Two iPhones Per Person
This has nothing to do with insuring availability of iPhones. It’s about shutting down the gray market in iPhones, particularly unlocked iPhones.
The availability of various software unlock schemes has led to a vibrant gray market where people buy as many iPhones as they can, unlock them, and sell them, mostly to the international market, for a very nice profit.
This is part of the ongoing cat and mouse game between Apple and hackers and hustlers. I think in the long run Apple will lose this game.
Comments (Archived):
I can vouch for this in Vietnam where it is going for about $700 US. This is a pretty tidy profit for them considering the average monthly salary in VN is about $60US.
Apple is not selling the iPhone in Spain, but I can confirm that the gray market in iPhones arrived Europe. You can buy an unlocked iPhone in Barcelona from EUR600 to EUR1,000.Guess it’s profitable enough.
If you don’t have a credit card, no iPhone for you… The dollar bill is no longer legal tender, I guess.
in soviet america, the komisariat of airwaves made a deal with the people’s hardware manufacturer of cupertino.you can have your free market as long as you play it outside of my market garden.
Given the revenue sharing that AT&T is doing with Apple, it’s a smart move on their part in order to maximize profits. They get somewhere in between $3 and $11 per month per phone from AT&T for each activated iPhone. I’d try really hard to stop it, too!
What? No Dansk?