Unlocked iPhone 4 Now for Sale in USA
Apple is now selling carrier unlocked iPhone 4 GSM models in the USA, making it the first time the devices have been legitimately offered through the primary market in the country. An unlocked iPhone can be used on any other GSM network, in the USA or otherwise, assuming you have an active micro-SIM card for that network.
How Much Do the Unlocked iPhones Cost?
Unlocked iPhones don’t come cheap in the USA or anywhere else for that matter. The price is the same for both black or white models, the cost differentiation relates to storage capacity:
- Unlocked iPhone 4 16GB – $649
- Unlocked iPhone 4 32GB – $749
If you’re wondering why the prices are high, Apple answers:
Carriers typically subsidize the purchase price of the phone when purchased with a service contract. By purchasing your iPhone unlocked, you are not committing to a service contract up front, so you can use any micro-SIM card from a supported GSM carrier, including your current one.
What are the Advantages to an Unlocked iPhone?
There are several answers to this, but the primary reasons to own a factory unlocked iPhone are:
- No Carrier Contract – you pay full price for the phone, but the iPhone is not bound to a carrier contract, meaning you can start and stop service at will without any penalties
- Move from Carrier to Carrier – want to use T-Mobile? No problem. AT&T have better reception? Switch. There’s no hassle, no fees, nothing that voids the warranty, just plug in a new carriers SIM card and go
- International Travel – the same carrier transportation mentioned above applies to international travel, forget about roaming charges and instead grab a local SIM card
All you need is an active compatible micro-SIM card from a GSM carrier and the phone will use that network.
Why Now? AT&T & T-Mobile Merger or Another Jailbreak Killer?
Carrier unlocked phones are somewhat of an anomaly in the United States, but they are ubiquitous elsewhere in the world. It’s not clear why Apple is choosing to sell the unlocked devices at this point, but there is some speculation that this move is intended as preparation for the AT&T and T-Mobile USA merger. Others are suggesting this is intended as another blow to the jailbreaking scene, since carrier unlocks are a popular reason for users to jailbreak their iPhones.
Nice find by MacRumors!
may i know if the unlocked iphone 4 can be used in serbia country? and may i know if buying from you and ship to serbia will have any charges or not??
and may i know how much is the cost of unlocked iphone 4 16gb but not iphone 4s…
the apple page says the unlocked iphone 4 will work overseas with ‘supported’ carriers. so how do you know which ones are the supported carriers?
27 countries sell iPhones unlocked: Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Russia, Slovakia, Turkey, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, South Africa
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1937
More interesting question now is if AT&T/Apple will finally agree to unlock iphones that have fulfilled their contract obligations! I’d love to know the answer to that question…
Simply cut a regular SIM card to fit. One can even purchase a SIM card trimmer for the purpose.
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In Ukraine price 900$ for neverlock 16GB
In fact, an unlocked phone in the US will be of very little use to anyone — not because of Apple, but because of AT&T.
I recently traveled to the US with my unlocked iPhone 4 (purchased overseas) and went to (several) AT&T stores to obtain a “pay as you go” Micro SIM.
They don’t have any.
It’s not that AT&T was out of stock. It’s that the company does not sell them. Period. One store told me they sell them, but with no data plans.
The only way to get iPhone 4 service with AT&T is to sign a 2-year contract. That may change, but don’t be on it.
I ended up buying a full-size SIM, a SIMcard cutter off Amazon and chopping it down to fit the iPhone 4. After that, it worked great.
Yup, you have to use a SIM cutter or you can do it yourself with an exacto knife. These are definitely intended to leak into overseas markets more than being sold to the US market.