Just got a black 16GB from an Apple reseller (Max Style) here in Perth last week to replace my 2 y/o first gen. Confirmed with Apple Australia that it's direct (non-carrier) stock. They carry very limited stock and sell them at RRP (Apple store prices), but they're worth checking out if you prefer to buy from a brick and mortar store.

Few problems with the phone though:
- there's a slight yellow tint at the bottom quadrant of the LCD
- power button is uneven and slightly lower on the left side
- rattle in the phone when shaken, though I've been told that this is caused by the compass

The retailer's a bit of a douche and won't do a DOA swap, although I've gotten confirmation from Apple that these are known issues. Apple will replace it, but there's a good chance that the replacement will be a refurb. There's also a $39 fee for the advance replacement service unless I'm willing to mail in my phone first and be without a phone for 2 weeks.

I'm a bit pissed off about this atm, but the phone is dated week 35 and hence jailbreakable, so I'm just wondering if I should just keep the phone and just live with it.

PS. Just incase anyone is interested, Next Byte also sell iPhones outright, but they're Telstra issued - not surprising since they're part of Vita Group/Fone Zone. The unlock fee is around $130 IIRC.

This post has been edited by skyther: Dec 2 2009, 01:47 AM

If anyone is interested, I'll have a 16GB up for grabs from the 27th of this month. I placed an order on the Australian online store on launch day but I managed to pick one up from the Apple Store in Perth a few days ago.

Happy to ship to M'sia but I'm expecting RRP (AUD$859) to cover my costs.

Are you after a 3GS or iPhone 4? I do currently have an iPhone 4 but the one I'll be selling will be sealed in the box and will only be available later this month. I do still have my old 3GS which I'm happy to sell.

PM me your phone num and we'll have a talk.

You can go on a contract with Optus as in international student, but in most cases the salesperson will have to call India to get an override approval for the credit check.

They are, however, extremely strict on the minimum criteria for international students. The expiry date of your student visa must be after the expiry date of your contract. Sometimes they require an additional 2 months, so if your contract duration is 24 months, as a rule of thumb they require your visa to be valid for 26 months. If you are currently doing pre-U and plan on going to Uni after but only have a visa valid for a year, you can forget about it. They will also require proof of income/allowance from parents, bank statements, etc. In some cases they may also limit you to plans that are below a certain value, say $49, which makes it rather difficult to obtain high value phones on instalment. There is a ton of ID that you need to bring, best to check with the store beforehand.

Any iPhone issued by a carrier will be sim locked, including contract units purchased from Apple. The only unlocked iPhones are those purchased outright (ie. prepaid units) from Apple.

Carriers can unlock the phone for you, I don't know what the charges are but last I heard Telstra unlock fees were pretty expensive. Sometimes it takes several weeks, usually it's done in a few days. The carrier needs to put a request through to Apple to update the registry so that your phone is unlocked. After that, you need to restore your phone so iTunes can unlock it.