Importing iPhone (1st Generation)

[Adnan959]

Importing iPhone

Hey guys,

I'm planning on buying an iphone and thought the best option would be to import it from US. So I went through the internet and found some prices which turned out to be really cheap compared to the local 40k price.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcmcat160500050022&type=category

Problem is it says something about AT&T, so my question is If I order one of these from bestbuy (through some relative) will they work in Pakistan?

Thanks

 

[Static]

the item in the link isn't an iphone, its an ipod touch

 

[Adnan959]

My bad, fixed the link.

 

[ASKnASK]

If you can get an iPhone here, no matter which network its locked to, or what it has in it... You can make it work. In like... 5 minutes

 

[incredibulous]

2g iphones can easily be unlocked by firmware flashing .. piece of cake
3g requires turbo sim which is easily availalble here as well so not a problem no matter which one you get!!

 

[Adnan959]

Thanks for the feedback.

So is the flashing as risky as the xbox 360 flashing or its just a simple easy to do thing? Where can I get it done from and for how much?

Also, I'm only looking at a 2g since 3g is useless in Pak anyways, so why bother paying the extra amount and getting nothing.

 

[incredibulous]

yea juz go for 2g..and buy that black back cover that makes yo 2g looks exactly like a 3g..
costs only 250 rs for the back cover

to unlock/jailbreak your iphone, it may cost you from 250 to 500 rs
depends if you knw someone in market

flashing is risky if you do it ur self..but can be recovered so dn worry bout that
better get it done from some flashing shop
Regards!!

 

[zebualvi]

3g doesnt require turbo sim anymore. the software to jailbreak and unlock it is known as yellowsnow and is easily available. instead of spending money on getting it unlocked from a shop, u can do it urself. i flashed iphone 2g and it took me an hour max to learn everything and download the required files.

PS: the software itself is pretty self explanatory. Ull only need to click like 4 times and each time a detailed description will be provided. If u can understand this post then it should be no problem for u at all. U plug ur iphone, the software asks u if u want to jailbreak and unlock, u say yes, it tells u to press and hold buttons on ur iphone while software does the rest. Not exactly rocket science. My frnd is an utter moron when it comes to pc and stuff like this and even he was able to do it. and if u still cant understand it then u can ask me here on pg.

PSS: Get 3g if u can, phones like iphone are meant to be used for atleast a couple of years, not months and the way telecom sector is expanding, it wont be long before 3g service gets here. I know that wont be for atleast another year but still.

 

[Adnan959]

Great thanks! Guess I'm getting one then.

Just a few more questions...the ones that shopkeepers sell here for 40k+ are those the same phones which they unlock themselves or do they get them unlocked from someplace (which explains the high price). Also will there be any tiny tiny bit of difference between these two.

Finally, I just visited Hafeez Centre's website and saw plenty of people selling them, so are they reliable? Or shall I spend $100 extra on the shipping to get it here?

http://www.alhafeezcentre.com/

Thanks again!

 

[zebualvi]

U calculate the shipping cost+initial buying cost+taxes and compare them with the price in lahore n ull know the difference. As for ur second question.. well lemme give u another example. Have u installed any software in ur life? Im talking office or firefox or winrar or msn messenger? if yes then installing new firware and jailbreaking and unlocking is just as easy. This is in reference to ur price question. It used to be part of high price but not anymore. For example Panorama computers used to charge 4k for iphone jailbreak and unlock and they included that in the iphone price. Now since everybody can unlock it, shopkeepers do that themselves. It might have been a factor but i doubt it is anymore.

 

[Adnan959]

Okay so thats good to know, I won't be paying that much to get it unlocked.

This is one of the places I saw:

Vojtech Limited Uk.
36A Goring Road Goring By Sea.
Worthing,West Sussex
United Kingdom.

sales manager.
Wayn Bruce
+447024074657.
www.vojtech.page.tl

I've emailed this guy and he's satisfied me uptil now but i still have trust issues.

The shipping will be 50$ for 2pcs. and a 16GB iPhone 3G costs 200$ each. No idea of the taxes but assuming they are also another 50$ thats still 24k local currency for a 16GB iphone. Also he claims that the phone is company unlocked. I can post the entire conversation here (over 6 replys).

So i'm freakin confused!

[SIZE=-1]Hello,

Thanks for the gentle mail.Regarding the purchase of
the BRAND NEW Iphone 3G (16GB) you want to order for.

1) the Iphone 3G (16GB) is for $200usd?
2) Is it a new Iphone 3G (16GB).
3) Is it original from apple
4) Is has 1 year international warranty
5) Is it unlocked
6) It has carrier logo on Iphone 3G (16GB)
7) Yes there is carrier logo when it is switched on
8) We ship WORLDWIDE.

