If you are among the millions of souls who live outside the US but crazy after the new touch screen Apple iPhone, here's something interesting - you could get an unlocked iPhone in the grey market of India and other Asian countries very very soon that will work with your existing GSM SIM card.
iPhone is a quad-band GSM mobile phone so it will working internationally in countries outside the US though you'll have to ask AT&T to turn on international roaming on the iPhone and that the places you’re going offer GSM coverage.
Officially, the iPhone won't be in India until 2008 but you could get the unlocked version from the grey markets of Palika Bazar or Sarojini Nagar in New Delhi for around Rs 30,000 (~$650).
Or you could purchase an iPhone from Apple store, get it unlocked in India and pop in your GSM SIM card. The grey market dealers told BS that they can unlock the iPhone cellphone for ~$25 so that it can be used on any GSM carrier network.
It's a surprise that Indian phone dealer are so confident of breaking the iPhone though they have never touched the device and only seen it in pictures.
Though the iPhone has a slot for the SIM Card, you need to activate the iPhone via iTunes so even if phone dealers manage to unlock the iPhone, it could possibly be used only for voice, video or music - the other "cool" features may not work on carriers that are unsupported by Apple.
Update: The iPhone website has more details on the unlock question:
Can I “unlock” iPhone and use it with another wireless carrier? - AT&T is the exclusive wireless carrier for iPhone in the United States. If you currently use another wireless carrier, you can choose to transfer your number when you activate your AT&T account.
Can I use the SIM card from my current mobile phone? - You should use the SIM card that came preinstalled in the iPhone.
Reuters has reported that Vodafone (and possibly Deutsche Telekom) are in talks with Apple to launch iPhone in Europe. Though France Telecom's Orange had also been in the running to bring the iPhone to Europe, but that Apple had a preference for Vodafone.
Another site called PureMobile, which is a CNet retailer, has claimed to offer iPhone units in US or Canada that will work with Cingular, T-Mobile and other GSM Carriers. Let's see who gets to break the iPhone first - wait until Saturday.
Related: Apple May Came to India via Reliance Retail
Find this article at: http://labnol.blogspot.com/2007/06/want-to-buy-unlocked-iphone-for-your.html
web: http://www.labnol.org/ email: amit@labnol.org
Reader Comments
Haha !!!
Wht games people play !
The Palikawala's have shown that they're true Indians(in terms of cheating)!!
First and foremost thing, it'll take a hacker more than these guys to crack iPhone(afterall only a good software crack would do the thing) !!!
As for the features,i think we should wait. As 3g isn't available here, we should not be in a hurry to get these, after all these features would be useless now) !!!
Well, all's upto Vodafone(matlab apna Hutch ) to bring this phone(hopefully , not on the contract basis) !!!
Written on 28/6/07 4:13 PM
Hi Amit;
Nothing surprising in this. In fact, we Indians have accepted it openly and honestly. There may be host of other people around the world who are not accepting it, but have already been thinking up ways to unlock the phone.
After all, if it runs software, it can be cracked ;-)
K.Shyam
Written on 29/6/07 1:02 AM
You have to admire the hackers, here is a product that they have probably not even seen or touched, and they confidently predict that they will be able to hack it. Is it likely? Yes. Is it probable that they will be able to do it in a short time? No
Written on 29/6/07 8:45 AM
Not likely. They still have a hard time unlocking a bb8700 locked to cingular/att. The iphone is a long way off.
Written on 18/7/07 8:59 AM
agree with shyam... u shud jus try layin ur hands on this 8th wonder, the most amazing peice of man made art in the form of a phone... it's worth buying at a premium cost ( $200 above the US market)... the only features that do not work are you tube, stocks and weaather... but if ur in a wifi zone even that restriction is off... with wifi at you house office and shopping malls its internet unleased on your iPhone... i just grabbed one myself last week and brought to jakarta, where i work... it worked there. it works here... in fact her's am subcribed to EDGE services... so even the more better... do not even think once whether to buy or not... just do it...
Written on 26/10/07 2:37 PM
can someone provide me with the information about who unlocks the iphone in Hyderabad, India? Also, what is the cost of unlocking the phone here in Hyderabad.
Written on 15/11/07 4:30 AM