French get pre-pay iPhone 3G
Buy now sans contract - and unlocked
Updated Apple's 3G iPhone has gone on sale in France - without the need to take out an airtime contract.
The untethered handset doesn't come cheap. The 8GB version will set you back €509 ($808/£404) while the 16GB model costs €609 ($966/£483).
That's through local supplier Darty, which specialises in selling handsets that are not subsidised through a contract.
Darty's iPhone page: pre-pay preferred
However, the handset is not unlocked. A line in the suppliers small print states: "Requires the use of a SIM card from Orange France."
But it'll prove a boon to would-be iPhone owners looking to pick up a device without being tied to a contract before they've even left the shop, or want to be able to use the handset on the network of their choice rather than the one(s) Apple thinks you should use.
France's official iPhone carrier, Orange, is legally obliged to unlock the handset, according to French law. So far, however, it has not said how owners can get this done. It too is selling the iPhone with a PAYG SIM "sans engagement" (without contract) for €609, but a line on its website suggests you can buy the phone "alone" for €709 - that's presumably the unlock price.
Video Review
Apple iPhone 3G
COMMENTS
@foof
I'd probably reverse the order completely (with the exception of the Samsung).
@Eric
so my iPhone 3G was only U$D780 equiv in italy, but you're overlooking one interesting feature. I've upgraded my AppleTv to software 2.1 and I now use my iPhone to remotely control my ATV , from anywhere in the house!
just think, when I lose the last of the 20 dollar tiny remotes, at least I can use my ever so reasonable iPhone. And if I lose that behind the sofa or in the dog, I just have to phone it to find it!
meanwhile, when I (re)started in IT I was a win NT sys-op, and I liked playing with OS9 at home and eventually persuaded the PHB to buy a lime Green iBook. Now all senior managers at wirk are queuing up for their MBP's. None of them choose Vista. I'm sure this/next year they'll all have jPhones and someone at work will have to show them how to plug the SIM in. I intend that it be me. I'll have a job next year. Now I'm playing with xubuntu on the eee at home, life moves on!
RIPOFF!!
How do these corporations get away with ripping people off like this?
Even if you get an iphone under contract - most of the price plans are crap in comparison of ther plans.
The stock shortage in the UK is laughable at best, unlawful at worst since it seems a deliberate attempt by Apple to increase demand in there product (think Wii).
What is it with Apple anyhow? Does it really have such little faith in the commercial success of iphone that it needs to resort to such underhand tactics? Did the demand for the original (and pre-sale of the 3G version) not give it some indicator as to demand?
How could O2 not see this coming? How could they have such short-sightedness that their servers would buckle under the strrain of new registrations!
And then Apple boast of a 1 million units sold in the first week. Are you kidding!
I'm seriously in danger of becoming as cynical about these things are the reg! :(
Picked up one at lunch time
Im down in France on holiday, went in to the FT shop and bought one. Finding out how to unlock it too about 20 min but the staff were very helpfull since I was the 4th iphone sale of the day, and they had plenty of stock .
You buy your phone and take the mobicart sim add 100€ of credit (costs 75€ as you get 25€ free) acitvate it in itunes then dila 3972 and ask for your phone to be simlock free and they take the 100€ from your account.
Im in the process of doing it now, you either have 72 houres to do it in or it will take 72 hours. I lost a bit in the translation.
684€ unlocked for a 16G
@Any downsides?
I don't actually know, but if I had to guess then I'd say that visual voicemail (where you have a graphical inbox of voicemails and you select one to listen to, rather than having to phone up and listen to the three minute computer voice speech about menu options before having to listen to your messages in chronological order) almost certainly doesn't work on other carriers...
