Where to get an unlocked iPhone 3G in Asia

By Damian Koh

Jul 17, 2008

The iPhone 3G dust may have settled in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and New Zealand, but India, Macau, Singapore and the Philippines are still waiting for the shipment units to arrive later in the year. Now before you board the next flight out to get your hands on the iPhone 3G, there are some things you should know.

iPhone 3G in Asia First of all, although it is possible to buy the handset without signing up for the data plans, that generally means you pay more upfront. The good thing is you won't be locking yourself in a particular telco for the next two years.

Secondly, you'll need to check if the handset is SIM-locked to the carrier. If the telco doesn't provide any option for you to legally unlock the phone, then your chances of getting the iPhone 3G to work with other SIM cards are probably moot.

The last thing you'll have to do is activate the handset via iTunes in the country you bought it in. You can't, for example, buy the iPhone 3G in Australia and activate it in Japan.

At this time of writing this article, the iPhone 3G from Telstra (Australia) and SoftBank (Japan) are SIM-locked (officially anyway). Which leaves us with Optus (Australia), Vodafone (Australia and New Zealand) and Hutchison Telecom (Hong Kong) to work with.

We've done the legwork to calculate how much it will cost you to get an unlocked iPhone 3G in Asia. So if you want to know how much it will cost you, read on. We used the Bloomberg currency converter to convert the costs to US dollars for the final prices, so you can get a better overview of what's available in the different countries.

3 Hong Kong | Optus Australia | Vodafone Australia | Vodafone New Zealand


From 3 Hong Kong

The catch: According to the Apple Support Web site, Hong Kong is one of two countries (Italy being the other) listed with the iPhone 3G that isn't locked to the carrier. Subscribers will need to pay off the remaining months on their two-year plan if they wish to terminate the contract prematurely. Each customer is limited to the purchase of only one handset.

Conditions Cost breakdown
Sign up for the cheapest tariff plan and VAS package and terminate the plan before the two-year agreement is up


iPhone 8GB: HK$7,810 (US$1,002)
- Tariff plan for 24 months: HK$4,512
- "Hello" Ring VAS package: HK$360
- iPhone 8GB handset: HK$2,938


iPhone 16GB: HK$8,610 (US$1,104)
- Tariff plan for 24 months: HK$4,512
- "Hello" Ring VAS package: HK$360
- iPhone 16GB handset: HK$3,738


From Optus in Australia

The catch: You'll need to pay A$80 if you wish to network unlock the iPhone 3G within the first six months from activation. The workaround is you recharge the pre-paid phone up to a value of A$80. Either way, the cost is the same.

Conditions Cost breakdown
Get the handset without plan and exercise the option to network unlock


iPhone 8GB: A$809 (US$777)
- iPhone 8GB handset: A$729
- Network unlocking fee: A$80


iPhone 16GB: A$929 (US$902)
- iPhone 16GB handset: A$849
- Network unlocking fee: A$80


From Vodafone in Australia

The catch: An early exit fee of A$34.50 (multiplied by the number of months left on the contract) applies and there may be an additional charge to unlock the phone. If the handset is hard-locked, a basic fee of A$50 to unlock it at any time (A$25 if you do it online) and an additional A$50 if unlocking is done within six months of purchase apply. The cost of unlocking phones, however, isn't specific to the iPhone 3G, but is across the board for Vodafone in Australia, so this price is only a gauge.

Conditions Cost breakdown
Sign up for the cheapest Vodafone Cap Contract and terminate the plan before the two-year agreement is up


iPhone 8GB: A$1,051.50 (US$1,009)
Early termination if less than one month for the 8GB model:
- Early exit fee for 23 months: A$793.50
- iPhone 8GB handset: A$189
- First month subscription: A$69


iPhone 16GB: A$1,171.50 (US$1,125)
Early termination if less than one month for the 16GB model:
- Early exit fee for 23 months: A$793.50
- iPhone 16GB handset: A$309
- First month subscription: A$69


From Vodafone in New Zealand
The catch: You'll need to buy the phone in-person at a Vodafone retail store. No bots allowed. And early termination fees apply.

