Apple now selling iPhone 3G unlocked in Hong Kong

If you can't get your goods into China via the front door, there's always the back. Apple is now selling its iPhone 3G unlocked via its on-line Apple Store in Hong Kong. The 8GB model sells for HK$5,500 (about US$694) or HK$6,200 (about $797) for the 16 gigger. Already available since July 11th with a local Hutchison Telecommunications contract, this is the first time that Apple has sold its device unlocked in Hong Kong:

"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."

Unfortunately for the 1 billion mainland Chinese, the terms and conditions limit sales to those in Hong Kong only -- not that the gray market cares about T&Cs. It'll be interesting to see if Apple extends the unlocking more broadly (presumably as exclusivity deals expire) or if this is strictly a local phenomena, perhaps in direct response to having its WiFi and the imperialistic 3G gutted from handsets sold under Apple's rumored China Mobile deal.

[Via PC World, thanks Twins N]

[JOSE @ Sep 26th 2008 4:17AM]

WOW!

[Jash Sayani @ Sep 26th 2008 5:16AM]

Cool. Time to upgrade to iPhone 3G. !

[nDee @ Sep 26th 2008 6:34AM]

700 USD for unlocked version
is actually not too bad.
Except the fact that it's almost the price of a n81

[peestandingup @ Sep 26th 2008 4:20AM]

Couldnt the iPhone hacking community here in the states get ahold of one of these & tinker with it to lead to an unlocking solution for the rest of us??

[Speeddemon2008 @ Sep 26th 2008 4:35AM]

no, because over there they dont use gsm, its a different type of cdma...

[BuddyBoy @ Sep 26th 2008 4:38AM]

That's odd cause the order page linked with the article says
UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

no mention of CDMA

[HKG @ Sep 26th 2008 4:56AM]

There is no CDMA in Hong Kong, we only use WCDMA, aka UMTS for 3G services and some services provider have HSDPA as well. In 2G, we have GSM 900 and GSM 1800.

[Testies, Testies, 1, 2... 3? @ Sep 26th 2008 1:00PM]

Hey Speed,

Slow down and think before you talk

[Joe @ Sep 26th 2008 4:24AM]

那是不是 去旅行一下就 可以买了？

[LordFarkward @ Sep 26th 2008 5:40AM]

yup

[Josh @ Sep 26th 2008 6:31AM]

Of course you can. But you'll have to pay your carrier's roaming fees i guess.

[wilcoholic @ Sep 26th 2008 4:39AM]

At those prices there are much better options available.

[TMM @ Sep 26th 2008 5:01AM]

So this is not a normal price for a device with those features?
How much did the N95 cost when it was pretty young? Even more.
iPhones are a really high quality product.
Just name me one mobile with a better - or on par - build quality ... for example.

If you don't like this thing, fine.
But spare us the smack.

[CaramelZappa @ Sep 26th 2008 6:32AM]

@TMM

Almost all phones have a better build quality than the iphone, because most phones don't use glass on the screen, so it doesn't shatter when you drop it a foot.

Don't get me wrong, it has a bunch of nice features, but it's also built like an eggshell.

[Tony @ Sep 26th 2008 12:05PM]

@ CaramelZappa

"...most phones don't use glass on the screen, so it doesn't shatter when you drop it a foot."

Are you sure you know what "shatter" means?

[Richard @ Sep 26th 2008 4:59AM]

First, it's Hutchison, not Hutchinson - but the consumer brand is 3.

Second, HK uses the same GSM/UMTS as everyone else.

Third, unlocked/jailbroken iPhones have been available for a long long time on the grey market in HK - a couple of weeks ago they were apparently going for approximately $6500 (8GB) or $7500 (16GB) - so this is going to gut the grey market completely.

[humps @ Sep 26th 2008 5:25AM]

@richard

you're a bit out my friend. The grey market was at HKD$5890 for the 16gb model. And they are not unlocked, they are locked but sell you a Gevey 3G Turbo SIM (claim no sim cutting required, but google for reports of stuck and not working examples) or other similar products like UniversalSIM/RebelSIM. There is currently no software/firmware sim unlock for the 3G iphone.

