The Official 3G Iphone Thread

e.cachucho said:
I agree, misinformation is a huge problem on this forum. So to make things clear:
The iPhone can be bought legaly unlocked from: Italy, Greece and Portugal. This means that it is registered as an unlocked phone on Apples servers, so when you connect to iTunes to update the software it will know that the phone is unlocked.
Indeed there is no software unlock at this point (when is the dev team going to break it? who knows?)
The only other way to unlock an iphone is through a sim device that latches onto your existing sim.
There is no reason to believe that current sellers of the iPhone online are putting up prices that will be similar to the official price by Vodacom, this is pure speculation. (Online traders currently need to get their iPhones from overseas, pay import taxes and use a sim unlock or pay for a legal unlock in the country they are getting their stock from)

Now that I've got that off my chest, I wonder is some apple fanboy will run into to the Vodaworld headquarters and chain himself to the CEO's office door and not leave until Vodacom releases their prices and dates of release... Or perhaps COSATU will start a national go slow until the information is released (stranger things have happened):D
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It's sold unlocked in Australia and Germany too if I'm not mistaken. And perhaps India?

Just phoned Vodaworld and was told they're starting training on the iPhone 3G handset today, and that it's expected possibly in a month. Phoned Vodashop Hatfield Plaza and was told the current speculation is end October. Sigh. Vodacom really should tell their stores to stop giving us different dates... it's unbelievably frustrating.
 
I paid about R5000 for my current iPhone 8GB which I imported so will not be spending more that R6000 for the 3G.
 
SlinkyMike said:
It seems that they are importing from countries where unlocked phones are available so they are very different to yours in that they don't need turbosim and from what I can gather from that page (there is LOTS there that is in fact garbage) you can upgrade in iTunes like a normal user without having to pwn.

Contrary to what you may think I have no issue with your little setup here but please don't stoop to spreading misinformation in order to close some deals... that makes you no better than those you rail against as devious and unjust in some of your posts.
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What misinformation did I spread? I apologised for my SA itunes hick up but I made that statement because you CAN'T get stuff from the American Itunes and last time I checked Itunes SA had nothing on it.

Calm down bro... clearly you have an issue with me.
 
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SlinkyMike said:
Oh snap! Dude if you are right then anyone who has bought through Rendier is gonna be crying salty tears of 'no warranty'!
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No warranty? Who is spreading misinformation now? My iPhones come with a Apple 1 year warranty. It's as simple as emailing apple, telling them to expect your package. Paying R250 for shipping. Get it back in two weeks. They pay for shipping back to you. Vodacom took 8 weeks with my Samsung D900i a year ago. Seems to me that Apple is much better. I have sent DOA units back before without hassles. Are you one of those ppl that think shipping overseas is impossible or even dangerous? LOL... not all post offices are like ours buddy.

And also got confirmation that vodacom can fix grey iPhone 3G's. The extra charge will be between R200 - R300.

Anything else you want to accuse me or my products of?
 
Rendier said:
What misinformation did I spread? I apologised for my SA itunes hick up but I made that statement because you CAN'T get stuff from the American Itunes and last time I checked Itunes SA had nothing on it.

Calm down bro... clearly you have an issue with me.
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OK, since you asked...

You claimed that there was no difference between the phones you are supplying and the ones available from these other guys when there clearly is a difference as yours are unofficial imports that require a turbosim (and some sort of hacked activation I assume) to enable the phone features on local networks and theirs are legitimately sold as unlocked devices imported from countries where the iPhone can be bought unlocked and therefore can be used on any network without any hacking or hardware intervention.

That's what misinformation.

As for your warranty: your saying there is a warranty that requires posting the device to another country at the expense of the person wishing to redeem the warranty is hardly a rock solid prospect, frankly I'd sooner take my chances with a reputable local dealer - regardless of what your opinion of their service is.

Further the warranty issue: what is necessary in order to activate an iPhone 3G for use with turbosim and how does this affect Apples 1 year warranty?

Further the posting issue: since you admit that out postal service is less than trustworthy - where exactly do you plan to post from?

Back to my original point: it seems that purchasing with peace of mind from you requires a whole lot of trust in what you have to say, when you misinform on issues pointed out by another supplier that trust becomes tricky and if JK8 is correct then buying from you at the same price that one can legitimately purchase from a reputable local dealer is outright stupidity.