The Iphone 3G (16GB) is available at just== $200 usd

2 UNITS COST $400USD.

the shipping fee to your door step cost== $50 usd.

Total Cost is $450 Usd.

The Iphone 3G (16GB) is a brand new unlocked phone and is sealed in
the company original box with full accessories and it comes with a
year international warranty.

We ship out via fedEX and it only takes us just 48 hours to deliver
your goods to your door step after your payment confirmation.

Our method of payment is via western union money transfer.

NOTE:-So do get back to us with this information:

Name:-
Address:
Zip code:
City:
Country:
Your contact phone number,

For packaging and stamp of your address on your package.
Be back to us immediately as we wish to have you as our long time
business partners.

Vojtech Limited Uk.
36A Goring Road Goring By Sea.
Worthing,West Sussex
United Kingdom.

sales manager.
Wayn Bruce
+447024074657.
www.vojtech.page.tl

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Thanks.

[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Hi,

thanks for the mail, and also for the full interest you have in our company product and services.

the apple iphone is brand new original MADE IN USA, with 1 year international warranty.

and it has been unlocked directly from the manufacturing company,

the carier logo mean,,, when you ON the iphone it will displayed an APPLE LOGO on the SCREEN.

We have the BLACK/WHITE COLOUR Available.

the payment is only guaranty by WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER you have to receive your goods before we have the collection of the money in the bank,but we need to know the MTCN NUMBER and SENDERS NAME in other to confirm your payment before we commence on shipment.

Hope to do long term business relationship with you in future.

thanks.

And then I ask whether he's a scam or not...

[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Hi,

thanks for the question,

many of our customers has also asked about this question before, and when we enlight them and they order from us, now they are enjoying our company product and services some of our customers always told us WE ARE THE BEST.

coz with high quality product and good reputation we have WON a great support from the customers and become stronger and more powerful.

We buy all our company product directly from the manufacturing company in USA.

that is why we sell all our company product at a reasonable and affordable price to all our legit CUSTOMERS.

so kindly place your order now, so you can enjoy our best service and product.

Hope to do more more business with you in future.

Thanks.

[/SIZE]

 

[zebualvi]

cmon man wake up. thats scam. even a guy with both eyes blinded can see that. an iphone costs around 300 us dollars for 16gb and they are selling that for 200. Now either they are scaming u or are giving it away from the kindness of their heart and im betting on the former. dont b an idiot and send them money. im using harsh language just so u get into ur senses. if u really want to know what 16gb would cost with shipping charges, i suggest u visit ebay. K lets say u order that and it turns out to be fake or broken or they take ur money and run, what will happen then? will u spend 1 lac on ticket price n go there to return it?

Look the only possible angle i could see in all this is that iphone is given free with 2 year contract and ppl get it, either report it stolen or pay early termination fee of the contract and keep the iphone but then their ad says they get unlocked phone from APPLE which is absolutely wrong unless u r in FRANCE cuz france is the only country that is officially selling unlocked iphone and that too for around 700 euroes. thats around 70k rupees.

If u want to send them money, i cant stop u. its urs. i just checked their site and that is what they are offering.

Apple iPhone 4GB --- $160
Apple iPhone 8GB --- $180
Apple iphone 16GB----$200

Yeah right. (thats sarcasm followed by a scoff) Unless u have someone there who can verify that from their store, dont, i repeat, DONT make the mistake.

PS: It says "MADE IN USA" and "[SIZE=-1]the carier logo mean,,, when you ON the iphone it will displayed an APPLE LOGO on the SCREEN.[/SIZE]" Pretty fucked up english for someone who claims to be British and as for carrier logo then its not the apple logo as decribed. mine shows telenor and iphones in uk show O2. And if he meant the Apple logo on the boot screen then ofcourse an apple product will show apple logo, not nasa or microsoft logo. This leads me to blv that its a counterfeit phone or otherwise knows as chinese phone which shows Apple logo on startup,... seriously y would he otherwise mention it?

 

[fady]

Apple iPhone 4GB --- $160
Apple iPhone 8GB --- $180
Apple iphone 16GB----$200

this isnt 3g cuz 4gb only came in earlier 2g models...!

 

[Adnan959]

cmon man wake up. thats scam. even a guy with both eyes blinded can see that. an iphone costs around 300 us dollars for 16gb and they are selling that for 200. Now either they are scaming u or are giving it away from the kindness of their heart and im betting on the former. dont b an idiot and send them money. im using harsh language just so u get into ur senses. if u really want to know what 16gb would cost with shipping charges, i suggest u visit ebay. K lets say u order that and it turns out to be fake or broken or they take ur money and run, what will happen then? will u spend 1 lac on ticket price n go there to return it?

