iPhone isn't locked to the carrier!! Like real...

Updated 22 Jul 2008: iPhone is locked to carrier
Updated 27 Jul 2008: iPhone sold unlocked in HK

Today's Straits Times has just confirmed what I've suspected for a long time. The iPhone is no longer locked to the specific carrier!

You can get the iPhone, with some kind of plan, and use it across any other telco network. The cons however will be that some features of the iPhone will not work well on other networks. The iPhone requires some new features that the carrier might not have, so it might not work as well.

It will be interesting once Singtel announces its plans...

Straits Times is crap. Anyway, just got the latest news from the US that the iPhone 3G is indeed locked to certain networks. Even the latest jailbroken iPhone 3G is unable to connect to unauthorised networks. There are rumours though that there's a special SIM card adaptor that can trick the iPhone 3G that you're on an authorised network.

Latest news however says that only selected iPhone 3G phones are unlocked in certain countries. Today's newspaper stated that the HK iPhone 3G is unlocked. However, in other countries, it may be locked.

Translated, that means the locking of the phones has shifted from Apple to the carrier itself. The carrier can decide whether to lock it or not. So if you've encountered a locked iPhone 3G, it's not the fault of Apple, but the fault of the carrier.