Offer the service by all means but be honest about the issues and don't try to dupe people into buying from you, its a crappy way to do business and it will bring disrepute to the forum.

IMO, as someone who is hoping to do business with the people on this forum you could really do with dialing back the sarcasm and taking a more level headed tone, as it stands you do not seem like the type of chap I'd like to have to deal with should something go wrong with a device I had bought from you - think about that.
 
i agree i would rather by from a recognised company than from someone on a forum even though its more expensive oh and igear give apple warranties with the phone. i dont have to post it to apple..... so rendier good luck man i mean it.
 
Rendier's just upset that this thread has been going on for so long yet somebody mentions iGear's site with an overpriced iPhone for sale and it was purchased rather than his cheaper offer. :)
 
Dovi said:
It's sold unlocked in Australia and Germany too if I'm not mistaken. And perhaps India?

Just phoned Vodaworld and was told they're starting training on the iPhone 3G handset today, and that it's expected possibly in a month. Phoned Vodashop Hatfield Plaza and was told the current speculation is end October. Sigh. Vodacom really should tell their stores to stop giving us different dates... it's unbelievably frustrating.
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Yes, unbelievably frustrating indeed.
I think its about time someone took a glider and threw red paint over Vodaworld.
Let me give the people at VODACOM a CLUE about how to deal with such situations.........
I am aware that they cant make any statements about the iPhone.
But they can make a statement that says nothing:
They should right a the beginning released offical information to EVER, i say EVERY, what let me say it again EVER, VODASHOP in the country to the following tune:
Although there is huge interest over the iPhone, due to non-disclosure agreements with Apple, Vodacom will only release details about the iPhone 3G launch in the future and until that officail release the iPhone will not be available ANYWHERE nor will any third-party unofficial dates be acceptable to relay over to customers.
To follow would be a set of instructions on what to say to a customer if they asked about the iPhone.

WHY oh why couldn't they do something OH SO SIMPLE.
Its simple and seems somewhat obvious but it would immediately have stopped the rife speculation. I swear, since the Aug 11th launch in the US, there has practicaly been a weekly tip that the next week is the week... More than a month later and none of these tips have matterialised. So take each and every one with a table-spoon of salt and hope that the Mother of all future phones will land before the end of the year.
 
So anyways, if anyone feels like more carrot-waving:

I used to work for Vodacom and I have a buddy at Vodaworld. There's talk and speculation, but that Sept. 27th day mentioned a few posts back I got independently from him today.

Now I'm not saying that's the day, because as e.cachucho says, this speculative launch-date thing has been going on since June. But there's two sources who've said the same thing, plus there's the iAfrica news article (http://technology.iafrica.com/news/technology/1157503.htm).

I won't hold my breath - but we shall see...

*edit* - Just my opinion: iGear are *completely* out of their minds. I've think I've seen them try this before on something else I wanted, those prices are utterly ridiculous.
 
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SlinkyMike said:
OK, since you asked...

You claimed that there was no difference between the phones you are supplying and the ones available from these other guys when there clearly is a difference as yours are unofficial imports that require a turbosim (and some sort of hacked activation I assume) to enable the phone features on local networks and theirs are legitimately sold as unlocked devices imported from countries where the iPhone can be bought unlocked and therefore can be used on any network without any hacking or hardware intervention.

That's what misinformation.

As for your warranty: your saying there is a warranty that requires posting the device to another country at the expense of the person wishing to redeem the warranty is hardly a rock solid prospect, frankly I'd sooner take my chances with a reputable local dealer - regardless of what your opinion of their service is.

Further the warranty issue: what is necessary in order to activate an iPhone 3G for use with turbosim and how does this affect Apples 1 year warranty?

Further the posting issue: since you admit that out postal service is less than trustworthy - where exactly do you plan to post from?

Back to my original point: it seems that purchasing with peace of mind from you requires a whole lot of trust in what you have to say, when you misinform on issues pointed out by another supplier that trust becomes tricky and if JK8 is correct then buying from you at the same price that one can legitimately purchase from a reputable local dealer is outright stupidity.

Offer the service by all means but be honest about the issues and don't try to dupe people into buying from you, its a crappy way to do business and it will bring disrepute to the forum.

