Some hubbub across the 'nets the past few days suggested that the unlocked iPhones being offered by Orange in France were -- of all things -- country locked, a rather unusual (but still perfectly valid and real) form of SIM lock that would require that the SIM of a French carrier be installed in the phone. Now, by our calculation, this would've been about the crappiest thing Apple and Orange could've done and still be within the boundaries of French law requiring that phones be offered unlocked. We certainly wouldn't put it past the terrible twosome, but fortunately, it looks like the fears were a little overblown; iLounge is claiming that they've confirmed with Orange that the unlocked units are not country locked. We imagine it's not a big deal for the domestic market there either way, but for the good folks in surrounding countries, it makes the sitch a little easier.Orange says unlocked iPhones are, in fact, unlocked
Some hubbub across the 'nets the past few days suggested that the unlocked iPhones being offered by Orange in France were -- of all things -- country locked, a rather unusual (but still perfectly valid and real) form of SIM lock that would require that the SIM of a French carrier be installed in the phone. Now, by our calculation, this would've been about the crappiest thing Apple and Orange could've done and still be within the boundaries of French law requiring that phones be offered unlocked. We certainly wouldn't put it past the terrible twosome, but fortunately, it looks like the fears were a little overblown; iLounge is claiming that they've confirmed with Orange that the unlocked units are not country locked. We imagine it's not a big deal for the domestic market there either way, but for the good folks in surrounding countries, it makes the sitch a little easier.Relevant Posts
- Orange to sell contract-free iPhone for 649 euro plus 100 euro unlocking fee (21 days ago - 0 Comments)
- Orange to sell unlocked iPhones in France (63 days ago - 5 Comments)
- iPhone Dev Team releases code for the AnySim unlock tool (12 days ago - 0 Comments)
- Orange: 30,000 iPhones sold in France and counting (13 days ago - 0 Comments)
- Orange's unlocked iPhone to cost "well below" 1,000 euros (22 days ago - 7 Comments)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
john @ Dec 18th 2007 9:50PM
I wonder if that means you could buy one from France, ship it to the USA, and use it with T-mobile...
xfrz @ Dec 18th 2007 11:15PM
yes, it does
alphaod @ Dec 19th 2007 1:10AM
It would also be terribly expensive. You're better off buying one here cheaper, unlock and if it breaks well it still might be cheaper to buy the second one! =P
tamoghno @ Dec 19th 2007 3:46AM
the question is : how much moey apple will suck ?
aayus @ Dec 19th 2007 6:13AM
The sitch? So chris you watch Kim Possible too?