Apple Now Selling Unlocked iPhone 4Ss, Sprint Begins SIM-Locking New iPhone 4Ss

[Phillip Swanson]

Apple’s online store now has unlocked iPhone 4Ss available for purchase making good on the company’s promise to provide the unlocked handsets sometime in November.

The unlocked iPhone 4Ss are available for $649 (16Gb), $749 (32GB), and $849 (64GB) will only work on GSM networks and utilizes a micro-SIM card. The phones will work internationally or locally on GSM networks, but the unlocked phones will not work on CDMA carriers like Verizon or Sprint. Obviously, the phones ship without a micro-SIM installed.

With the unlocked 4Ss going on sale Sprint is making good on its promise to SIM-lock their 4Ss. The SIM-lock occurs during the activation process and will only apply to customers purchasing their 4S 11/11/11 and after. It is unclear if Sprint will allow customers who have purchased a 4S already to retain its GSM unlocked capability or not.

New Sprint customers who want to use their iPhone 4S internationally will need to contact Sprint Worldwide for “authentication” and once signed up for an international rate plan the phone will have the ability to roam on GSM networks internationally. However, Sprint does claim customers in good standing on their accounts for at least 90 days can call Sprint and request to have their phone unlocked before traveling internationally. This will allow subscribers to pop in prepaid sim cards instead of paying Sprints insane international fees.

Additionally “off-contract” iPhones Apple retail stores have reportedly been selling remain unlocked after the iOS 5.0.1 update.
Source: Apple, 9to5Mac

[Richard]

Nice to see that us in the UK are paying over the odds :-(

$649 = £400 and on Apple UK we are charged £499 and what even worse is the 64gig is $849 = £499 and it's £699 on the UK site £200 more expensive how is this allowed Mr Apple

[zani1972]

Nice to see that us in the UK are paying over the odds :-(

$649 = £400 and on Apple UK we are charged £499 and what even worse is the 64gig is $849 = £499 and it's £699 on the UK site £200 more expensive how is this allowed Mr Apple

will this work on tmobile USA

[Simon]

will this work on tmobile USA

Yes. But not 3G.

[orgy9111]

will this work on tmobile USA

go for h2o wireless instead, they work off att towers and you'll get capped 3g instead of tmo's edge, but then again i wonder how fast would edge be versus capped 3g (119kbps) <---its the max

[sziklassy]

Nice to see that us in the UK are paying over the odds :-(

$649 = £400 and on Apple UK we are charged £499 and what even worse is the 64gig is $849 = £499 and it's £699 on the UK site £200 more expensive how is this allowed Mr Apple

They will charge whatever people are willing to pay bud. Items around the globe have never sold for a mere conversion rate. To start, items would be fluctuating in price all the time if you did that. This isn't just Apple, this is everyone.

[i.Annie]

For some reason it's always cheaper in the US. I have family in Taiwan asking my parents to buy and send iPhones to them bc of how much more expensive it is there. In Taiwan, it's the equivalent of $400 USD for a new iPhone with contract. WITH contract! Consider $649 unlocked in the US cheap!

[lukeyb]

Its called rip off Britain for a reason...

[Cheesey123]

Nice to see that us in the UK are paying over the odds :-(

$649 = £400 and on Apple UK we are charged £499 and what even worse is the 64gig is $849 = £499 and it's £699 on the UK site £200 more expensive how is this allowed Mr Apple

Not just apple doing this amazon are gonna be hiking the price up of the new kindle,from what I've read there gonna be asking the same amount in the UK as they are in the US.

[nebo1ss]

Nice to see that us in the UK are paying over the odds :-(

$649 = £400 and on Apple UK we are charged £499 and what even worse is the 64gig is $849 = £499 and it's £699 on the UK site £200 more expensive how is this allowed Mr Apple

Sorry but you are mis-representing the numbers. In the UK things are sold VAT inclusive and hence the 499
price includes 20 Percent Vat. The price from apple if you take off the VAT is 415. Using the same exchange rate you used of
1.62 that is $672.

