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iphone - will it work in the UK

chipsdog
chipsdog Posts: 450 Forumite
in Mobiles
If I buy a iphone from Ebay (USA) will it work in the UK? Does anyone know where I can pre-order one from the UK?

thanks
«134

Comments

  • Stageshoot
    Stageshoot Posts: 592 Forumite
    No

    The US ones are locked to AT&T, there is no unlock solution at the moment,

    If you can get one unlocked in the future and you have access to an unlimited Data tarriff you may be Ok, but that all depends on a viable unlock solution being found, there may also be data paths in the software that would limit its use on any other network

    If you really want something like this, look at the Glofiish X500 About £280 sim free works on any network, is quadband, has buil in wifi and GPS and non of the apple restrictions.

    Details

    http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2006/10/30/e-ten-glofiish-x500-smartphone-gets-official/
    Over 100k miles of Electric Motoring and rising,
  • southernscouser
    southernscouser Posts: 33,745 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    No it won't. :)

    If I was you I'd wait for the UK launch. It will give apple time to iron out all the bugs, errors, fixes etc anyway.

    Personally I think they are more of a fashion accesory than a decent bit of kit! :undecided

    But everyones opinions differ and all that! :)
  • manch235ter
    manch235ter Posts: 985 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    the phones dont take sim cards!

    "Although there is no official launch date for the European Union, it seems highly unlikely that we will see the device on these shores ahead of late autumn, and the inability of the iPhone to take SIM cards means that even imports will be pretty pointless until a network has been chosen and configured"

    taken from http://tech.uk.msn.com/features/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5372349
    James thinks worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere

    If i help you...Please thank me! :beer:
  • Strangled
    Strangled Posts: 186 Forumite
    100 Posts
    Will echo previous comment, A T & T sims are glued into the iphone. I reckon the same thing will happen over here as well, Just 1 service provider will get it
  • MercilessKiller
    MercilessKiller Posts: 7,143 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    lol don't worry everyone.

    Tomorrow Apple are making a BIG announcement about the European version. Its expected to include:
    3G
    Removable Sim Tray
    Maybe even HDSPA!

    Its also going to be with Vodafone and MAYBE T-Mobile as well (Orange maybe as well but unlikely).

    Vodafone's nearly a 100% cert as they were the highest bidders. I think Apple has aimed for multi vendor in the UK to reach out to more contract cusomters obviously.

    Hoping pricing will be different in Europe too but we'll see!
    [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"The internet is a great way to get on the net."
    - Bob Dole, Republican presidential candidate    [/FONT]
  • MercilessKiller
    MercilessKiller Posts: 7,143 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    (They announced publically they were considering multi-vendor so a removable sim tray is a high possibility in the EU Version! But we'll know tomorrow :D)
    [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"The internet is a great way to get on the net."
    - Bob Dole, Republican presidential candidate    [/FONT]
  • steve_r123
    steve_r123 Posts: 512 Forumite
    What's all the rubbish about not being able to remove the SIM?:confused:

    From the iphone manual......

    iphone05.jpg
  • seth
    seth Posts: 1,291 Forumite
    To buy a US unit you need to agree to a 2 year contract, pay for the phone and ... activate it to this you need:

    a Mac or PC with iTunes with an account in the US not a UK one.
    a US social security number

    Check out the reviews on digg and engadget.
    Seth.
  • MercilessKiller
    MercilessKiller Posts: 7,143 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    steve_r123 wrote: »
    What's all the rubbish about not being able to remove the SIM?:confused:

    From the iphone manual......


    Strange... all the articles and specifications they released say the Sim isn't changable. Maybe it just means other networks can't be used on it (i.e Sim Locked)
    [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"The internet is a great way to get on the net."
    - Bob Dole, Republican presidential candidate    [/FONT]
  • Road_Hog
    Road_Hog Posts: 2,749 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    manch235ter wrote: »
    the phones dont take sim cards!

    Really? How does it work then if it doesn't take a sim card, it's going to be difficult to use without a sim card.
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