Buying the iPhone 4

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PokerKing

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Is it possible to buy the iPhone when it is released in US and import it into South Africa..
Will it work?
Or will it only work if it is brought in by Vodacom?
 
It depends on weather or not its network locked. and weather or not it can be unlocked.
 
Thanks for the help.. Not to be a grammar nazi but its 'whether'..
Long day at the office :P ?

So will have to wait til its released to see if its network locked or not?
 
iPhone 4 uses microSIM. This is not yet supported by any network in South Africa. Therefore you won't be able to use it in South Africa as a phone until one of them do..
 
Not true, there is no difference between a regular sim and microsim except the size. The only issue is that the US iPhones are all network locked, and unlocking them is getting to be very difficult. Definitely get an unlocked phone if you can.
 
Micro Sim's are available from Vodacom already, but as stated previously US iPhones are locked to AT&T, so if you did purchase one you would need to jail break it.
 
you can turn a normal sim into a micro sim by simply cutting the excess plastic off. There are guides online ;) But yes, US phones are network locked.
 
Typewriter said:
iPhone 4 uses microSIM. This is not yet supported by any network in South Africa. Therefore you won't be able to use it in South Africa as a phone until one of them do..
Click to expand...

Where do you people come from? Do you know how to use google? Or even the search function of the forum?
Why do you insist on giving advice on something you clearly know nothing about?
 
You will create a huge headache for yourself. Whatever you stand to save in terms of cash will soon be overshadowed by leaving you reliant upon anonymous hackers in order to get and keep your phone working and updated.

I had the 1G before iPhones were available in SA, I now use a Vcom 3G and I can tell you that having a legit unlocked phone is WAY better than dealing with hacks unlocks in order for the phone to work. Jailbreak is a nice to have but if your handset is networked locked it is useless.
 
Madman88 said:
Where do you people come from? Do you know how to use google? Or even the search function of the forum?
Why do you insist on giving advice on something you clearly know nothing about?
Click to expand...

Everybody wants to know something, at least once :-)
 
SlinkyMike said:
You will create a huge headache for yourself. Whatever you stand to save in terms of cash will soon be overshadowed by leaving you reliant upon anonymous hackers in order to get and keep your phone working and updated.

I had the 1G before iPhones were available in SA, I now use a Vcom 3G and I can tell you that having a legit unlocked phone is WAY better than dealing with hacks unlocks in order for the phone to work. Jailbreak is a nice to have but if your handset is networked locked it is useless.
Click to expand...

Ditto!!! I've told lots of friends to rather pay the extra premium here in SA for an (officially unlocked) iPhone. Importing means there's a 99% chance it's network locked and that just causes waaaaaay too much effort...
 
rapidblue said:
Ditto!!! I've told lots of friends to rather pay the extra premium here in SA for an (officially unlocked) iPhone. Importing means there's a 99% chance it's network locked and that just causes waaaaaay too much effort...
Click to expand...

Will the Vodacom ones be network locked? I'd like to get one around September/October, but I'll also be moving to Australia in ayear or two ...
 
TYR said:
Will the Vodacom ones be network locked? I'd like to get one around September/October, but I'll also be moving to Australia in ayear or two ...
Click to expand...

AFAIK No, one thing Icasa has managed to do is can that practice.
 
SlinkyMike said:
I had the 1G before iPhones were available in SA, I now use a Vcom 3G and I can tell you that having a legit unlocked phone is WAY better than dealing with hacks unlocks in order for the phone to work. Jailbreak is a nice to have but if your handset is networked locked it is useless.
Click to expand...

What you're saying might be true, but from a cost perspective it does not make sense. I'm using an unlocked 1G iphone on pay-as-you-go and it costs me around R100 per month. If I was to buy a legit iphone here I would have to pay a few thousand for the handset and around R600 per month for a contract.
Saying this I would probably be first in line for a 4G iphone in Sept.
 
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