Apple was one of the first companies to sell a smartphone via an exclusive cellular carrier and we all know what troubles that caused. Reported today, it appears that Apple is going to be selling an unlocked version of the iPhone. Twitter accounts have been buzzing all day about the report that unlocked iPhones will be in stores by Wednesday of this week. The unlocked iPhone that is available is the 16GB in black or white and the 32GB, also in black or white. Many customers outside of the United States love the fact they can put their new iPhone on any network, or have “carrier freedom” as they call it.
Customers in the United States have gone round and round about AT&T as the only available carrier when the smartphone just arrived, but with iPhones that are modified, against warranty, iPhones were popping up on other networks. Now there will be no reason for modifying your iPhone as it should work with Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile or AT&T.
There really isn’t any real reason that Apple would keep the iPhone locked since Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile all have plans to have iPhones on the market. The cost for an unlocked iPhone would be slightly different than some are used to when buying a cell phone with carrier discounts. The unlocked iPhone is sold at full retail, or $599, and not the $199 price with a two-year contract. One catch might be that Apple does not have any plans on offering up an unlocked CDMA version, which means unlocked iPhone 4’s will not be available for Verizon or Sprint networks.
With an iPhone that has been unlocked in the factory there are many advantages. One of the biggest advantages might be that you don’t have to unlock it yourself. You can simply order your phone and go from there, instead of trying to follow some instructions online possibly rendering your phone useless. Other than the major risk of unlocking the phone yourself, the resale value of the phone should stay higher than one that was “jail broken”. The market for any Apple iOS product is quite hot these days, so factory unlocked will get you a better price, should you sell. That is a nice bonus should you upgrade or just decide to sell it outright. One more advantage of having your phone factory unlocked is that if you travel internationally, your phone should be no issue at all.
