New 3G iPhone will be harder to unlock?
Apple Inc. is making the new 3G iPhone more difficult to hack and use on networks other than AT&T. However, in little more than a month after the original iPhones release last year, enterprising hackers found a way to “unlock” the phone to make it usable on other networks, including networks in other countries.
It have been estimated that one-third to one-half of the phones sold never made it onto AT&T’s network, so in this new 3G, or third-generation, iPhone will stem the flow of unlocked phones in two ways.
1) the phone will be sold in more countries. Apple added five countries beyond the U.S. for the first phone, but the second one will go on sale in 22 countries on July 11. Apple has said it will add more countries at a rapid clip and reach 70 by the end of the year, taking away one of the main incentives for unlocking.
2) Apple is abandoning the unusual arrangement under which the iPhone was being sold. Customers could buy them from a carrier or from Apple without activating them on a service plan, and that meant customers could go home and unlock the phones - and never sign up with AT&T.
The new phone is subsidized by carriers, resulting in a lower $199 price tag for the 8-gig model, down from $399. This brings the phone’s marketing in line with standard industry practices.
But carriers will make that subsidy money back through service fees and purchasers will likely have to sign a two-year service contract. Buyers will have to activate service before leaving the store with an iPhone, according to AT&T. It’s the requirement that buyers of the new phone sign up for service in the store that will be hard to get around.
However AT&T might charge customers who break a two-year contract within the first month a $175 early termination fee plus the $36 activation fee, bringing the cost of the new iPhone to $411 for an unlocker, just slightly more than the old model’s $399 price.
Would Apple or AT&T sell unsubsidized phones? We will see…. ^^;
UPDATE: Unsubsidized prices for the iPhone 3G in Europe-Vodafone Italy has set an out-of-contract price for the iPhone 3G at 499/€569 ($773/$881) for the 8GB/16GB models, respectively. Subscription rates have not yet been announced. While steep, those prices are actually smartphone-reasonable in Italy (and around Europe) where an HTC Touch Cruise with its WiFi, tri-band HSDPA data, GPS, and touchscreen sells for €549. Capisce? - From the source.
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