That is not a lot of difference to the $649 price in the US before Tax.

The difference you are dealing with is almost totally due to Government Tax.

[kuhndsn]

Nice to see that us in the UK are paying over the odds :-(

$649 = £400 and on Apple UK we are charged £499 and what even worse is the 64gig is $849 = £499 and it's £699 on the UK site £200 more expensive how is this allowed Mr Apple

It's called...location location location... Everything that is sold is like that. Heck even BP. Nokia phones were cheaper in the US as well.

Kinda hard to market price for exchange rates

[duromega]

they will come with 5.0.1 ;( it's sux I wanted 5.0 on my 4S

[confucious]

Sorry but you are mis-representing the numbers. In the UK things are sold VAT inclusive and hence the 499
price includes 20 Percent Vat. The price from apple if you take off the VAT is 415. Using the same exchange rate you used of
1.62 that is $672.

That is not a lot of difference to the $649 price in the US before Tax.

The difference you are dealing with is almost totally due to Government Tax.

You are nearly right, but you forgot to add on import duty.

A friend of mine was going to the USA and wanted an iPad which looked a lot cheaper until we added VAT and import duty when the price was pretty much the same. When you then factor in sales tax (American prices are always quoted nett) it was actually more expensive to buy in the USA and bring back to the UK legally.

But people do like to moan about 'ripoff Britain' without letting facts get in the way. And when you take exchange rate fluctuations into account as well....

Now, about this price increase from 59 p to 69p for App store apps that cost 0.99$

[rasputin007]

"Rip-off Britain" is an old hat!
Over 20 years ago I bought some squash balls (Made in Great Britain on them!) in Singapore for a fraction of the price I paid in UK, same make, same model and NO fakes!
Makes you wonder how something that has been shipped half way around the world becomes cheaper.

[lukeyb]

I live in UK, I know full well its a damn rip off, and I know full well its the damn government.

The "made in ....." monikers can be put on anything made anywhere completely legally if they are made from materials that originated in the country they state they are made in.

cheap unsterilised backstreet surgical instruments made in pakistan can be stamped with made in Germany (well known as the best) as long as the steel is certified German stainless, this is completely legal.

But its not like these companies would think twice about stamping their inferior products in the same way is there, noooooo

[confucious]

I live in UK, I know full well its a damn rip off, and I know full well its the damn government.

I live in the UK and, as I have explained, we are not ripped off. i'm sure there are some examples but I'm also sure there are lots of examples where we are cheaper than other countries.

You " know full well its the damn government" - so what was the excuse before the last election? Or is it all governments? You would prefer anarchy?

[KraXik]

I live in the UK and, as I have explained, we are not ripped off. i'm sure there are some examples but I'm also sure there are lots of examples where we are cheaper than other countries.

You " know full well its the damn government" - so what was the excuse before the last election? Or is it all governments? You would prefer anarchy?

Agree. Although one area we do get screwed in is fuel cost. Even though there is alot of NorthSea oil we still get taxed a huge amount on it. Apparently the actual garages (not the company's) barely make a penny or two per litre sold.

[lukeyb]

The people in charge of the country are the only ones setting the tariffs so of course that's the reason. The tax system in uk is designed for maximum benefit to the government. I would prefer a better system, Clinton had the right idea, say what you want about him but his tax system was clearly effective

Agree. Although one area we do get screwed in is fuel cost. Even though there is alot of NorthSea oil we still get taxed a huge amount on it. Apparently the actual garages (not the company's) barely make a penny or two per litre sold.

Taxed on the fuel in the form of duty, then the whole of the sum is taxed with vat. 80% of the cost of our fuel is tax, the anarchy will eventually come, as those august riots showed, people get tired of being ripped off. They weren't about some man getting shot, that was just the excuse, people were at breaking point. You didn't see any well to do people out, it was all the low end of the economic scale, because the backwards tax system uk has hits the people with small income the most

[KraXik]

They weren't rioters they were looters. Scum that wanted something for nothing.

[confucious]

I thought this thread was about unlocked phones being sold in the USA not about the British tax system?