Att Unlocked Phones

Why Apple Is Selling Unlocked iPhones in the U.S.

So I was wrong. Apple started selling unlocked iPhone 4s here in the U.S. this morning, as announced by Boy Genius Report and other websites.

That leaves the question: why?

The GSM iPhone 4 only works well on AT&T. Sure, you can run it on 2G EDGE with T-Mobile, but that's a lousy user experience, and Apple is all about providing smooth user experiences. I just can't accept that T-Mobile users want the iPhone so desperately that they're willing to give up 3G for it, although I may be wrong about that, too.

Boy Genius Report's Jon Geller is right when he says that Apple sells unlocked iPhones in 85 other countries . But those countries all have more than one GSM iPhone-compatible 3G carrier. Canada has three. Dave Zatz points out this morning that for Americans, the "unlocked" iPhone will cost $450 more over two years than the locked model, because AT&T doesn't give any discounts for bringing your own phone. That's "an extra $450 mostly for the privilege of feeling more liberated and fancy free," he concludes.

Apple does nothing without a reason, so the company has to have a reason here, although it's not saying what it is. Fortunately, some of the folks I know on Twitter provided some pretty good ones.

Keeping the iPhone 4 alive: Geller suggests "there's nothing to lose by apple selling them unlocked 3 months before a new iphone." Apple traditionally releases iPhones in June, and there's no new iPhone this summer. That could create a trough in sales and mindshare. So Apple found a way to bump up an aging product. Even though the unlocked iPhone doesn't provide any advantages to most Americans, this gets the hardware into the news.

Sell an iPhone 4 now, iPhone 5 later: Zach Epstein theorizes this lets people buy an iPhone 4 now without re-upping their AT&T contracts, so they can buy September's new iPhone at a subsidized price. It's a kludge, though: consumers are either essentially paying more than $200 a month to use a phone for three months, when they'll then have to cope with reselling their phones on eBay this fall. Still, it's an idea.

Currying favor with the FCC: AT&T is trying to merge with T-Mobile right now, so the company wants to do things to make it not look like a rapacious, wannabe monopoly. As Jon Fingas suggests , what would be better than to wave around a bunch of unlocked iPhones? No monopoly here, Senator. Anyone can have a GSM iPhone! See, we're all consumer-friendly-like. In this theory, Apple takes a neutral stance, and it's been AT&T stopping the sales all along.

Want an unlocked AT&T iPhone? It may be possible… | Macgasm

Well, Apple has changed the game. Instead of needing to go to the Jailbreak community, you can now go directly to Apple for an unlocked phone. Be prepared to pony up a significant amount of money should you wish to go this route. It will cost you $649 for a 16GB unlocked iPhone or $749 for a 32GB unlocked iPhone. This is significantly above the contract price of $199 and $299 respectively.

The latest tidbit is that Apple Stores are now able to unlock AT&T iPhones as well, in addition to selling unlocked iPhones. Apple appears to have their system set up so that if they sell an AT&T iPhone 4 as ‘Device Only,’ they will also be unlocked just as if they were an unlocked device.

This is a definite plus for Apple Stores, should they be low on the unlocked version and have a customer who wants to purchase an unlocked iPhone 4. Despite this ability, I wonder how often this will need to be done given the retail price for the phones. I wonder if this is a prelude to an unlocked iPhone 5 available right at, or very soon after, launch. It would be something I may look into instead of signing another contract with AT&T. It would be killer if it was available on T-mobile 3G frequencies as well.

Via: Business Insider Macgasm breaks down every bit of news available related to your favourite Apple products, including all the fun accessories (iPhone, iPad, iOS) and extras (cases, etc). We test, review, and recommend apps and products that will help you get the most out of your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Macgasm provides Apple news, tips, and tricks for the everyday Apple user.