1967tazz

Hi all, I am looking to buy and replacement for my very well used iphone 3GS. I have decided on the provider and tariff, my question is one of if its worth the additional 400SAR to get the 4S, or is the 4 a little old now and would I always wish spending that little bit more?

tayls123

i looked into this a bit myself. don't buy in the gulf. if you know anyone going home to the UK or even out singapore direction get the 4S from either place. get it from an apple store or on the online apple store so its factory unlocked and you can use any sim anywhere in the world. plus gcc spec ones have some features disabled

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/facet...-4-351305.html

norsk

1. You will more than likely want to jailbreak the 4/4S regardless of where you buy it from, and unlocking it is simple. Plus the phones they sell in the Gulf are usually unlocked anyway.

2. The only feature missing is Facetime which is probably the crappest thing Apple have ever created. Skype is better plus isn't limited to iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac. Also based on the jailbreak which you are likely to do you can just install Facetime anyway if you must have it.

tayls123

1. iMessage is also blocked

2. Not all of them are unlocked, some are locked to service providers i.e. if you take out a contract, chances are they are locked to that provider...if you buy the sim free option...its possible it might be unlocked. why take the chance when you can just buy a completely unlocked hassle free one from the apple shop in england...its not that much more...i think it was 8 or 9 pound difference the last time i checked. im just gonna wait and buy one the next time i visit the UK
3. the iPhone 5 is rumoured to be announced at Apple's annual conference on june 10th this year...might be worth waiting a few months...

http://www.stuff.tv/news/phone/rumou...nch-on-june-10

norsk

1. imessage is definitely not blocked in Dubai. Don't know about Saudi/Bahrain/Qatar but haven't heard anyone mentioning it so this is news to me. besides the regulatory agencies in those countries are typically more lenient/open than the one in UAE...

2. etisalat/du in uae are unlocked. guaranteed! mobily in ksa is etisalat under a different name so is guaranteed unlocked. stc ksa was also unlocked when i was living in ksa last year and i am pretty sure they have not changed it now. locking phones to a particular network is european/us issue which even there is happening less and less these days.

3. this is a valid argument although it has nothing to do with restrictions in gulf iphones..

amy77

iMessage definitely works in Qatar. I bought my iphone 4 in the UK, admittedly, but it's on a QTel contract.

I was a bit nervous when the 4S came out, in case it made my 4 seem out of date, but the only big change as far as I can tell is the Siri thing. Otherwise it's basically the same phone with similar software and hardware.

I took mine back to the UK in September and swapped it in the Apple store for a replacement, as the camera had stopped working - even though it was more than a year old (and therefore out of warranty) they didn't mind replacing it at all. The nice thing about having an iPhone generally is that as soon as you plug it back into the computer, your replacement one immediately becomes like your old one, with the same contacts, photos, Angry Birds scores etc etc.

DrBert

Personally have no issues with the 4, so given than Siri I'm told is still very much USA centric, impersonally wouldnt pay more now (ie won't search for places outside of the USA - cant be 100% sure about this, but my friend in the UK struggles)..

Ronnie Biggs

I have a UK Iphone 4S that has been activated in the UK and I now need to unlock it (we live in Bahrain.) Anyone know where to start? The internet is a total mess when looking for an online unlocking service and the shop I took it to in Bahrain said that as it was a 4S it wasn't possible to unlock it yet...?

Anyone have any ideas? it's just sat there taunting me doing this

weasel decentral

If you haven't already bought it why not look at a Samsung galaxy? I have had both (iPhone and galaxy) and find the Samsung much better. maybe its just personal choice but its faster and a better screen plus as its android there is no restrictions on apps etc.

regarding unlocking the iphone if you have a subscription with the provider in the uk they should send you the unlock codes.

otherwise you need to jailbreak (not my phrase!) the phone and after this unlock it . for the 4s it is possible to jailbreak the phone search absinthe a5 for how to do it. then sit back and wait for the unlock technique to be developed

Ronnie Biggs

Top man Weasel, I'll try the absinthe thing when I get home - it looks to be the solution I was after.

norsk

http://www.redmondpie.com/jailbreak-...sing-absinthe/

I was trying to find details of the unlock for you, but it appears to still be 'in production' as it were. However in the release details for the Absinthe jailbreak there was a hint to it..

iPhone4S owners looking to maximize their chances of achieving an eventual software-based carrier unlock should be staying at 5.0

Just follow RedmondPie on twitter or check their site once in a while and you'll get all the info you need about jailbreaking and unlocking.

Ronnie Biggs

So, to spell it out for non-technical muppets like me, does this mean it's not fully unlockable yet? Cheers for any help - the missus is on my case as it was supposed to be an Xmas present for her...

norsk

unfortunately it cannot be unlocked by software yet. the only way to unlock is if you get the unlock info from O2 or whoever you bought it from....

Ronnie Biggs

So what is the link via Absinthe? It seems to say it can unlock it? These unlocking sites generally seem to be full of crap....

I got it from the Three network - maybe their customer services in the UK would be a place to start but I've also heard that the unlock won't work outside of the UK.

FFS!

norsk

I think the confusion comes from how they mix terminology sometimes.

Absinthe is an 'unlock' of the phone from Apple's grip, also called a jailbreak. The unlock you need is called 'carrier unlock' and will probably be released soon as an app through Cydia (the jailbreak appstore) called UltraSn0w.