Orange to sell unlocked iPhones in France
By Thomas Ricker 
posted October 17th 2007 4:13AM
posted October 17th 2007 4:13AM
Well, well... looks like Apple has been backed into a corner by French law and will be releasing an unlocked iPhone in France after all. While no one will say precisely how much the unlocked iPhone will cost (the locked Orange-network iPhone will cost €399) those details are expected to be announced sometime before the November 29 launch. Of course, laws forbidding the exclusive bundling of cellphones to carriers are not unique to France. As such, we can expect a glut of unlocked iPhones in the coming months as deals are struck throughout Europe and Asia. Hear that AT&T, O2 and T-Mobile haters? Your nefarious unlocking efforts are about to get a whole lot easier (and more expensive). [Via Orange]
But the question remains:
in what way will Apple work to disable the user from doing with the device what he pleases?
Region disabling? Gimping of features? French language only? I can't imagine they can simultaneously sell an unlocked version while trying to keep a step ahead of these sim-unlockers.
Maybe it's something Apple already knew about, it could be a way to remove the need for illegal unlock software.
If so, Apple are smart and have already conned every iPhone user so far. The Europeans get it last but at least it's unlocked!
Long live the queen and her froggy counterparts.
Should be good news right? But I can already see AAPL jacking the price sky high to "encourage" ppl buying Orange phones... it'll still cheaper to buy one in the US (why is it so much more in Europe for the same thing??) and then unlock it yourself!
Indeed, when the dollar used to be slightly less in value than the euro the difference wasn't so obvious, by now it's getting propostorous. Best example was Adobe selling the new Photoshop for the same price in pounds as in dollars due to "internationalisation costs"...
[posting system ate my post?]
Maybe they will lock it to France only, or make it french-language-only. I am sure that that would not violate any French laws and it would still be annoying for people from other countries.
GREAT NEWS!!! I live about 2 hours from the France... i gotta go over there and buy some iphones, no matter how much it will cost! My prescioooooousssss
About time someone put Apple in their place with this ridiculous situation whereby you cannot unlock their phones. They really have not done their market research properly when it comes to selling the iPhone out of the US. Other mobile phone providers have to live within this framework and do not suffer any adverse ill effects because of it.
Seems to me that Apple wanted to shaft the consumer by relocking phones. It will be certainly interesting how Apple approaches any further updates to their iPhone. I guarantee that Apple will not bricking any iPhones any more.
I am against any action by any corporation from any country that attempts to restrict the freedom of choice for the consumer by dubious business practices. I am happy that Apple has finally had its just rewards.
I don't know how the US works, but it appears that the Corporations are dictating to you the consumers over there. It is time you made your vote count, and the biggest vote you give a corporation is by taking your wallet somewhere else if your government is going to do nothing to help restrictive practices. I would also consider voting for a political party that is on your side and not on the side of the corporations as well. If one exists.
Wilky said, " I guarantee that Apple will not bricking any iPhones any more."
Apple didn't go out of it's way to brick any iPhones with the 1.1.1 update. It was a result of poor coding on the side of the hackers. Apple WILL keep locking phones in countries that allow it. Apple WILL NOT purposely delete your additonal hacked programs but don't expect them to tiptoe around them either.
Be smart; don't update your iPhone until a patch is created, and then go back to factory default settings before continuing the update. Or just don't update at all.
My guess: 599€ the 8G unlocked iPhone.
So if you wait a few months, as Apple to restrict supply of unlocked phones initially, you'll get a cheap unlocked Orange iPhone on ebay. So there goes O2s business case for ripping-off the British public :)
To those wondering about the language issue: in Belgium (where most people suppose the iPhone will be launched in a couple of months - if not in time for christmas gift shopping) we have 3 major languages: French, Dutch/Flemish and English for some (like Eurocrats in Brussels). On top of that we have a minor German speaking community. If the phone becomes available here, chances are high that users will be able to freely choose between different languages without penalty.
I just read that the Leclerc supermarkets are selling unlocked iPhone for the price of 999 euros (8 GB). Others shop will also sell it for a cheper price (about 700 euros) without any warranty it will work in case of update.
And you just arrived along to tell us out of the goodness of your heart? Spam off.
Well I wouldn't count on getting imported phones from those countries, because the operation spectrum can vary from country to country. However, the real victory is the possibility of flashing the US phone with the unlocked firmware. iPhone, welcome to the world of the Razor where over 50 different firmware versions are available and language packs run abound. It's kind of sad to hear about this now though, because by the time those phones roll out the few remaining OS holes will be patched and it will be damn near impossible to Jailbreak an iPhone. The hacker community has exploited the iPhone so much in recent months that it is close to becoming 100% locked down just in time for unlocked versions to roll around. Remember, unlocked doesn't mean 3rd party access will be available.
