iPhone France Launch and Unlocked iPhones (100 Euro?) [Update]

Retuers reports on Orange's expectations for iPhone sales in France. Orange expects to sell nearly 100,000 iPhones by the end of 2007 after its launch later this Wednesday.

MacScoop reported on the leaked rate plans for the French iPhone last week. The rate plans were revealed on iphone.orange.fr. Pricing points include 49 euro/mo, 59 euro/mo, 79 euro/mo, and 119 euro/mo.

Orange will also be offering an unlocked iPhone. The Reuters article provides no details on the price of the unlocked iPhone but places it "significantly lower" than the unlocked German iPhone.

The MacScoop report, however, indicates that the French iPhone will be unlockable even before the typical 6 month wait-time for only 100 euro. While on the surface this seems much cheaper than the German pricing, it does not appear that this removes the 2 year contract requirement with Orange. This means that while you can buy an unlocked iPhone in France for 499 euro (399 + 100), the main advantage will be to avoid roaming charges when traveling as you are still contractually obligated to Orange. Meanwhile, the unlocked German iPhone has no contract requirement, but comes at a higher cost. These details have not been confirmed by Orange. Official announcements will be made on Wednesday.

Update: Another reports that France Telecom CEO Didier Lombard claims the unlocked iPhone will be above 500 euro but less than 1000 euro.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Delta Feature

Delta Game Emulator Now Available From App Store on iPhone

Wednesday April 17, 2024 9:58 am PDT by
Game emulator apps have come and gone since Apple announced App Store support for them on April 5, but now popular game emulator Delta from developer Riley Testut is available for download. Testut is known as the developer behind GBA4iOS, an open-source emulator that was available for a brief time more than a decade ago. GBA4iOS led to Delta, an emulator that has been available outside of...
iPhone 15 Pro Action Button Translate

All iPhone 16 Models to Feature Action Button, But Usefulness Debated

Tuesday April 16, 2024 6:54 am PDT by
Last September, Apple's iPhone 15 Pro models debuted with a new customizable Action button, offering faster access to a handful of functions, as well as the ability to assign Shortcuts. Apple is poised to include the feature on all upcoming iPhone 16 models, so we asked iPhone 15 Pro users what their experience has been with the additional button so far. The Action button replaces the switch ...
maxresdefault

Hands-On With the New App Store Delta Game Emulator

Wednesday April 17, 2024 12:19 pm PDT by
A decade ago, developer Riley Testut released the GBA4iOS emulator for iOS, and since it was against the rules at the time, Apple put a stop to downloads. Emulators have been a violation of the App Store rules for years, but that changed on April 5 when Apple suddenly reversed course and said that it was allowing retro game emulators on the App Store. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
Provenance Emulator

PlayStation, GameCube, Wii, and SEGA Emulator for iPhone and Apple TV Coming to App Store

Friday April 19, 2024 8:29 am PDT by
The lead developer of the multi-emulator app Provenance has told iMore that his team is working towards releasing the app on the App Store, but he did not provide a timeframe. Provenance is a frontend for many existing emulators, and it would allow iPhone and Apple TV users to emulate games released for a wide variety of classic game consoles, including the original PlayStation, GameCube, Wii,...
iOS NES Emulator Bimmy Feature

NES Emulator for iPhone and iPad Now Available on App Store [Removed]

Tuesday April 16, 2024 11:33 am PDT by
The first approved Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for the iPhone and iPad was made available on the App Store today following Apple's rule change. The emulator is called Bimmy, and it was developed by Tom Salvo. On the App Store, Bimmy is described as a tool for testing and playing public domain/"homebrew" games created for the NES, but the app allows you to load ROMs for any...