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29 Sep 2008
Apple has broken with tradition and is offering some customers a SIM unlocked version of its iPhone.
A notice on Apple's web site states that consumers in Hong Kong can buy an unlocked 8GB iPhone for HK$5,400 (£385) or a 16GB version for HK$6,200 (£422).
Apple has not made much of a splash about the release, which goes against its usual region-locked policies.
"An iPhone 3G purchased at the Apple Online Store can be activated with any wireless carrier. Simply insert the SIM from your current phone into iPhone 3G and connect to iTunes 8 to complete activation," reads the information on the Hong Kong Apple Store pages.
No such information is present on the UK site, where buyers are limited to the O2 network.
Although Apple does not usually offer unlocked iPhones, a simple web search returns many 'how-to' guides for doing it yourself, a practice that any firm would be keen to discourage.
It is possible that Apple has started the process in Hong Kong, and will roll it out further. However, the firm currently has exclusive relationships with a number of carriers, which may make such a move difficult.
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Nothing to lose one's head about
Apple has been selling unlocked iPhones in Italy and Hong Kong for over a year now. It naturally follows that it will sell iPhone 3Gs to those markets under the same strategy.
Posted by: Ferhat 29 Sep 2008
in Greece too!
Unlocked iPhones are sold in Greece too, through Vodafone stores for 499 euros (8GB) and 569 (16GB) http://www.vodafone.gr/portal/client/eshop/iPhoneHandsetsList.action?request_locale=en
Posted by: Petros Demetropoulos 29 Sep 2008