AT&T Finally Offers Unlocked IPhone — for a Price

If you want to have real mobile phone freedom for your iPhone, AT&T is now making it possible. But as the poet once said, “freedom isn’t free.” AT&T has announced a plan to begin selling unlocked Apple iPhone’s, with no contract or subscription — but only for those with deep enough pockets to afford it…

Some pundits think that the move is a cynical ploy on the part of AT&T to sell off the company’s inventory of current generation iPhone’s before the rumored iPhone 3.0 is released. AT&T is not commenting on their reasons for deciding to sell unlocked iPhone’s at this time, but it seems likely they would only do so if a new version release was imminent.

According to their web site, AT&T will begin offering the unshackled iPhone’s for $599 and $699, for the 8 GB and 16 GB models respectively. Of course, these prices are steep indeed compared to regular “in network” prices, but AT&T believes some users will be willing to pay a premium to free up their cell phone once and for all.

But according to some Apple insiders, the unlocked iPhone will technically still be locked in to the network — at least if you plan on using the mobile Internet connectivity. Rumors suggest that the unlocked phones will still have to be subscribed to AT&T’s mobile data plan to take advantage of all the iPhone’s extensive mobile Internet capabilities.

However, a new report by ABI research suggests that most iPhone users opt to surf the Web via wireless network, rather than connecting through AT&T’s mobile network. The reasons for this are many, but primarily because there are an abundance of WiFi networks available in most metropolitan areas these days, and download speeds tend to be quicker than even the best 3G mobile broadband networks.

It could also be that AT&T is offering the unlocked iPhone’s because it does not feel any of the competing networks is a serious threat. For example, it has been pointed out that T-Mobile’s network and mobile Internet speeds are nowhere near as good as AT&T. Unfortunately, AT&T doesn’t have any great competition out there right now — which is a real shame. A large, expensive network competitor would force AT&T to bring down their prices and improve the quality of their service.

For now though, even if you purchase an unlocked iPhone, you’re still probably going to be better off using it on AT&T’s network if you want the most extensive coverage and fastest download speeds — unless you are content only getting online where there is WiFi access.