Conditions Cost breakdown

Get only the handset
iPhone 8GB: NZ$979 (US$740)
iPhone 16GB: NZ$1,129 (US$854)



Sign up for the cheapest iPhone 250 plan and terminate the contract before the two-year agreement is up
iPhone 8GB: NZ$1,229 (US$929)
Early termination if less than six months for the 8GB model:
- One month of subscription: NZ$80
- iPhone 8GB handset: NZ$549
- Early termination fee: NZ$600

iPhone 16GB: NZ$1,379 (US$1,043)
Early termination if less than six months for the 16GB model:
- One month of subscription: NZ$80
- iPhone 16GB handset: NZ$699
- Early termination fee: NZ$600


The verdict?

Optus in Australia has the best deal at US$777. Although it's slightly cheaper to get it from Vodafone in New Zealand, you'll need to buy the phone in-person at the Vodafone retail store. So you'll need to factor in an air ticket or persuade a Kiwi friend to buy one and ship it to you.

If you have more information about what's happening on the ground, hit us up in the comments.

This post has been edited by baretta: Jul 25 2008, 04:49 PM

okok... i tot other thing

This post has been edited by Seaedge: Jul 25 2008, 02:53 PM

dah update la

FYI, Damian Koh, u're wrong~

1129NZD is without contract or locked, so u can just buy straight of the shop, or online.

therefore early termination fees does not apply to the phone u bought outright

actually it is correct. My mistake during copy. So have a space between 8 gb and 16 gb.

@baretta,
Is that the article from CNet?! I'm quite sure I've shared the above information here before - except I shared the link, not the entire article

Heheh yep from Cnet.

Hi psyeo,

Appreciate very much if you can share the option I have here in purchasing either 8GB or 16GB from NZeland. I have a lady friend in Wellington who is helping me to get the 3G Iphone (without contract & Unlocked version).
1.Any idea of any nearest Vodafone shop in Wellington?
2.The unlocking of the set must be done from the country of purchase via iTunes?
3.Is the price iPhone 8GB: NZ$979 (US$740) iPhone 16GB: NZ$1,129 (US$854)?

Thanks in advance.

VodaNZ iPhone 3g
you can find most of the information needed in the above site, e.g. availability, where to buy and etc.

1. hmmm... Wellington, according to my friend in Wellington, he says all the stores within Wellington city are out of iPhone 3G stock..if that is the case, if ur friend has a NZ credit card, u can ask her to purchase online from vodafone nz website
2. Stringfellow has activated his iPhone purchase in NZ using US iTunes account
3. yup.. (usd depends on the exchange rate)

Hm, I'm going to the US soon, I'm still wondering if I should go through the hassle of bringing some 3g phones back and reselling them.

Won't be that easy. They haven't started selling the iPhone 3G contract-free here.

u should search for swisscom...but its locked..but u can buy it without committing to a 2 year plan.there's a prepaid version for around 330euros for the 8gb model.

Thanks for the quick replies,psyeo.

As for the iTunes account for activation of Iphone,I have read in here that we can register using our local address in Malaysia for Iphone (legally unlocked version)purchase in NZeland. Do correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks again there.

I am planning to get the New Zealand Iphone 3G (unlocked version) but is currently wondering whether I can activate the phone my Malaysia ?

Too troublesome to ask the person buying for me to go online, get it activated via ITunes (that's provided if he/she have an iTunes account). Can the activation + unlocked be done from the shop itself?

I think I've posted it in my Journey thread (if not in the ill-fated "Tumpang" thread, dont blame me, look to the ones moving it ), that all you need to unlock is a valid iTunes account.

To be safe, use ONLY iTunes account in countries where the iPhone have been launched, you dont want Apple to screen your activation and seeing you have activated using Malaysian iTunes, and no iPhone in Malaysia yet.

Steps to get a valid US iTunes have been posted here ad nauseum, do a search and you'll find it.

Disclaimer: This only applies to the NZ iPhones, other iPhones including the once-much-sought-after American iPhones are locked into its country of origin (US). Activating it via iTunes, for American 3G iPhones, will result in locking the thing up. Poor idiots who dont know this have been slapped with this on their faces when they activated it and found that out the hard way.

According to a Vodafone shop in Lambton Quay, Wellington, there will be stocks coming in roughly 2 weeks time, but the shop keeper isn't exactly sure about the exact date though

Thanks for chipping in the infos,stringfellow & lilredridinghood..