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Court Rules T-Mobile Can Sell Locked iPhone in GermanyDec 4, 2007 A German court has ruled that Deutsche Telekom's mobile unit T-Mobile can sell locked versions of Apple's iPhone with a two-year contract. The Hamburg District Court reversed an earlier ruling that required the company to also sell an unlocked version of the handset. The iPhone went on sale in Germany on Nov. 9 exclusively through T-Mobile for 399 Euros ($589) with a two-year contract. Vodafone challenged the exclusive deal in court, saying it violated Germany's anti-competitive laws, and a court initially agreed, ordering T-Mobile to sell unlocked versions of the handset and change its advertising language. Apple's arrangement with T-Mobile in Germany is similar to the company's deal with other carriers around the world, such as with AT&T in the U.S. After the court's ruling T-Mobile announced that it will stop selling unlocked versions of the handset, but that after a customers' two-year contract expires, it will unlock their handset for free. Customers wanting an unlocked iPhone can still cross the border to France, where France Telecom subsidiary Orange sells phones without a contract for Euro 649, plus a Euro 100 unlocking charge. (The charge is waived if the customer waits for six months from the purchase date.) The phones sold by Orange can be configured to present menu options in French, German, English or Italian. |
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