back to article Apple follows AT&T with no-contract iPhones

Apple and AT&T have each launched their own effort to shovel existing iPhone 3Gs out the door in preparation for the increasingly likely launch of a new iPhone - or iPhone line - early this summer. For its part, Apple is now offering iPhones for sale in its brick-and-mortar Apple Stores without requiring the former two-year …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Jobs Horns

    Unlocking the latest firmware

    Actually, sim-unlocking is pretty hard with a new iPhone. If it has the latest firmware pre-installed (2.2.1) it will come with new baseband firmware (02.30.03) which makes sim-unlocking the phone impossible at the moment.

    A complete pain for those of us who want to use their shiny new iphone in Cyprus, with a local sim. A limited market I admit.

    Worth checking, if you want to unlock it, what firmware is installed. Although possibly asking at the Apple shop if they have any with the older firmware might raise eyebrows.

  2. Chris Pearson

    They clearly don't want to sell them that much yet

    Or they'd be sim unlocked too like the ones play.com are selling.

  3. David

    What's new?! How is this a story?

    iPhone has been available contract-free in Europe for sometime now. It's even available on prepay for a huge fee.

    For example in Ireland, O2 offer :

    iPhone 3G 8GB for €480 or the 16GB for €569 on prepay, there's no contract but it's locked to O2.

    Where as they start at €49 on BillPay ( with an insane 18 month contract, 12 months has been the norm here.)

    I still find iPhone customers are ripped off though, for example with O2 Ireland you cannot use various voice add ons which give you bundles of extra minutes to landlines / other O2 lines etc.

    It's like you're penalised for owning an iPhone.

    I am very sorry I fell for the hype and bought one, I'm stuck with this thing now for another 12 months.

    Nice phone, but grossly over-hyped and over priced.

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