Orange to sell UNLOCKED version of iPhone in France

[cyberprince]

Full article can be found here.

The International Herald Tribune is reporting that because of French laws, Apple will have no choice but to allow Orange to sell unlocked versions of their iPhone. The unlocked version will cost more, but a price has yet to be announced.

UPDATE: More info can be found here and here.

[gang_armani]

hi prince im a bit confused is it not that orange is a telecom company....... its like globe selling openline phones..

[lawrencebosox45]

well just as the multitudes of units here in asia and across europe already, selling unlocked versions of iphones (legally or hacked iphones) is no skin of apple's back.

they make money off the hardware sale anyway.

[bon]

hi prince im a bit confused is it not that orange is a telecom company....... its like globe selling openline phones..

That's because France has laws that prohibit exclusive bundling of cell phones to a single carrier.

This is good news for unlockers, because unless the French iPhone has significantly different hardware from any other iPhone (which is highly unlikely), all one would have to do is to copy the OS from the French iPhone and flash it onto, say, an AT&T iPhone, rendering the latter unlocked. It would be similar to what happened to Smart's Amazing Phone in years past - owners would open-line the unit by loading different firmware from that of Smart onto the phone (e.g., the QTEK ROM).

Now if this doesn't work, it doesn't take any stretch of imagination to envision a thriving import market of open-line French-sourced iPhones making their way overseas via grey market sources.

[gang_armani]

i get what you are trying to say........ whats funny is why does orange sell it and not apple stores..

if that law comes to philippines no locked PHONES..... i would leave the selling of phones to say nokia/samsung etc etc , and i would just provide service....

[randytamayo]

^Unfortunately, I think there is no such law in the Philippines.

In pretty much the same way that there is no such law in the US, Germany and UK.

[aragorn_109]

Does this mean that because of existing laws, Apple will be forced to come up with the OFFICIAL open line iPhone? Or will Orange jailbreak the phones one by one just like what they do in Greenhills?

[berniej]

I personally see this as a precursor of the official release of the Asian version of th iPhone.

As for using the unlocked iPhones' firmware to flash onto locked ones? Here's how uncle Steve *may* prevent it: French iPhones will only have French UI rendering it virtually useless in non-French-speaking countries (I think I'm reading too much conspiracy theory stories lately)

[randytamayo]

Ah, but you see, localisations are individual files - usually XML. Change the Fr localisation to the one from the US iPhone and as Steve-o would say, "Boom!" - you have an English formerly French iPhone

I personally see this as a precursor of the official release of the Asian version of th iPhone.

As for using the unlocked iPhones' firmware to flash onto locked ones? Here's how uncle Steve *may* prevent it: French iPhones will only have French UI rendering it virtually useless in non-French-speaking countries (I think I'm reading too much conspiracy theory stories lately)

[penmanila]

the phones will very likely have their own firmware, and surely in french. the thing to do will be to break the language (not too difficult) and then port the firmware over. i wonder how easy or hard that will be, though.

Does this mean that because of existing laws, Apple will be forced to come up with the OFFICIAL open line iPhone? Or will Orange jailbreak the phones one by one just like what they do in Greenhills?