i am starting to believe that dev wont be able to unlock the phone before apple offers the Iphone 3g worldwide. these phones i and you and others bought from the USA through ebay will be useless cause it will soon become cheaper in your country already unlocked. i heared that iphone 3g will soon be available in my country unlocked on the three networks we have here.
this is my what i think how about you guys?

Buying them from ebay for more than 650 bucks was the first mistake

But seriously, unlocked phone will not be cheap for a long time, they will keep the price way up as long as their is demand. When you say soon, do you mean 6 weeks, 6 months, or 2 years? Because I'm guessing the price difference will be close after 2 years... maybe

Buying an iPhone 3G from eBay for $650, and then unlocking it would be a great deal. I bought one because I have faith in the dev team being able to come up with an unlock for the 3G.
You have to look at how long time it took for the 2G to be unlocked. It was a few months, wasn't it? It's only been 2½ months since the 3G was released so I think we'll have to wait a bit longer.

Buying officially unlocked iPhones will never be cheap IMHO. Apple will pursue exactly the same extremely successful strategy they pursue with the iPod - upgrade the device on the peak of the product lifecycle to create new demand and charge high premiums for all those fanatics who need the newest iPhone (that would include me btw).

By the way, the title of this thread is very confusing. Sounds like there's a software unlock on the way. It should be changed.

officially unlocked Iphone 3Gs are currently sold for 500euro (8GB) and 569euro (16GB) in some counties, Italy and Greece included. I think they are a bargain. Having said that, Vodafone GR has sold out, and is hesitant to sell you one without a contract anymore (still 100% officially unlocked though)...

hm, a bargain? Obviously it is possible to sell the 16GB unsubsidized but locked version for approx. 380€ (Switzerland) and still make a profit. So I would say 570€ is not really a bargain. On the contrary, carriers want to maximize the lifetime value of their customers and the unlocked version is only available in countries where they are forced to sell it unlocked.

It Wouldnt Suprise Me If Apple Hasnt Payed The Dev Team
A Fair Amount NOT To Unlock The 3G iPhone ..

Originally Posted by Mozzy

It Wouldnt Suprise Me If Apple Hasnt Payed The Dev Team
A Fair Amount NOT To Unlock The 3G iPhone ..

That would really surprise me.

Originally Posted by Mozzy

It Wouldnt Suprise Me If Apple Hasnt Payed The Dev Team
A Fair Amount NOT To Unlock The 3G iPhone ..

Wouldn't it be the telcoms who pay the dev team, not apple?

Unlock = more people using iphone = more iphones being produced by apple = more money for apple.

Just a thought.