Hmm interesting. I guess we'll find all of this out sunday eh? Take care all. On Apr 6, 2012, at 6:13 PM, Esther wrote:
> Hi Sarah, > > Yes, one of the features of using an iPhone from AT&T is that the GSM > standard means it can be used in most of the world by switching the sim card, > provided your phone is not locked to a particular carrier. If you're using an > iPhone 3GS, then you have a standard size sim card. The iPads with 3G > coverage and the later model iPhones all use micro sim cards. They sell > punch kits to cut down standard size sim cards for micro sim slots, and they > also sell adapter trays so that you can put micro sim sized cards back into > phones that use standard sized sim cards. Supposedly, you can cut the sim > cards down yourself with a pair of scissors, but I wouldn't want to try it! > There are also some services that will cut down your standard sized sim cards > for you. However, with the spread of the later model iPhones and iPads > internationally, more telecomm services will actually sell you micro sim > cards as an option. > > Because nearly all iPhones purchased in the US have been locked to specific > carriers, short of jailbreaking your iPhone just to unlock it, there haven't > been many options for traveling abroad. Some services offer to "rent" you an > iPhone for use over a week or so when traveling in another country. Even if > you buy an iPhone that is no longer associated with a particular US carrier, > most of these models are still locked to an original carrier. But if you can > legally unlock your iPhone from AT&T once you are past the terms of your > service contract, or by paying a small fee for early termination -- not > hundreds of dollars -- then you can use that iPhone and all its apps abroad > with a sim card for another carrier's service. (For iPhone 4 owners, the > earliest date for formal termination of your 2 year contract with AT&T is > June 23 of this year, if you bought it on the day it was released.) > Reportedly, AT&T would do this for some users before the present > announcement. If you we > re working for a company that was posting you abroad for the next six or > seven months, and had been an AT&T customer for several years, they would > unlock your iPhone even if you hadn't completed the 2-year term for a > subsidized iPhone -- presumably because they expect to get you back when you > return. > > It would also be interesting for iPhone users traveling to the US, if the > CNet article you cited means that AT&T is considering offering short-term > contracts and sim cards that could be activated and used for just a week or a > month. > >>> Sarah Alawami wrote: >>> >>>> This should be good news for those of us in the states. >>>> >>>> http://www.cnet.com/8301-17918_1-57410586-85/at-ts-iphones-free-at-last/?tag=cnetRiver >>>> >>> > > > > Cheers, > > Esther > > > <--- Mac Access At Mac Access Dot Net ---> > > To reply to this post, please address your message to > [email protected] > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Mac-Access forum at > either the list's own dedicated web archive: > <http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/mac-access/index.html> > or at the public Mail Archive: > <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>. > Subscribe to the list's RSS feed from: > <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml> > > The Mac-Access mailing list is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and > worm-free! > > Please remember to update your membership options periodically by visiting > the list website at: > <http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/mac-access/options/> <--- Mac Access At Mac Access Dot Net ---> To reply to this post, please address your message to [email protected] You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Mac-Access forum at either the list's own dedicated web archive: <http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/mac-access/index.html> or at the public Mail Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>. Subscribe to the list's RSS feed from: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml> The Mac-Access mailing list is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free! Please remember to update your membership options periodically by visiting the list website at: <http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/mac-access/options/>
