Apple Store Australia now sells iPhone 3G S outright without any form of contract and unlocked directly from the box! This means that you can use any form of supported foreign SIM cards (for example our local Maxis, Celcom, DiGi et cetera with these iPhone 3G S, without the need of software and hardware unlocking.

please take some time off, to carefully read the following information. they are being stipulated for a good reason.

premium resellers (for example Next byte) are NOT apple (stand alone) retail stores. only apple retail stores carry the outright (and unlocked) iPhone 3G S versions. there are only FIVE apple retail stores in australia and they are:
1. chadstone VIC, chadstone
2. chatswood NSW, chatswood chase
3. doncaster VIC, doncaster
4. robina, QLD, robina
5. sydney NSW, sydney

the exact location can be found here


the prices for 16GB and 32GB are AUD879 and AUD1040 respectively. if you are planning to leave australia within 30 days, you can then proceed to claim the GST (by dividing the total amount of the purchase by 11).
the exact procedure and further information is embedded in the next post; post number 2.


the only form of payment accepted for these purchases is solely based on credit cards and the online store currently does not support such outright transactions. it is also important to note that, each person can only purchase a maximum of five units. two units per day. and as of now, you will need to present a form of identification to purchase an iPhone (for example a passport) (as of 14/07/09)

new update (as of 02/07/09): the australian online apple store, is now taking orders as well. however your credit card needs to be an australian issued and presumably a local address will be needed


to distinguish between unlocked units and vice versa
they are characterised by this circular, white sticker at the back of the box (as shown in the spoiler below)


for assessment of the iPhone 4 inventory level, at an apple store near you, kindly click here



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the ever fluctuating MYR/AUD exchange rates can be found here

frankly speaking, the rates quoted by thestar are typically used by banks.

you can always approach your friendly, local money exchange booths i.e. pengurup wang and use your persuasive skills to obtain the best deal.

or, if you are a customer of privilege banking (for example premier for hsbc, citigold for citibank), they too, can give you better rates.



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mobile phone contracts are strictly for australian residents only (this includes international students with a valid visa)

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Jul 31 2010, 04:24 PM

MISCELLANEOUS AUSTRALIAN BOUND iPhone, RELATED ISSUES

Claiming the GST

more information can be found here

- outright purcase/prepaid iPhone 3G S are also entitled to an additional GST claim before departure from the australian airport, provided you fulfill these following criteria:


for example, if i were to purchase a vodafone bound 16GB iPhone 3G S and had it unlocked online, the total price will be (AUD929 * 10/11) + AUD50 = AUD894.54

and with another example, in which i wish to purchase the 32GB iPhone 3G S outright (and unlocked unit) from the apple store, the total price will be AUD1040 * 10/11 = AUD945.45



- to further substantiate my claim, attached below is my actual e-mail correspond with the department.

i asked:


and they answered:





- and apparently, the name on the receipt has to match that of the person claiming. this bit is essentially because for all outright (and unlocked) purchases from the apple store, you can only use a credit card as a form of payment. as you probably know, the name of the credit card holder will automatically be printed on the proof of purchase/receipt




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Unlocking your iPhone from the provider

there are some assumptions to be made here. i'm currently holding an optus bound prepaid iPhone 3G S, however the process across other networks should be the same (as they involve passing your IMEI to apple nevertheless). for further detailed information, you should always refer to your network provider's respective website.

there two scenarios here; where you didn't receive the text message, asking you to restore the iPhone (to be discussed shortly) and vice versa

1. You did receive the text message (most likely scenario)
(a) Make your first phone call and make sure it gets connected. As in, you actually have a quick chat with the other party (on the other line). No specifics on the duration (it could be 2 seconds long, et cetera)
(b) Ring up your provider (most network has a dedicated team handling iPhone related issues and hence it is imperative to dig up for that number)
© Hand over your IMEI number when requested (this can be found on the box et cetera)
(d) Wait for this text message

(e) You must restore your iPhone via iTunes (an extremely vital step!)


1. You did not receive the text message (most unlikely scenario)
(a) Make your first phone call and make sure it gets connected. As in, you actually have a quick chat with the other party (on the other line). No specifics on the duration (it could be 2 seconds long, et cetera)
(b) Ring up your provider (most network has a dedicated team handling iPhone related issues and hence it is imperative to dig up for that number)
© Hand over your IMEI number when requested (this can be found on the box et cetera)
(d) Upon the third day (even though the advised days is 10), and you have not received anything. Proceed to restore it via iTunes nevertheless
(e) You will be pleased to find out that your iPhone has already been unlocked.


Example:
My iPhone 3G S was originally locked to the optus network...


However, upon unlocking, it can now be used with the '3' network!


This post has been edited by nokia2003: Jul 3 2009, 08:02 PM

Are you getting one bro? Most of my friends cannot wait till Friday lol. Well, I wish I could take the plan but since my visa is expiring, they wont allow me to take the 2-years contract. I really hope Optus sell outright iphone but sadly they don't since they are pretty much charging nothing to unlock except for the long waiting period. I just want to see what Vodafone and Telstra can offer and I might ended up buying outright telstra phone anyway+ 150 freaking expensive unlocking fee.
Do you think 3 will also sell iphone this time? Since vodafone and 3 already megred, i hope that is a possibility as most of the 3 phones are sold outright and can be unlocked with a minimal fee.

true, Optus is good in term of the plan offered but then if only I still have one year left in my visa lol. Anyway, just wanna add tethering is supported by Optus for 9.99 access fee per month and then u can choose between 2GB or 6GB for 24.99 or 44.99 respectively.
the 9.99 charge only be waived for customer with 99 timeless plan.

out of topic tho, I really hope they can open an apple store here in WA. It is about time so that I dont have to wait for 2 weeks to get my iphone fixed.

