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Orange to Offer Unlocked iPhone in France

Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 at 10:35 AM - by

When Apple's combination iPod and smart phone goes on sale in France on November 29, customers will have one option that isn't available in other countries: an unlocked iPhone. The standard locked model will be available, just as it is in the U.S., but an unlocked model that can be used on other wireless networks will also be available, according to the International Herald Tribune.

The option to purchase an unlocked iPhone is most likely a concession to French law that requires customers have the option to buy a cell phone and use it with the carrier of their choice. In other countries, however, the iPhone will still be sold in its locked-only form.

In the United States, Apple has an exclusive deal with AT&T, O2 in the United Kingdom, and T-Mobile in Germany. Since unlocked iPhones are not legitimately available in those countries, hackers have taken to finding ways to break through the handheld's built-in protection and unlock the phone on their own -- a process that has left many iPhone owners with expensive paper weights.

Apple and Orange will sell locked iPhones in France for €399 (about US$566.58). Neither company has stated how much the unlocked version will cost.

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vasic said:

member since 09 Aug 2005 with 279 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Wed Oct 17, 2007 2:32 pm

The unlocked price will be exactly what Apple is getting for the phone from Orange (just like AT&T in the US), plus what it's getting from the customer (US$ 400, Ђ400). In the US, that would probably be somewhere around US$ 750. In France, I would expect it to be around Ђ600-640. The important part would be not to cannibalise Orange's profits, but to also allow Apple to make their nominal profit on it (which is in the neighbourhood of 120-150%). The question will be whether the unlocked French-market iPhone would be updatable using non-French iTunes accounts. I'm sure Apple would not care much how they get their profits (i.e. whether upfront, from the purchase of an unlocked iPhone, or over the next two years, through carrier subsidies). However, eventually, iPhone will be released elsewhere in the world (in addition to UK and Germany), where carriers might mind if the device is available unlocked in a market not too far away from theirs. I gues the critical issue here would be the exact price point for that unlocked device. I'm sure that was the precise reason for the French announcement delay.

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