IMO, as someone who is hoping to do business with the people on this forum you could really do with dialing back the sarcasm and taking a more level headed tone, as it stands you do not seem like the type of chap I'd like to have to deal with should something go wrong with a device I had bought from you - think about that.
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Firstly:

I claimed that there is no difference unless they got it from Italy etc where it is unlocked... So there was no misinformation. Secondly their phones are also grey imports no matter how you look at it.

Secondly:

I offer something that is not yet available in this country and has done so for the last 7+ months with the original iPhone and now with the iPhone 3G. I have over 65 satisfied customers that has not had one single problem with any of my phones. Now you come to the fore trying to disrespect me and what I sell. I never ever degraded what iGear offered. I stated that they make everyone elses products (like mine) seem cheap by saying "don't be fooled" etc.

I also don't recommend to my buyers to get Turbosim, ask any of them. But even taking that in to mind you can simply take it out. Restore via Itunes and ship it back to get a new one or fixed if anything goes wrong. Millions of ppl hack their phones so please don't take the moral high ground and say what about the warranty... It's covered and if you don't believe me then remember that Google is your friend.

Where do I ship from you ask? Fedex, UPS etc.

Thirdly:

My phone is R2000 cheaper than iGear so where do you come up with "the same as a reputable dealer"? What "trust" do you speak of? It's simple. Transfer the money into my account. If you feel your being skrewed over claim a reversal. After all, you have my bank account with all my information such as address, id number etc.

It seems that you got the wrong impression of me from the get go. I never insulted iGear. I just simply said their price is very high and also that they make me. a importer, sound like a terrorist. So please don't accuse me of what they are doing.

I have always be honest regarding my service and when wrong immediately stated that I was wrong when I realise it, as I did with the SA Itunes. Please tell me where else I was lying.

Finally:

You say Im sarcastic. Well after your attack, at me and my product straight off the bat, what did you expect. A smile? I have 10 pre orders for the phone as stock is arriving on Friday. I honestly don't expect you to buy from me because clearly you have issue with me without even knowing a bit about me. Having Sold more than 65 units I have had a lot of criticism regarding me and my product but ALL of my clients are happy. That should say something.

Sorry if I took the initiative and offered a phone not available to the general public. And sorry if my warranty doesn't look as shiny and good as vodacom or igears on paper but at least I try and do succeed.
 
d0b33 said:
Rendier's just upset that this thread has been going on for so long yet somebody mentions iGear's site with an overpriced iPhone for sale and it was purchased rather than his cheaper offer. :)
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Really couldn't care about ppl buying from them... just irritates me that they assume all importers besides them are legit.
 
ryan411 said:
where do u see that cause all i saw them saying at http://www.cellucity.co.za/phones/apple.htm is
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The iPhone ad on the top right of the Cellucity site had the text "Available 28 September 2008" right below the image of the iPhone. If it was a jpg I could have retrieved it from my browser cache, but being flash I have no idea whether this is at all possible to retrieve.

I guess someone got rapped over the knuckles for being slightly quick off the draw with putting out a date.

Wasn't it Cellucity who displayed an ad on their site promising the 1st gen iPhone in September 2007? Seems they were out by only 12 months.

Update: My further investigation seems to indicate that the flash file ("mainpromo.swf") was not cached by my browser. Guess you'll just have to take my word for it
 
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For the record, i have purchased an iphone 3g from rendier and am totally happy. Got a yessim from a dealer in durban and have not had one problem with it. Been using it for 2 months and its fine. Updates to the firmware go perfect and it never drops calls or loses signal. to be honest best gadget i have ever got.

If you want to get it from vodacom then go for it. Chances are they are prob still going to rip us like they do with everything else. Its your choice, but as far as rendiers phones go they are fine.
 
mangopip25 said:
For the record, i have purchased an iphone 3g from rendier and am totally happy. Got a yessim from a dealer in durban and have not had one problem with it. Been using it for 2 months and its fine. Updates to the firmware go perfect and it never drops calls or loses signal. to be honest best gadget i have ever got.

If you want to get it from vodacom then go for it. Chances are they are prob still going to rip us like they do with everything else. Its your choice, but as far as rendiers phones go they are fine.
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hi there rendier ;)
 
I can confirm that iStore staff are going on iPhone training next week, the last week of September starting to look good, though anything is possible.
 
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