This post has been edited by al3p: Jun 22 2009, 12:40 PM

an excerpt taken from the optus e-mail (quoted from the whirlpool forum)

There's such a buzz about the new Apple iPhone 3G S that we thought we'd give you an exclusive preview of the deals available at Optus.

Get the NEW 32GB Apple iPhone 3G S for $0 upfront
From June 26 you can score a brand new black or white 32 GB Apple iPhone 3G S with Optus for $0 upfront* on the 'yes' Timeless $99 plan over 24 months and we'll include the $14.99 Mobile Internet Pack at no cost to you for 24 months. This plan has unlimited standard local and national calls, MMS and SMS PLUS a stunning 1.5GB of data from the Mobile Internet Pack *.
Hurry: offer is only available for a limited time!

Existing customers
If you are an existing Optus customer, and you want a New Apple iPhone 3G S, make sure you open the emails we send as there is a special offer just for you coming soon.

Want a hot deal on the current Apple iPhone 3G?
From 26 June Optus will still be offering the black 8GB Apple iPhone 3G for $0 upfront on the new 'yes' $59 Cap iPhone plan^ over 24 months – with loads of included value and a handy 700MB of data. Stocks are limited.

How about more downloads?
If you need more data than your cap provides, Optus also offers a range of Mobile Internet Packs starting from a low $4.99 a month+.

thanks nokia2003 for the head up for Optus plan for iphone 3gs

the price seems ok..i just wonder how the upgrade system will b look like

i think u can still sign up for 1 year contract even ur visa is below 1 year..thts wat i heard when im 1st signing up for iphone 3g..
at 1st i plan to sign up for 24 months n my visa only for 1.6 years..they said i stil lcan sign up for 24months but i need pay remaining months b4 my visa expired..so is like if u have 6 months left after ur visa expired,then u need pay the 6months fees in 1 time...

Should we all be selling off our 3G iphone...to finance the new 3GS? hoho
I guess its better to sell it off now(better value)...b4..the 3gS reaches our shores.

Any sugguestions?

@J_Vansen_S,
I don't think it'll make much difference. There are people I know who's impatiently waiting for the iPhone 3GS despite oredi using the iPhone 3G. Then again, it is only with these first early adopters Apple's making headway in its bottomline

This post has been edited by tinkerbel: Jun 22 2009, 02:00 PM

Good prices there bro! If I'm staying over there, I'll definitely get one. From the time I spent in Sydney, there's has been so many great offers. I especially like those all-in-one deal where it covers all your broadband needs from phone to home to mobile. But otherwise good plans for 3G[S].

about the 3 i think they will possible bring in iphone 3gs too..

i rmb got ppl talk about it at whirlpool n even provide a link to iphone page from 3 website..

but when i clicked on it is no more available for tht page..

'3' is a huge possibility due to its upcoming merger with vodafone.

Nokia2003,

Looks tempting!!!

Thanks for the update!

i hope is true tht chances to upgrade from 3g to 3gs is higher for 12months contract user

Cool! I'll head up to Optus shop tomorrow to find out. Hopefully I can sell my current Iphone and use it to pay the excess months. But 'sayangla' since my Iphone is just 3 months old (replacement unit) but again probably could fetch a higher price selling my 3G. I just read the plan all over again and find out the 59 plan is good enough for me since I dont really use tethering and don't really download data directly to iphone. But I think Optus should have just waived the AUD9.99 fee for all plans, they made a lot of money already lol.

That AUD$9.99 is like a license to tether hehehe! But yeah, its a drag. You've paid for the data anyway so if you tether, you're most likely using whatever you've paid again. Also, tethering on laptop consumes more data than on iPhone. Meaning more data used, more pay paid. They win too!

3 is getting the iPhones, has been announced. Am waiting for them to officially start selling it at the beginning of July. Just hope I dont have to pay so much to exit my current contract, else I might not get the 3GS.

i know that it is being stipulated in their website, but until it is in black and white, i wouldn't harbour my wish on them 100%

just like the 3G version, there were so much rumours that '3' will carry it and it turns out to be some hocus pocus.

but if '3' were to carry the iPhone 3G S, it is likely for it to have the best deal in the market.

This post has been edited by nokia2003: Jun 22 2009, 07:02 PM

ya..but for me, 3 don have a good coverage in my apartment

their plans look good but i got fren encounter many prob with them..1 of it is overcharge.
like he using $29cap but when bill comes,it show more than $29 coz of over usage.but he nvr make many calls.2 hands also can count how many calls he have made in 1 month
n same goes to broadband..sign up for 3gb n nvr download any things.just normal use.n got keep track the usage but when bill comes,need to pay around $200 coz exceed usage.call them to clarify but they keep direct the call to other departments but end up nth can do about it..occur 2 times de

in the end they said upgrade to 6gb plan to avoid n don have better explanation from them...

i though of getting this.. but wat u guys reckon.. they emailed me this aswell.. waiting to see three's rate then compare..btw 3 this time is for real.. already on their webbie about week ago

This post has been edited by mingdynasty: Jun 22 2009, 07:36 PM

nokia2003, which part of australia are you at?

i have to leave aussie in about 6 months. don't know if its worth upgrading or not. tempted tho. only wish 3 would offer it. as usual got talks around the internet speculating that all mobile providers have obtained is since 3 and vodafone merged and technically vodafone has the contract with apple.

will probably see after i get back from my holiday in KL assuming I can actually get back with the increasing cases of H1N1 here

http://www.three.com.au/...clear speculations