FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom's (DTEGn.DE) T-Mobile will allow customers in Germany to buy Apple's (AAPL.O) iPhone without having to sign a T-Mobile contract after rival Vodafone (VOD.L) obtained a court injunction against it.

T-Mobile said on Wednesday it will offer the iPhone without a T-Mobile contract for 999 euros ($1,478) at its shops.

It will also allow those customers who bought an iPhone since November 19 to unlock the device free of charge so it can be used with other SIM cards. However, that will not enable customers to make use of all the functions that the music-playing and Web-browsing device offers.

T-Mobile has an exclusive deal with Apple to sell the iPhone in Germany, where Apple has no stores. Until now, customers had to sign up to a 24-month T-Mobile contract costing a minimum of 1,176 euros in order to buy the 399-euro phone.

A German court granted Vodafone a preliminary injunction this week preventing T-Mobile from locking the iPhone's SIM card to T-Mobile when making a sale.



So, from my point of view this means :
Having bought a T-Mobile Iphone, you just can walk into a T-Mobile Store and tell them to "free" your Iphone...
Well, under these circumstances it will only be a matter of days until the "FINAL unlocking solution" will be out. I don´t think that T-Mobile can do this secretly in a dark chamber :-)))

Ladies and Gentlemen... time to celebrate :-)

Thanks to german laws :-)

Nunki

there are just 3 or 4 thread like this

Originally Posted by Nunki

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom's (DTEGn.DE) T-Mobile will allow customers in Germany to buy Apple's (AAPL.O) iPhone without having to sign a T-Mobile contract after rival Vodafone (VOD.L) obtained a court injunction against it.

T-Mobile said on Wednesday it will offer the iPhone without a T-Mobile contract for 999 euros ($1,478) at its shops.

It will also allow those customers who bought an iPhone since November 19 to unlock the device free of charge so it can be used with other SIM cards. However, that will not enable customers to make use of all the functions that the music-playing and Web-browsing device offers.

T-Mobile has an exclusive deal with Apple to sell the iPhone in Germany, where Apple has no stores. Until now, customers had to sign up to a 24-month T-Mobile contract costing a minimum of 1,176 euros in order to buy the 399-euro phone.

A German court granted Vodafone a preliminary injunction this week preventing T-Mobile from locking the iPhone's SIM card to T-Mobile when making a sale.



So, from my point of view this means :
Having bought a T-Mobile Iphone, you just can walk into a T-Mobile Store and tell them to "free" your Iphone...
Well, under these circumstances it will only be a matter of days until the "FINAL unlocking solution" will be out. I don´t think that T-Mobile can do this secretly in a dark chamber :-)))

Ladies and Gentlemen... time to celebrate :-)

Thanks to german laws :-)

Nunki

Good news also to all you ebay resellers...999 euros is a nice chunk of profit over the lumpy 399 we pay here

Originally Posted by Nunki

................
It will also allow those customers who bought an iPhone since November 19 to unlock the device free of charge so it can be used with other SIM cards. However, that will not enable customers to make use of all the functions that the music-playing and Web-browsing device offers.
...........

Nunki

I do not understand this part: what does that mean?
does this mean they unlock it for free if you have already bought it and signed the contract and you can just quit the contract with no fees, but if you buy one now it costs 999euro? Not logical nor possible.
You say you can use it with other simcards, but not use all the functions. What funcitons does work then?
Thanks for clarifying

I have a felling the UK market is next in line for getting a kick up the arse about the moral issues of locked phones to one network. I bet there’s some EU legislation somewhere that some legal mastermind can use in the UK to change things here as well.

Originally Posted by ale

I do not understand this part: what does that mean?
does this mean they unlock it for free if you have already bought it and signed the contract and you can just quit the contract with no fees, but if you buy one now it costs 999euro? Not logical nor possible.
You say you can use it with other simcards, but not use all the functions. What funcitons does work then?
Thanks for clarifying

1. If you buy it now, you still have to sign the 24 month contract but you can use it with any simcard you want to
2. If you bought it after the 19.11, you will get it unlocked for free, still need to sign up for a 24 month contract
3. If you bought it before the 19.11, you have to pay i think arround 99€ to get it unlocked, still need to keep your 24 Month contract

It think Visual Voicemail won't work

I don’t understand, I no it’s a German contact but talking in GBP, Id buy a phone today at £269 or £716? then sign a contact @ £35 mth for 18mths but be able to use my vodafone sim as well.