[Josh @ Sep 26th 2008 6:33AM]

@humps

That's bullsh*t

Do you live in HK? In Mongkok, they just use iPhone dev team's activator thingy
Not sure in Shum Shui Po though.

[TMM @ Sep 26th 2008 5:06AM]

Does anybody have an educated guess when Apple might start selling iPhones unlocked in general?

I don't get it all that I can't buy an unlocked one in Germany, f.e., because it's not forced by laws, opposed to Belgium and Italy.

It's one of the only consumer products I know of you can't buy if you want to.

[Ian @ Sep 26th 2008 5:07AM]

Same unlocked prices as in Australia, except the value of the Australian dollar has dropped considerably, making it a steal for foreigners.

[2shell @ Sep 26th 2008 5:11AM]

All iPhones sold in Russia will be unlocked versions. But they will cost around 900usd for the 8gb version and 1159 ish for the 16gb.

[Herman @ Sep 26th 2008 5:22AM]

iPhone launched in South Africa:
http://www.vodacom.co.za/iphone/deals.jsp

16GB Iphone:

ZAR 7569

Thats $927.57

[haggis @ Sep 26th 2008 5:24AM]

why is this phone in the "Portable Audio" Section??

and why is there any phones in this Section!!

its Portable Audio!!
there is a section for phones...
called cellphones so put it there...........!
im here looking for PMP's
MP3's and other forms of portable audio NOT! a phone...

engadget get a grip!

[Ryan @ Sep 26th 2008 5:51AM]

the iphone doesnt double as an ipod? news to me...

[haggis @ Sep 26th 2008 7:45AM]

@Ryan
its still a phone before its an ipod..!!
still like the idea of ipod in the phone
but phones have music players in them
they can play music to "LIKE" an
mp3player can....
and people dont go round sayin look at
my new ipod (iphone) just coz it plays
music....

efter bawbag..

[humps @ Sep 26th 2008 5:29AM]

If you google you should find that even the iPhones sold with the contracts at Three HK are unlocked (like italy?), it is a law the phone cannot be locked to a network. This should be apple selling unsubsidised iPhone 3G without a contract in HK. Don't get too excited.

[SCREAMER @ Sep 26th 2008 10:42AM]

@humps

theres no such law in Hong Kong!!

[asg84 @ Sep 26th 2008 5:33AM]

overpriced!!!!
wish around 500 usd the 8 gb model

[Joe Brooster @ Sep 26th 2008 6:00AM]

Vodafone Greece sells iphone 3g unlocked for about a month now. I bought mine put in a Wind sim card and works happily ever after except for the visual voice mail.

[Alan Lau @ Sep 26th 2008 6:02AM]

Finally, the iPhone 3G "officially" being sell unlocked!

[James Stringer @ Sep 26th 2008 6:16AM]

Vodafone NZ has sold Unlocked iPhones from day one.

Contract phones are sold unlocked, with discount.

or you can opt to buy a mobile phone for full retail if you are going to be putting your existing contract sim in it.

[Josh @ Sep 26th 2008 6:35AM]

One good thing about living in Hong Kong! :)

Thank god I do.

[Peter @ Sep 26th 2008 6:35AM]

Errrrr... whoever wrote this need to update their info... all HK phone has always been sold unlock... it is just that they are now selling it without contract that's all... nothing special to it really... to be honest buying the phone without the contract at the quoted price will end up costing you more than signing up with a contract anyway... you still need to sign up for a plan with some kind of a carrier right? Apple are doing this probably to cut out all the parallel marketer who are selling iphone without contract for HKD7000+...

[Hong Kong @ Sep 26th 2008 7:09AM]

Just FYI this is old news. ALL 3 shops were selling unlocked phones from day one. They even made it a point to tell customers that they were free to switch networks. There was also no shortage of stock on these phones ever unlike the US as its not that popular here.

[Ivan @ Sep 26th 2008 7:12AM]

It's times like these when I love living in Hong Kong.

[iHoppipolla @ Sep 26th 2008 7:41AM]

Could you bring one of these over to the States and still have a legit warranty?

