Countries That Sell Unlocked iPhones

This whole situation with the iPhone pisses me off. I would love to launch a class action lawsuit against the entire cell phone industry with the goal of getting EVERY cell phone sold in this country unlocked so they can be used on the network of a consumers choice, provided that network supports the technology of the phone. In other words, GSM phones work on ALL GSM networks, and CDMA phones work on ALL CDMA networks without restriction.

In the meantime, I will fight back the best way I know how and maintain a list of countries that sell unlocked iPhones. Eventually this list will be maintained on a website. Freedom of Speech - gotta love it.

These countries sell unlocked mobile telephones because their laws REQUIRE it, no matter who manufactures the device.

With a phone purchased from these countries, you can place ANY SIM card in the device and it will work on the network of your choice with NO jailbreaking or intrusive unlocking techniques required. In the case of the iPhone, it will end the worrying of if the next firmware update will lock it back to AT&T, because the unique International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is indefinitely registered with Apple as an unlocked device.

Sidenote: I have two Blackberries - an 8700 on AT&T and an 8320 on T-Mobile. I am willing to trade both of them for an iPhone 3G. Both can be easily unlocked with a $25 unlock code from an online company I have personally used. I had a Blackberry 8800 on AT&T and the unlock code I received from this company worked perfectly. Unfortunately, I fried the ROM when I performed a firmware update to the device.

Here are the countries that sell unlocked cell phones by law. This list will be updated regularly. I may even become an importer of iPhones that are unlocked by Apple when they are manufactured. However, such a phone will cost a minimum of $750.

Updated - June 20, 2009

Source - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1937

Belgium

Czech Republic

Greece

Hong Kong

Italy

Luxembourg

Macau

Malaysia

New Zealand

Russia

Singapore

South Africa

Saudi Arabia

Taiwan

Thailand

United Arab Emirates