Look the only possible angle i could see in all this is that iphone is given free with 2 year contract and ppl get it, either report it stolen or pay early termination fee of the contract and keep the iphone but then their ad says they get unlocked phone from APPLE which is absolutely wrong unless u r in FRANCE cuz france is the only country that is officially selling unlocked iphone and that too for around 700 euroes. thats around 70k rupees.

If u want to send them money, i cant stop u. its urs. i just checked their site and that is what they are offering.

Apple iPhone 4GB --- $160
Apple iPhone 8GB --- $180
Apple iphone 16GB----$200

Yeah right. (thats sarcasm followed by a scoff) Unless u have someone there who can verify that from their store, dont, i repeat, DONT make the mistake.

PS: It says "MADE IN USA" and "[SIZE=-1]the carier logo mean,,, when you ON the iphone it will displayed an APPLE LOGO on the SCREEN.[/SIZE]" Pretty fucked up english for someone who claims to be British and as for carrier logo then its not the apple logo as decribed. mine shows telenor and iphones in uk show O2. And if he meant the Apple logo on the boot screen then ofcourse an apple product will show apple logo, not nasa or microsoft logo. This leads me to blv that its a counterfeit phone or otherwise knows as chinese phone which shows Apple logo on startup,... seriously y would he otherwise mention it?

Exactly my point. The site made is a pretty silly excuse of a website and the listing of the prices is so pathetic. Also Wayne Bruce (Opposite of Bruce Wayne from Batman...haha) is British yet he doesn't know crap.

But since I don't know crap about iPhones, he managed to convince me easily but I still wasn't going to send him any money. Would've asked to him to send the shipment first (which would never happen...but still).

Thats all I wanted to confirm of this.

I guess I'll be ordering this from a relative in US/UK.

Thanks again for the help, you've been very helpful.

 

[elvis840]

is a bloody scam...2G 8GB good cond cost like $300-350....

 

[zebualvi]

Exactly my point. The site made is a pretty silly excuse of a website and the listing of the prices is so pathetic. Also Wayne Bruce (Opposite of Bruce Wayne from Batman...haha) is British yet he doesn't know crap.

But since I don't know crap about iPhones, he managed to convince me easily but I still wasn't going to send him any money. Would've asked to him to send the shipment first (which would never happen...but still).

Thats all I wanted to confirm of this.

I guess I'll be ordering this from a relative in US/UK.

Thanks again for the help, you've been very helpful.

No prob man and wait couple of months. Atleast till july as new iphone will be released by then. This will drive the price of iphone 3g down pretty fast. Also the problem of iphone 4g (for the sake of conversation) will be that it wont be hackable immediately after its release. 3g took 4-5 months for a proper crack. Recently hackers found a serious flaw in iPod Touch 2.0's firmware which had prevented the hackers around the world to crack it earlier but somebody stole it and posted it online for money, forcing the original aurthors to give it away for free and thus allowing Apple to shut these flaws off. These hackers believed that new iphone 4g would have had the same flaws and they were waiting for its release.

But that doesnt mean there wont be another flaw. It will take a bit longer now so if u want, u can either wait for iphone 4g or get 3g in july for much lesser price then it is today.

Glad to have helped. take care.

 

[Adnan959]

Man this shit is just getting weirder, and just for the purpose of entertainment, take a look at this. I emailed three different sites at the same time, here's what I got from the other two:

Hello

Thanks for your response.

The Apple iPhone 3G 16GB is Brand New , Factory Sealed in the Box , Comes with Complete Accessories and Comes with 1 Year Warranty from the Manufacturer and Guaranteed to work with ALL GSM Carriers such as T-mobile, singular, AT&T & International GSM Carriers.

The Apple iPhone 3G 16GB includes:
Apple iPhone 3G 16GB
USB power adapter
USB data cable
iPhone Dock
Stereo handsfree
Cleaning cloth
iPhone information guide
2x Apple stickers .
& All standard Accessories that came with the Apple iPhone 16GB.


2 Units of Apple iPhone 3G 16GB Cost $500usd
1 Unit free iPhone 3g 16gb
Shipping & Handling Charges .$50usd
The total cost $550usd

You get 3 iPhone 3g 16gb

We are located in United Kingdom.

We ship to you via Ups shipping company and your package will be delivered in 2 days.

We accept payment via Western union money transfer and you get the iphone 2 days after you send us the money,you receive the phone at your given address,straight to your doorstep.