[Risse @ Sep 26th 2008 8:24AM]

When I bought my iPod Classic from Hong Kong, I was told that all Apple products have worldwide warranty. I would think it also includes iPhones.

[Kyle C @ Sep 26th 2008 8:42AM]

The iPhone 3G is also available in South Africa unlocked and with no strings attached. It's up to the user whether they want a contract or not. Vodafone has exclusive rights for the first three months and then it will be a free for all with all networks providing their own packages.

Prices:
8gig = ~$850 with no contract
16gig = ~$950 with no contract
OR
8gig = ~$250 with choice of data and voice contracts
16gig = ~$400 with choice of data and voice contracts

A bit expensive, but still good to have options. I reckon it's just a matter of time before a similar no-strings package is available in the USA.

[Buddy Lok @ Sep 26th 2008 8:58AM]

where did the $199 USD 3G iPhone go? I'm sure Steve Jobs mentioned it.....

[Ashwin @ Sep 26th 2008 9:31AM]

That was only with the contract. Also, in many countries were cellular bills are lower, the carriers cannot afford the $300+ subsidy that Apple is requesting.

[absurdio @ Sep 26th 2008 9:56AM]

Huh. Well. I don't live in Hong Kong, and I still can't afford it. *sigh*
Also: "a local phenomenon." "Phenomena" is plural. Who cares?

[val.buzeta @ Sep 26th 2008 10:09AM]

Well I spotted today that some proper big (rather than grey-market tiny) Russian shops are taking reservations for the iPhone 3G. Considering they are not mobile phone shops and no phone is sold locked here, the promised unlocked Russian iPhone is on it's way.

See a translated page here
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digital.ru%2Fapple%2Fnewiphone.htm&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=ru&tl=en

Price is about $920 for the 8GB, just under $1100 for the 16GB - pricey, but then, that's Moscow for you :)

[Flavio @ Sep 26th 2008 10:56AM]

In Brazil today they started to sell iPhones on the two largest of the four nationwide carriers.

They're being sold locked, but, according to our law, on customer request the operator has to unlock it. According to the legislator, if there's already a contract tying you to them, the operators shouldn't use other "controls" to enforce your obligation to maintain the relationship with them.

On Vivo (http://www.vivo.com.br/iphone/home.php?tipo=pf), our largest carrier, the pre-paid (with no contract) 8GB version is being sold for something around US$ 1,000 (R$ 1,900) and the 16GB version sells for US$ 1,200 (R$ 2,200).

Pretty expensive, but not far from other similar phones (Nokia N95 8GB, HTC Touch and Blackberry Bold) in pre-paid plans.

[shadir @ Sep 26th 2008 11:02AM]

I wish the same was done in the Middle East. How long will the guys have to wait in Dubai for the official Iphone to release. Its been so so long and people are really getting impatient. An unlocked version from the Dubai Apple Store would be a true blessing :).

[Ricky @ Sep 26th 2008 11:19AM]

A newbie question: A friend of mine from HK is coming to Indonesia this October and if I ask him to buy one for me, is it possible for me to use it in Indonesia? I mean will there be any roaming charge whatsoever?

[Kizorblade @ Sep 26th 2008 12:03PM]

Ask your friend to buy two. Indonesia has no damn 3G iPhones :(

[Chris Li @ Sep 26th 2008 12:06PM]

In HK which is parallel import paradise, it is easy to expect we will re-export it next day. We have over hundred years experience in doing that!

I think on apple website it states that it takes any SIM btw ... so no worry of roaming, just your local sim will do

[Walt @ Sep 26th 2008 2:32PM]

The iPhone hardware is fine, but the user interface and software side are its Achilles heel. For that reason WinMo will always be champion. It's be ideal to have WinMo at the app store so that users could replace their OS.

[MMS @ Sep 26th 2008 3:51PM]

Huh? iPhone's "user interface and software side are its achilles heel." Who are you?

[Kei @ Sep 26th 2008 5:17PM]

Since they're releasing the iPhone in Qatar, I'm confident it'll be unlocked because no network in the Middle East locks phones and the consumers wouldn't accept it.