cheaper non-contract plan, thus buying the iPhone on a plan will end up being $450 cheaper in the long run.
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For me it's a no brainer and I have already decided I will go for the HTC Thunderbolt. The problem I have is selecting a phone for my mom. I pay for her phone on my family plan and she has been incredibly happy with her Motorola Krzr. Yes I know,
Seems you'd do better going with $50 prepaid interesting I would save about $25 per month with these new plans! BTW have yall seen verizon and att plans? They are skyhigh!!! This is a sweet deal for me. Im not leaving Tmobile until the bitter end. im
How is it when I'm in rural PA on my T-Mobile phone, I get BETTER coverage than I ever did when I was with AT&T/Cingular? A lot of people are going to be losing their jobs, more on the T-Mobile side. That's why a lot of current subscribers are leaving
It is also worth noting that this is apparently the online store only. you can NOT go into an Apple store or any other partner store and buy this phone. It is basically custom built for you with no lock and no sim card. Also you can't go into an Apple
Windows Phone Thoughts: Won't Get Fooled Again...
Last month, AT&T filed a statement with the Federal Communications Commission "supporting its proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA and responding to critics. The filing demonstrates the overarching imperative that drives this transaction: giving AT&T and T-Mobile USA customers the network capacity they need to enjoy the full promise of the mobile broadband revolution."
I don't doubt for a moment that an acquisition of T-Mobile would help AT&T increase capacity. I'm just not certain it's the only way to do it, or the best way for consumers. To hear AT&T tell it, providing expansive LTE services without this merger will be difficult, if not impossible.
Hmm... This reminds me of something... Like when Charlie Ergen, CEO of satellite TV provider DISH Network explained to Congress a decade ago that without a merger of DISH Network and rival DirecTV, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to offer local channels to rural markets due to bandwidth constraints.
Amazingly, despite the rejection of that merger, both DISH Network and DirecTV, faced with the threat of losing business to competitors, managed to solve the issue the old fashioned way: with technology, and managed to provide local channels to rural America without the "necessary" merger. Perhaps regulators should remind themselves how that failed merger played out before placing too much faith in the doom-and-gloom prophecies that AT&T and T-Mobile are preaching to them today.
Personally, I have a hard time believing AT&T will simply roll over and play dead without this merger and decide to cede the mobile broadband business to Verizon because they couldn't figure out a way to provide extra capacity armed only with the large pile of cash they intend to buy T-Mo with and that giant chunk of unused 700MHz spectrum they bought a few years ago and haven't yet utilized. Much like DISH Network and DirecTV did, I suspect AT&T and T-Mobile will figure out how to sell telecommunication services to customers despite the looming "spectrum crunch" they're warning us about. By the way, speaking of the spectrum crunch, does anyone besides me think AT&T should tell their marketing department that launching a new prepaid unlimited voice/text/data plan for a market-busting $50/month is probably not a good idea when you're simultaneously trying to convince regulators that your fragile overloaded network is teetering on collapse if this merger isn't approved?
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