T-Mobile forced to sell unlocked iPhones in Germany
Germany has joined with France in making the iPhone available as an unlocked product, not tied in to a particular network with a long term contract. This leaves the UK as the only European country, where the iPhone is available, that isn’t offering an official unlocked option.
Last month saw French law dictate that the iPhone had to be offered unlocked when it goes on sale there on November 29. Local laws state that it would be illegal to force consumers in to being tied in to a long term contract with Orange, the network of choice for Apple in France.
And now Germany have followed suit. Vodafone, a rival cell carrier, took their case that the iPhone/T-Mobile exclusivity deal was uncompetitive. The court sided with Vodafone, and ruled that T-Mobile must offer the phone to everyone, not just T-Mobile customers.
So now T-Mobile have announced that they will indeed be selling an unlocked version of the iPhone, but German consumers will have to pay heavily for the privilege. They will go on sale for a whopping €999 ($1481/£720), more than double the €399 it charges for a locked iPhone.
That is a huge amount of money for a mobile phone, especially one which has no 3G, GPS, A2DP, or a whole host of other useful stuff which some of its rivals are offering for a fraction of the price. But, you have to remember that if bought locked, the total cost, including the minimum 24 month T-Mobile contract would be €1575($2,308/£1,100).
T-Mobile have already warned that people who buy the unlocked option risk missing out on features and applications.
This decision leaves UK consumers as the only ones in Europe who are being forced to buy an iPhone locked in to a long contract, namely with 02. I do wonder however, how long it is before European law gets dragged in to it, and even that gets revoked.
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