Danny Gorog09 June 2008, 10:00 PM
Getting hold of a first-gen iPhone in Australia last year on June 29th, when the iPhone first debuted was literally impossible. Hopefully, this time it's different.
The only way to secure a first generation iPhone on launch was to be in the line of people out front of
an Apple retail store, or an AT&T dealer in the US. I was lucky
enough to have a contact who was there and bought me one, but it still
took nearly two weeks to get back to me in Australia.
Those were the days when iPhone unlocking wasn't a sure thing, so I also needed to procure a
TurboSIM to perform a SIM unlock to get the phone working in Australia.
Thankfully,
a lot has changed since then, and
unlocking a brand new iPhone now is a
trivial matter that takes less than ten minutes.
But come Tuesday, there's a distinct possibility that Apple Australia will be selling the next generation iPhone on our shores.
With
rumoured 3G networking, GPS, a thinner form factor and 'push' email,
iPhone 2 will be hot seller when it goes on sale here - so
now's the time to work out how you're going to get your hands on one.
If
Apple replicates the model they've used in other countries you should be
able to order one from the
Apple Store online, or buy one at any Apple
retail store - the problem is, when the phone starts shipping it's
likely that there will only be one Apple retail store in Sydney. In my
experience, purchasing online from Apple means you'll be one of the
first to get one. Best case, if the iPhone goes on sale tomorrow
morning, and you order online tomorrow, you should receive it by Wednesday.
While unlikely, it's possible that local Apple resellers may be able to sell
iPhones, given the small footprint of Apple retail.
You should also be able to source your iPhone from
Optus or Vodafone, and, as rumor has it, maybe even subsidised when you commit to a contract - but like other phones,
telcos are notoriously slow to actually
get phones to market. In my estimation, best case if you buy direct
from a carrier, and iPhone 2 goes on sale tomorrow, you'll be waiting
until next week before you've got one in your hands.
Failing local availability,
your best bet is to find a mate over in the US who can send you one.
Chances are high that when the new iPhone is released an 'unlock'
solution will be available promptly, as hackers have already been
poking around with the beta
firmware since April, and have a 'beta'
unlock in the works.
If you're not ready for iPhone 2, there's also likely to be an excess supply of second hand
iPhones
on eBay as lots of early adopters swap to the newest version. So in the
interim, picking one of these up might be your best bet.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's big announcement, that will shed new light on iPhone 2.0 and how to get one. Steve Jobs takes the stage at 10am San Francisco time -- that's 3.00am AEST on Tuesday.