[philm]

According to this page on the BBC:

Orange is the exclusive carrier [in France] for the phone but under French law phones must also be supplied unlocked for use on other networks.

So, presumably there will be a nice export trade of French, unlocked iPhones heading around the world...?

[glypht]

Not at €999 a pop there won't.

[Cold Warrior]

I'm assuming Apple will have to support the unlocked models and not lock them with future updates, even if they're purchased and used outside of France. The price is prohibitive, but I'm sure there are plenty of well-off people who'll want it, just to avoid the potential future re-locking of a hacked model.

[nikstar101]

Originally Posted by glypht 

Not at €999 a pop there won't.

Where did you get the €999 price??

If they are resonably priced i maybe termpted to nip over to France to buy myself an unlocked iPhone. Although i was wondering that since i am on Orange UK if a Orange France iPhone would work without having to buy an unlocked version??

[Dakarʒ]

I wonder if some hackers will purchase the unlocked phone, figure out what Apple has changed and use that info to more safely hack other locked iPhones.

[CharlesS]

Unless Apple does something different with the hardware on the unlocked version, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that they will.

[Visnaut]

Two things:

Firstly, I don't think Apple will be selling two different hardware models: one locked, one unlocked. I just don't see them taking on the cost of producing a different hardware model, and a slightly modified box to differentiate between them.

The way I see it, you'd walk into any Orange store in France and buy the iPhone as is. It's when you take it home, and use iTunes to activate it, that you would have the choice of either signing up for a contract, or purchasing the unlock for a fee. Once your credit card goes through, the iTunes activation server looks up the iPhone's serial number or IMEI, and returns the unique (randomly generated at the factory) unlock code for that phone, and it officially becomes unlocked.

This is the most secure way of doing it because the firmware wouldn't be any different from the locked models, it's just been unlocked with the correct NCK, which the hardware already allows. And the unlock code would not be valid for any other phone but that one. Therefore, hackers wouldn't gain any knowledge they don't already have in looking at the whole process.

It'll be interesting to see if Apple offers this option only for French customers, or in any country where the iPhone is sold. If it's only in France, it's understandable because French law requires it. But they could, if it's not against the carriers' existing contracts, cash in on it in other countries in order to recover at least some of the lost subscription revenue from those who purchase and unlock the phone using less-than-official means.

Now what will truly be interesting is how much of a premium Apple will charge for the luxury of an unlocked iPhone. If reports are true that Apple receives as high as $360 or even $500 per phone, over the life of the contract, how much of that will they pass on to the consumer?

[nikstar101]

Visnaut, i like the theory you got going there about unlocking it via iTunes. This would allow them to keep the phone in French Hands only as they may have it so that only the French iTunes Store will unlock the phone (which would be a french credit card and address).

[abo]

Originally Posted by nikstar101 

Where did you get the €999 price??

Some unlocked iPhones have already been sold by a French hypermarket. The price was 999 euro.

[mdc]

TMobile here in New York has unlocked iPhones and they're asking $599 for them.
All they are are 1.0.2 iPhones that have been unlocked, and I assume offer absolutely no warranty for the average consumer who gets home and clicks "Yes" to the iTunes "There is a new software version for this iPhone" message.

I am fairly certain said hypermarket and TMobile do not have official unlocked iPhones from Apple. So until Apple announced pricing, it's all speculation. I don't think it'll be €399 vs €999 for an unlocked one.

[philm]

Originally Posted by mdc 

TMobile here in New York has unlocked iPhones and they're asking $599 for them.

Well, this is news. Anyone else seen this? I am locked in to my contract for about another year so it will cost me maybe £300 to buy out. So, buying a new unlocked phone might be the cheaper way.

Surely if Apple are officially selling these, then they will offer support in terms of software updates etc. like all their other products. Something doesn't quite add up with this though.

[abo]

Originally Posted by mdc 

TMobile here in New York has unlocked iPhones and they're asking $599 for them.
All they are are 1.0.2 iPhones that have been unlocked, and I assume offer absolutely no warranty for the average consumer who gets home and clicks "Yes" to the iTunes "There is a new software version for this iPhone" message.

I am fairly certain said hypermarket and TMobile do not have official unlocked iPhones from Apple. So until Apple announced pricing, it's all speculation. I don't think it'll be €399 vs €999 for an unlocked one.

The hypermarket claimed to have sold them with a guarantee. I have no idea if Apple will honor it.

Anyway, I'm happy to agree that because one French hypermarket bought some through the greymarket and sold them at 999 euros doesn't mean much about where the official price will be once unlocked phones are sold by Orange.

[Eriamjh]

Selling locked iPhones could be a great lift to the hacking community. If they manage to copy the files from the unlocked phone and use them on locked phones, hacking could be a matter of "restoring" using the French iPhone files.

The problem might be all files might be in French.

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by Eriamjh 

The problem might be all files might be in French.

Je pense que ça ne sera pas un gros problème.

[MrForgetable]

Originally Posted by mdc 

TMobile here in New York has unlocked iPhones and they're asking $599 for them.
All they are are 1.0.2 iPhones that have been unlocked, and I assume offer absolutely no warranty for the average consumer who gets home and clicks "Yes" to the iTunes "There is a new software version for this iPhone" message.

I am fairly certain said hypermarket and TMobile do not have official unlocked iPhones from Apple. So until Apple announced pricing, it's all speculation. I don't think it'll be €399 vs €999 for an unlocked one.

Where in New York are you?

[Eriamjh]

Originally Posted by CharlesS 

Je pense que ça ne sera pas un gros problème.

Pourquoi? Ne pas problem!

[Simon]

Alors avec votre français je suis presque sur que ça sera un grand problème.