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A Third of iPhones are SIM Unlocked, Guesstimates Say
Posted by Jason Chen at 7:30 AM on January 25, 2008
According to estimates based on carrier's numbers, only 2/3 of iPhones are "legally" activated, which means 1/3 of all iPhones sold are SIM unlocked and being used sans carrier contract. Here's how they arrived at this number.
First, AT&T put out a press release saying that 2 million iPhones were subscribed on their service by the end of 2007. The three European carriers with iPhones (O2, Orange and T-Mobile) don't have official numbers, but iLounge rates them at about 300-400k, which means the total is only around 2.4 million. This,
with Apple's announcement that 3.7 million iPhones were sold in 2007, makes put the number at about 1/3 of all iPhones being unlocked.
Even if the European iPhone numbers are low and AT&T customers haven't activated their Christmas phones yet, that still puts unlocked iPhone numbers somewhere around 1/3 to 1/4, which is extremely high by any count. [iLounge
- Thanks David!]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
David D.
Posted January 25, 2008 3:55 PM
I just love the images you guys choose for some of the articles. Sweeeet!
Keebler
Posted 8:12 AM 25/1/08
I believe it.
Funny note: When I was in Hong Kong using my iPhone I had tons of tech shop employees offering to buy my iPhone off me. There also were unopened iPhone boxes in just about all store windows. Next time I go there I might just have an unopened iPhone or two with me ;)
Keebler
Redwraithvienna
Posted 8:12 AM 25/1/08
@mr_oshodi:
Cause he wouldnt be able to sell it to the rest of the world if it was ...
Redwraithvienna
tzakiel
Posted 8:12 AM 25/1/08
Someone help me out here. Point blank. Given all the current state of the iPhone, apple and unlocking, is it safe to unlock and iPhone and use it on t-mobile right now, or is there some chance of bricking the phone again?
tzakiel
ppeetteeyy
Posted 8:12 AM 25/1/08
wow, that seems way to high, I would think it would be like 1/10
ppeetteeyy
mr_oshodi
Posted 8:12 AM 25/1/08
nobody cares except el-jobso who is in for the monopoly money. Why wasn't the phone a CDMA if Apple knew it wanted it locked forever? stupid and irrational idea huh?
mr_oshodi
matizzy
Posted 8:12 AM 25/1/08
who cares its a phone
matizzy
qbrad
Posted 5:24 PM 24/1/08
I don't care about this post at all. I just like the holo-iPhone. Thank you Jesus (assuming it's a JD, if it's you JC, then thank you instead.)
qbrad
Monty
Posted 5:08 PM 24/1/08
I apprecaite the logic of how you got to those numbers, but I suspect reality is that it is less than 10% of the phones out there. There are dozens of different ways to explain the discrepency in the numbers besides the fact that they are unlocked devices. To give one example, I got a call from one of our ex-producers the other day who received an iPhone as a gift last Novemeber, and he still had not hooked it up yet.
(Also, really -- do you guys really trust the numbers being given to the press by these companies?)
Ignoring the explanations, there is the common sense conclusion that there simply are not enough people out there willing to roll the dice on a bricked iPhone. If it is even 1/6th, I would be amazed.
Monty
mr_oshodi
Posted 4:49 PM 24/1/08
@redwrath
Sure I know that but it is a stupid idea in the first place. You want to sell and make money? sure make the damn thing unlocked and pple will throw the benjamins at u but I thought Bill Gates was worse...looks like Job is even more evil.
mr_oshodi
zan
Posted 4:40 PM 24/1/08
@tzakiel: The experience has been hit or miss. I bought mine and activated it as a prepaid phone right away, then unlocked (using a complicated command-line method) when it was at firmware 1.0.2. Since then, I've updated the firmware only when a surefire unlocking method was available, which means I lag behind by a few months.
If you're comfortable with detailed step-by-step unlocking instructions, I'd say go for it. But either get a device that has firmware 1.1.2 or earlier or wait until 1.1.3 has an unlock method.
zan
evan394
Posted 4:30 PM 24/1/08
So you guys don't remember the Razr when it was "exclusively" from cingular? Duh. And quit bitchin bout the dude makin money. Everybody should be in it to win it. This free shit don't but diapers on my baby or food in my belly, I say, if people want to buy it, good for him. I wouldn't buy a fuckin 400 phone, but if somebody does(and they obviously do), jobsy deserves that dough. Just sayin.
evan394
Alucard
Posted 4:27 PM 24/1/08
w0ah. ONE THIRD? I can see Apple gunning down third-party developers over this. Still, hope nothing happens.
Alucard
chr71
Posted 11:12 AM 25/1/08
Isnt the sim method failproof? (turbosims and the chinesse-sims). You can update all the time without problems as far as I know.
chr71
Qwaktastic
Posted 12:12 PM 25/1/08
News.com's explanation is far more convincing -- tons of iPhones sitting on store shelves. ([www.news.com]) Unlocking and dealing with the inevitable cat-and-mouse game is not mainstream behavior. I haven't found a carrier that doesn't suck, so why go to the trouble to be able to choose? Now if you could find a way to use it for free, that might be worth it.
Qwaktastic
rubu
Posted 3:13 AM 26/1/08
Someone help me out here
rubu
patates
Posted 10:33 AM 25/1/08
One explanation would be people taking iPhones out of the country for use where no operator offers it yet. I live in Turkey, and I swear I have seen more iPhones here in Istanbul than I did when I was in Boston last year. Think of all the Italians, Saudis, Swiss, Swedes, etc. who'd like to get their hands on an iPhone. Easy, just go to the US, buy one, and unlock it.
patates
HeartBurnKid
Posted 10:13 AM 26/1/08
@Qwaktastic: I'd probably say it's a combination of the two. I doubt retailers would be ordering the things in mass quantities if they were just sitting on the shelves.
HeartBurnKid