So if you are ready to purchase the items from us , Do send us Your Full Name , Full Address and Personal Contact Phone Number in other for us to proceed with the transaction.

We await your soonest response.

With Regards

And...

Hello.

Thanks for your mail.

We sell the Apple iphone 16gb 3g for just $300usd with the shipping cost to your doorstep.

The total cost for 2 units would be $600usd.

You do not need to pay any duties cost like custom or taxation fess, all cost is included with the price we gave to you.

The phones are brand new unlocked and sim lock free with 1 year international warranty, so you can use them with your pakistan network without no problem.

We do ship via FedEx express shipping courier setrvice within 2days delivery to your doorstep.

We accept payment via western union money transfer.

I am please to tell you that we would be given to you 1 free apple iphone 16gb 3 as a bonus, making 3 units but you will pay for 2 units ok.

Kindly get back to us with your full shipping address as well as your valid contact number so that we can proceed.

Best Regards.

 

[shad0w]

does anybody know ... what the person sending an iphone has to do with the subscription plan he has to subscribe to at the time of purchasing an iphone in the us... terminate the contract? file a stolen phone? insurance? plan cancellation charges?

 

[sohaibsa]

well the topic is hot and everyone ant one iphone can u guys tell me for how much can iget a iphone cheapest possible and from pakistann definately it will be a 2g plus could be used and without any accessories and jailbreak nd blah blah what would be the minimum cost and what if i buy it after julyafter release of 4g) how much iwill be paying for it then cheapest

 

[zebualvi]

does anybody know ... what the person sending an iphone has to do with the subscription plan he has to subscribe to at the time of purchasing an iphone in the us... terminate the contract? file a stolen phone? insurance? plan cancellation charges?

So far i only know the USA procedure and that is

iPhone = $199
Tax = $27
Connection = $70 (includes the first month's bill so basically connection is free)
ETF = $170 (Thats the early termination fee of the contract)

Combine all of that and you get iPhone for $466 which roughly translates to Rs. 37047.

Thats the price of the model that is being sold for 48k rupees in Pakistan.

You can try ebay but u rnt gonna get that any cheaper.

---------- Post added at 09:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:44 AM ----------

well the topic is hot and everyone ant one iphone can u guys tell me for how much can iget a iphone cheapest possible and from pakistann definately it will be a 2g plus could be used and without any accessories and jailbreak nd blah blah what would be the minimum cost and what if i buy it after julyafter release of 4g) how much iwill be paying for it then cheapest

Prices wont matter that much in Pakistan, before and after july, unless there is a hack found for the new iPhone and as for ur second question, the ideal price for a 8 gb iPhone 2G is around 25k but people are demanding 30k these days and thats way too much. And most of them dont even have original accessories. Also 4 Gb isnt worth it. Get atleast 8 gb. And as for finding 4 gb then lemme tell u something, 4 gb was discarded 2 years ago so the ones ull find will have very bad condition and low battey life. iPhone's batter is permanently reduced to 80% after 400 charge cycles and that roughly translates to 2 years of normal use. So not worth it.

And as for 4 gb price well i found one and shopkeeper was demanding 30k for it. Said it was limited edition and thats y expensive. Moron didnt know that it was discarded cuz it didnt sell and that i had an iphone in my pocket and knew more about them then and there than he would in his life time.

Just scout the market. Take a friend with u who can bargain and then look for cheapest price and get it.


EDIT: http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/18/...idized-iphone-3g-with-no-commitment-required/

This link has the info on new iphone prices for existing AT&T customers who wish to buy non commit iphone and thats $599 so buy the iPhone with all that ETF etc which is kinda cheaper, alot cheaper.

Also ETF isnt something that u go and pay, u have to convince the AT&T branch people that u really have a good reason for doing that.

Also read the comments below in the link provided. Here is one (its the 2nd one on that page)

"iGoon#2 @ Mar 18th 2009 4:09PM

AHAHAHAH!!!!!!!11

its cheaper to activate the thing for 31 days and then pay the ETF!

Apple is either having a slow sales or they want to get rid of stock before the new iPhone in june..."


And the fourth one


"Dave Chappelle @ Mar 18th 2009 8:03PM

WTF!!! OMFG!!

You guys know we pay $699 for iphones in Australia outright..... and thats AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS!! "
exchange rate = 0.64 (about that)"


Australian dollar rate is 50.5 rupees and my friend left for australia last night so ill know more bot it in a day but that costs around 37k rupees aswell which falls right within my $470 estimate.

And another post says the iphone after etf fee costs $450 so he must have excluded the tax u pay on iPhone.