Long-term contracts and carrier-locked handsets are almost a fact of life for many in the US. Sure, Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T have all picked up a Palm Centro to complement their portfolio of smartphones, but the Big Three US wireless carriers are going to want you to sign up for a 2-year stint. For those of [...]

It turns out that those “unlocked” iPhones from France’s Orange and Germany’s short-lived unlocked iPhone offering from T-Mobile weren’t really all they were cracked up to be. You see, we had cracked them up to be truly unlocked iPhones capable of surfing any network in the world. Truly unlocked iPhones would have been an international iPhone fan-boy’s wet-dream. Alas, Apple had an Ace up their sleeve - all those unlocked iPhones are apparently still locked to their country of origin. With Germany’s T-Mobile having recently resumed sales of exclusive , locked iPhones, France’s Orange is the world’s only source of Apple-sanctioned “unlocked” iPhones. Unfortunately, enterprising iPhone users thinking about buying an unlocked Orange iPhone and using it in another country will find out the hard way that the 749 Euro unlocked iPhone won’t work outside of France. Apple likely acquiesced to France’s telecom regulations by allowing unlocking iPhones to work with any wireless operator - as long as the non-Orange network was within French borders. Anyone out there actually make a trip to France in hopes of using a fully-operational and firmware-upgradeable iPhone in, say, the US? Our condolences to your wallet. But then again, you should have known better. Apple-unlocked iPhones sounded too good to be true, and it seems it was too good indeed. [Via: iPhone Atlas ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:T-Mobile set to face-off with Vodafone over locked iPhones in Germany - November 29Want an unlocked iPhone? Just go to France. Orange France to sell carrier-unlocked iPhonesT-Mobile victorious over Vodafone - German court overturns injunction; keeps iPhone's locked, exclusive to T-MobileGerman court delays ruling on T-Mobile iPhone injunctionFrance's Orange expects to sell [...]

By now its a well known fact that iPhones are finding their way onto networks worldwide. Of course, that means that the unlocking market for the iPhone is booming - so much so that Apple has restricted sales of iPhones to US customers. Well, it looks like Apples finally taken it to the next level by going after the Singaporean retailers that are hocking these unlocked iPhones. Specifically, Apple has threatened to take legal action against retailers in Singapore’s Square (a mall in Singapore) - and could seek damages of S$1,000 (~US$691) per unlocked iPhone that’s sold. With Apple rumored to be having trouble convincing Chinese carriers that giving ridiculous revenue-kickbacks is a good idea, it makes sense for Apple to tighten its grip on the unlocked iPhone market. After all, why would China Mobile agree to a revenue sharing model if Apple can’t even assure them that the iPhone will be a China Mobile exclusive. [Via: iPhone Central ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:German court delays ruling on T-Mobile iPhone injunctionT-Mobile unlocks German iPhones through iTunes - official iPhone unlocking hack on the way?Want an unlocked iPhone? Just go to France. Orange France to sell carrier-unlocked iPhonesT-Mobile Germany offering unlocked Apple iPhones due to court orderTeenaged iPhone hardware unlock hacker trades unlocked iPhone for Nissan [...]

If contracts and carrier-branding just aren’t your cup of tea, Palm’s got the perfect Treo 750 for you - an unlocked, un-branded version. That’s right, following on Palm’s hours-old launch of the Windows Mobile 6.0 upgrade for AT&T-branded Treo 750 users, the struggling handset manufacturer has announced that they’ll be selling the unlocked Palm Treo 750 with Windows Mobile 6.0 pre-installed for $549. Previously only available through AT&T, the unlocked Palm Treo 750 is basically the same handset that you will be getting from AT&T, sans the carrier’s logo and any AT&T-specific firmware tweaks. And, as a world phone, the Palm Treo 750 will be able to get its 3G-on in the US and Europe. So, if you’ve got the need, or are willing, to trade worldwide 3G productivity for some bulk and oddly-sized display, head on over to your Palm Store (we’ve only seen one retail store, ever) or hit the online store for your own unlocked Palm Treo 750. [Via: Mobile Burn ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Rogers Canada picks up their first Windows Mobile 6.0 smartphone - the Palm Treo 750Palm's official Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional upgrade for the Treo 750 goes to Australia firstPalm Treo 750 get Windows Mobile 6.0 upgrade - as long as it's not brandedPalm Treo 750 to get Windows Mobile 6 upgrade next [...]

We know, we know. You’re all sitting on the edge of your seat to hear the Hamburg court’s decision on the T-Mobile iPhone injunction . The court is reviewing the decision to force T-Mobile to sell unlocked iPhones alongside the locked iPhones offered exclusively through the German wireless operator. And, it seems anxious German iPhone-hopefuls will be biting their nails for another day - the ruling has been delayed until tomorrow, December 4, 2007. Let’s refresh the issue a bit. Vodafone, presumably upset over losing the Apple iPhone exclusivity contract to T-Mobile Germany , prompted a German court to issue a temporary court-order that forced T-Mobile to sell unlocked versions of the iPhone. The question at hand is whether or not the Apple/T-Mobile exclusivity deal to distribute iPhones in Germany is legal - Vodafone argued that the deal breached local regulations. So, T-Mobile complied with the court-order and has been offering unlocked iPhones at ridiculous prices (999 Euro - a price point meant to discourage unlocked iPhone customers). T-Mobile has been waiting on the Hamburg-district court to review the Apple/T-Mobile deal to (hopefully) find that the partnership is legit and will be allowed to resume exclusive sales of locked iPhones. Keep in mind, France’s Orange is offering unlocked iPhones (Orange and Apple had some run-ins with local telecom regulations) at a 749 Euro price point . Any Germans interested in an unlocked iPhone only need to take a quick train-ride (well, quick-ish) to the land of crepes and creme sauces to save a couple hundred Euros . We’d like to know just how many unlocked iPhones T-Mobile is selling. [Via: iPhone Central ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:T-Mobile Germany offering unlocked Apple iPhones due to court orderApple may be suing Nokia over touchscreen patentsVodafone goes crazy; Wants to stop iPhone sales in Germany?T-Mobile set to face-off with Vodafone over locked iPhones in Germany - November 29Nokia appeals German courts dismissal of Qualcomm lawsuit

