Apple needs to sell Unlocked iPhones NOW!

I would agree with Apple that a subsidezed iPhone coupled with a great
service providesa better end user experiece.
However, Apple cannot deliver that everywhere and as a consequence a
lot of people in a lot of countries are getting their iPhones trough a
tough process. They pay a lot of money to resselers and go trough a
hours long hacking process to setup their iPhone for use in their own
country.

Wouldn't it make sence if you could get a fully setup and unlocked
iPhone from Apple at those same prices. Apple will get more cash in
markets where it hasn't a partner and the end users will get a chance
to legitemaly use their iPhones.

Fortunately, there may be a light in the tunnell.
Apple has started selling completely unlocked iPhone3Gs in Honk Kong
for $695 for the 8GB model. Those same models sell for as low as $821
on the black market in my country and availability is virtually zero.
You have to pay as much as $900 to get one within a few days.

I understand the barrier of as much as 20% import tax for countries
like Bulgaria. So we will never get it at those Hong Kong prices but
we would be able to at least walk in a store and buy one whatever the
price.

I do not think there is any other product in the world that so many
people want but cannot get to simply cause it is not on sale where
they live. Apple has a unique oportunity to sell a lot of devices to
people willing to pay but do not have the resources to go trough all
the importing/hacking procedure. Apple should just make it it's top
priority to cell unlocked devices anywhere it sells iPods and
Macintoshes. It's that simple.

I hope Steve Jobs realized that people are willing to go trough a lot
of trouble to get an iPhone without the visual voice mail and all
those fancy services AT&T offers.

There is also the cultural phonamena. In America, when you have a
problem with your device, you call your network provicer. In Bulgaria
you call a friend that understands these things. People here are not
so surprised when something does't work.

The main point is that the iPhone competitors are gearing up for
launch of their unlocked iPhobe killers and Apple is on it's way to
miss the opprtunity to gain a market share when it has no competition.

Sent from my iPhone