"by the time those phones roll out the few remaining OS holes will be patched and it will be damn near impossible to Jailbreak an iPhone. The hacker community has exploited the iPhone so much in recent months that it is close to becoming 100% locked down just in time for unlocked versions to roll around."
Yes, just like Sony has made it impossible to hack the PSP, or Microsoft Vista. Not.
Apple can patch till the cows come home, but until they have perfect code (does not exist) they will have to put up with unauthorized 3rd party apps.
The more found bugs a software product has, the more likely it is to have other bugs.
Plus, Apple does force you to update your phone, do they?
well i have my iPhone in Belgium running on proximus, of course is 1.0.2 version with 3rd party apps but i wount mind paying for an APPLE aproved iPhone that wont brinck with the Updates... i'm prefectly happy with the one i have now, but i'll probably get another one once the 3G version comes out, hopefully
"Vive la France" if you speack french...
"Viva la Francia" or something if you're more spanish or italian...
It's obvious why they're doing this: France wants tourists =)
I can see these unlocked iPhones going on eBay for a lot more than they'll cost.. have fun France!
l'iPhonaise
allons enfants de la technologie
le jour de gloire est arrivé
contre nous des iphones simlockés
et tant d'heures passées à espérer
et tant d'heures passées à espérer
entendez-vous dans vos campagnes
mugirent sony, palm et nokia ?
il viennent jusque dans nos mails,
nous faire signer des contrats à la pelle (apple ;-))
aux armes, citoyens !
formez vos bataillons
marchons marchons
qu'un son très pur abreuve
nos pavillons...
j'aime ton rap :) c'est bien
Isn't that something like $1500USD? That's not even a reasonable spam link.
wooooo!!! yeah, je l'aime ca! ouai :)
Doesn't US law state that providers have to offer the option to unlock a phone if a customer has an account in good standing for an x number of weeks/days? What happened to that? I believe Erica did give that a try without success ...?
So why adapt to French law, but no adaptation/compliance to US law?
Its the name thats the problem - iPhone. Its not a phone - it just happens to be able to make phone calls.
The other ugly things out there are phones with loads of silly features bolted-on, none of which are useful.
Eventually all iPhones will be unlocked, the market will be fragmented at last, and Apple will make a serious truckload of cash - for the best communication device that is also a sheer PLEASURE to use.
I may be an iDiot, but I will NEVER use a crappy, massively IRRITATING, stress-creating, Nokia/Motorola/Sony Ericson/whatever cell phone again.You can SHOVE your GPS - and all the other USELESS 'features'.
Vive la iPhone.
@BHSPitMonkey
You're thinking pounds. It would be about 1000USD
I have a feeling that once/if apple starts selling unlocked iphones at outrageous they'll get another few lawsuits.
Reading these comments, it seems that many people believe that owning a reasonably priced, unlocked iPhone is a right. If it doesn't do what you want, and doesn't cost what you want and isn't on the carrier you want, then move along. Laws demanding unlocked phones doesn't make sense to me.
If I own a company that produces X, I should be able to determine what X does and how much it cost, not the government. If consumers don't like X or I priced incorrectly, and they go buy Y, then I don't make money and I no longer have a business. I would love to own an iPhone, but I had bad experiences with AT&T, so I don't have one. I don't bitch and complain about not having one, and I don't think I have a right to own one. I have a choice, and that is what is important.
Being British I am no lover of the monstrosity that is the EU and its attendant institutions but every so often they do get things right and this is one of them. If a company wants to do business in the EU they have to obey our laws and respect consumer rights. i.e you cannot sell a product and then require the purchase of a second product in order to use the first product.
I would turn your argument on its head and say if Apple does not want to obey our laws then don't sell the phone. However, they appear positively desperate to get their hands on European cash.
For all it's faults the EU does at least recognise that the public requires protection from the corporation. Unlike the US where the Government seems more interested in protecting the corporation from the consumer.
No DMCA or jailed torrenters here.
A free market requires that both the buyer and seller understand the deal they're going to undertake. For the seller this is usually pretty straight-forward: they get money. You only have to agree upon the time and the amount, and sometimes not even that. If I walk out the store with a microwave oven under my jacket, and two months later I will claim that I was going to pay later, the court typically won't buy that.
But the buyer has a harder job; he will study the specifications, and sometimes the specifications turn out not to be enough. Or there is so much information to take in, that the buyer can do little else than take on good faith that the product will work as expected.
As expected is the key phrase in this. The sort of consumer protection laws we're discussing are typically the result of a grey area, where buyer expectations kept conflicting with what sellers were typically offering. So the state makes laws that formalize a certain expectation.
It's still not pretty, but the alternative is that every buyer takes Apple to small-claims court.
Wow, I guess the french are alright after all...
so tell me,
if i were to buy an iphone in america, can i get it unlocked in france???