Orange says unlocked iPhones are, in fact, unlocked

by Chris Ziegler, posted Dec 18th 2007 at 7:41PM

Some hubbub across the 'nets the past few days suggested that the unlocked iPhones being offered by Orange in France were -- of all things -- country locked, a rather unusual (but still perfectly valid and real) form of SIM lock that would require that the SIM of a French carrier be installed in the phone. Now, by our calculation, this would've been about the crappiest thing Apple and Orange could've done and still be within the boundaries of French law requiring that phones be offered unlocked. We certainly wouldn't put it past the terrible twosome, but fortunately, it looks like the fears were a little overblown; iLounge is claiming that they've confirmed with Orange that the unlocked units are not country locked. We imagine it's not a big deal for the domestic market there either way, but for the good folks in surrounding countries, it makes the sitch a little easier.