Eeyore

Surely you could have done that with less hyperbolic language? More people would listen to you then.

NorthernLad

Seems he got it cheap.

www.gulfnews.com/nation/Technology/10233171.html

Dutchie

Self employed in a totally different line of work. The commercial telephone company that introduced the G3 here in Holland took the G3's out of all their packages. The people that got one and that where not satisfied with it's performance where either offered other brands of telephones, or their money back and the contract canceled.

Robbies

6000??? or even, 8750 dhs???

That's crazy, seeing as how Apple advertise it as half the price of the original version. The shop that sells them for 8750 has sold 3 out fo 7 ordered. And they sold to the same person (someone with too much money perhaps). NO WAY would I pay that much for one.

benzonar

Buy one in France. The anti-competition laws mean they cannot be restricted to one provider so all of them are officially sold as unlocked. You can also pick them up without the need for a contract.

BTW the reason why they don't have them officially in the UAE is because of the anti-competition laws (personally I think it is because Apple would insist on a certain price and the crooks here wouldn't agree to it.)

JUst hope they allow the release of the Nokia N96, apparently Etishite were blocking it due to the fact it has a built in TV receiver.

Confucius

I'm seeing many people who are using the iPhone over here...And those people are not the type to shell out THAT much money for a phone...

Confucius

No need to buy that one...At Dragonmart if Im not mistaken, they're selling a double sided phone that works with 2 SIM and also one can watch TV on it...All for less than AED600...Cheap...

typical

Not quite. Plenty are sold locked, however they also have to offer an unlocked version. And they do. And it costs €609.

typical

The reason they could advertise that is because they allowed the network to subsidise the 3G. And because the networks were subsidising it, they became a lot more serious about making people activate the contract before carrying it away. So the price for the 3G includes both the half-price phone cost, and the repayment of the carrier subsidy.

Eeyore

Most of them are probably using 2G iPhones, which at their most expensive here were about 3500dhs (lots of people got them much more cheaply through friends or family in the UK or USA though).

Max the Dog

Went to City Centre today and there were two places selling the 3G phone.
1 at AED 7,200 and the other AED 6,000!!!

Confucius

That makes sense, but, what is the big difference about 2G and 3G in everyday life that warrants the multiplication in price...

Eeyore

Nothing. But of course, that's not the price Apple sell it for (it sells for about 2000dhs in the UK, 1000dhs in the USA). It's just dealers adding their own ludicrous markup to a product that's not officially sold here, and there are clearly enough customers stupid enough to pay it.

Confucius

Clearly...How hard is it to bring in with Aramex Shop and Ship...

Eeyore

As a means of clamping down on unlocking, you can't buy them online any more. You have to go into a shop and buy one in person, signing up for a contract at the same time.