As we expected , France’s exclusive Apple iPhone carrier will be offering their unlocked iPhone at a price that undercuts its German rival T-Mobile’s price point of 999 Euros. The French wireless carrier will be asking 749 Euros for the unlocked version of the Apple iPhone, a steep discount in comparison to T-Mobile’s unlocked iPhone. The announcement of a relatively cheap unlocked version of the iPhone on Orange’s network makes sense. With Orange obligated by French telecom regulations , it makes sense for the iPhone operator to attempt to attract as many customers as possible with a lower-priced unlocked iPhone offering. T-Mobile’s unlocked iPhone price of 999 Euro seems to be more of a deterrent - an effort to coax customers into buying a subsidized version of the iPhone, while T-Mobile fights to have the court-order (that forced T-Mobile to offer an unlocked version of the iPhone) overturned. Orange will be offering four iPhone-specific rate plans when it launches today at 6:30pm local time - all plans are Visual Voicemail-enabled and will include unlimited data. The cheapest plan will cost 49 Euros and include 120 peak minutes, 120 night/weekend minutes, and 50 SMS text messages. The most expensive plan will cost 119 Euros in return for 480 peak minutes, 480 night/weekend minutes, and 1000 SMS text messages. We’ll have to wait and see if Orange will be able to meet their iPhone sales goal of 100,000 units by year’s end . [Via: Apple Insider ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Want an unlocked iPhone? Just go to France. Orange France to sell carrier-unlocked iPhonesFrance's Orange expects to sell 100,000 iPhones by year-end; sell cheaper unlocked iPhonesT-Mobile set to face-off with Vodafone over locked iPhones in Germany - November 29It's official - Apple and Orange launching iPhone in France on November 29Apple and [...]

With the French iPhone launch just days away, the nation’s Apple-partnered wireless carrier is speaking up about its iPhone sales goals. Orange has announced that it expects to push 100,000 iPhones out its doors by the end of this year - merely a month after the iPhones launch on November 29 . Orange Wireless’s CEO, Didier Lombard, stated that he expects sales numbers to reach “a little under 100,000″ by December 31 - amounting to approximately 3,000 iPhones being sold every day. And, to help move more iPhones than its European counterparts in Germany , Lombard has promised that Orange will be selling unlocked iPhones at a price that’s significantly lower” than the 999 Euro ($$1,485 USD) price tag that T-Mobile German is charging for their iPhone. Recall that the iPhone’s future in France was put in jeopardy due to French telecom regulations that required all wireless carriers to offer unlocked versions of their handset. We think it makes sense that France’s Orange would offer the unlocked version of the iPhone at a lower price-point than Germany’s T-Mobile. It seems that T-Mobile is only offering the unlocked iPhone to comply with a temporary court-ordered injunction, which T-Mobile is actively seeking to get overturned - so unlocked iPhones in Germany are something of a stop-gap solution, and is perhaps even discouraged from being purchased through the incredibly high price. In France, however, Orange will have to offer the unlocked version of the iPhone without question, and so will likely be giving customers more incentive to buy the iPhone, locked or unlocked, from Orange. Orange’s subsidized (read: locked) iPhone will command 399 Euro and will require a 2-year contract that starts at 49 Euro per month for 120 minutes and 50 SMS text messages. Interestingly, customers opting for a 1-year contract will initially pay the same price for the handset, but will be charged about 4.50 Euro more per month for service.  We’d love to see this sort of tiered-contract offering from US carriers - it would be easier to pay a few bucks more per month than to shell out a couple hundred more dollars upfront in order to keep contracts down to a reasonable length. It’d be great to pay the same amount for the cellphone and just pay an extra $8 per month in return for a 1-year contract. [Via: Apple Insider ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Want an unlocked iPhone? Just go to France. Orange France to sell carrier-unlocked iPhonesT-Mobile set to face-off with Vodafone over locked iPhones in Germany - November 29Carphone Warehouse expecting to hock 10,000 UK iPhones on launch dayT-Mobile Germany offering unlocked Apple iPhones due to court orderO2 sells tens of thousands of UK [...]

Wait a tick. When did the iPhone launch in China? Oh, that’s right, it hasn’t. So, what are enterprising, iPhone-loving Chinese to do? Well, they could make a trip to Hong Kong and scoop up one of those unlocked iPhones from the corner electronics boutique - complete with Chinese-language support. Hong Kong has already had unlocked iPhones almost from day-one , but full Chinese language support is an interesting (and completely expected) development. The wonders of third-party apps. Oh, and take a look at those iPhone promotional window dressings. They look like a 3-year old made them. Keep reading for a couple more pics. [Via: JustAMP ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Update your Nokia N73 to Internet editionFirst Chinese-Keyboard Touchscreen SmartphoneUnlocked Apple iPhones working in Hong Kong with non-AT&T SIM cards?m-internet partners with Siemens Hong KongPorsche Cayenne Mobile Phone - From Hong Kong