Friday, March 13, 2009

Buy iPhone 3G Unlocked

By Antonio B.

Have you ever wondered if there's a place where you can buy an unlocked iPhone 3G without having to worry about legal impediments? That place actually exists. In Hong Kong, buying unlocked cell phones is perfectly normal. In fact, they don't do it any other way. There, when you buy a phone, it's not locked to any carrier. Instead, you pick a carrier to connect to yourself.

The principle behind an unlocked cell phone

The principle behind an unlocked iPhone 3G is very simple. When any cell phone is locked, it will allow you to insert only one kind of SIM card ? the one affiliated with the carrier with which the phone is linked to. Therefore, a locked cell phone can only be used in that particular carrier's network. When you buy an unlocked iPhone 3G, you will be able to use that phone in practically any network.

In the US for example, if you buy your iPhone 3G from AT&T, then you can only insert an AT&T SIM in it. i.e., you can only use your iPhone 3G on the AT&T network. An unlocked iPhone 3G on the other hand, would enable you to use it with any SIM and hence, on any network.

The rule, not the exception

Hong Kong is known for its penchant for cell phones. And as it leads most of the world in terms of cell phone models and usage, it also stands out with its peculiar cell phone policies. For there, cell phones are bought unlocked. This means, when you buy an iPhone 3G from a shop in Hong Kong, don't be surprised to find it unlocked. To further prove that this arrangement is perfectly acceptable there, take note that Apple has recently released unlocked iPhone 3G phones in that region.

The catch

There's one caveat though, the price of an unlocked 3G iPhone is relatively higher there than if you bought one in the US. The reason is because, in the US, carriers like AT&T subsidize the cost of the phone in exchange for locking the subscriber into their network.

Buy an unlocked iPhone 3G

There are those who are simply fanatics of a certain kind of phone or brand. And when it comes to the word fanatic, that word can never be more appropriate to any other group of people than the fans of Steve Jobs, and hence the iPhone 3G. If you are one of them, then you wouldn't mind paying the extra buck to buy an unlocked iPhone 3G? even if it were in Hong Kong.

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